FIVER Friday was both a well-named and well-backed winner of the feature race on Ireland’s first fixture on Good Friday at the Curragh - taking out the inaugural running of the €100,000 1xBet.ie Emerald Cup Handicap for Gavin Cromwell, Nathan Crosse and owner Philip Gilmore.

The likeable dual-purpose mare was racing 1lb wrong at the weights off 8st 7lb, and she’ll be set for a fair hike after winning so readily here by three and three quarters of a length from Irish Lincoln winner Ribee. This was only the winner’s third start since joining the Cromwell team from Paul Traynor, who had won with her on five occasions previously.

“She had been touched off a couple of times so it’s a great day for her to get her head in front,” said Cromwell after the 11/2 success (backed from a morning price of 11/1).

“She had been training well at home, I thought she’d run a big race and Nathan gave her a fine ride; she got plenty of luck in running. I have no plans. The handicapper is obviously going to have his say so we’ll find another premier handicap somewhere. She could also go back over hurdles.”

Flynn’s fine purchase

Trainer Pat Flynn took out a sizeable pot of his own on the card thanks to a gutsy front-running display from the likeable Key Witness under 7lb claimer Alan Persse in the €50,000 1xBet.ie Proudly Supporting Irish Racing Mile Handicap.

Produced in fine nick for his first appearance since a win here in November, the lightly raced four-year-old, who was an excellent buy at 15,000gns out of Archie Watson’s yard at last year’s Tattersalls July Sale, plugged on gamely to beat Diego El Queso and Lady Lilac by a pair of short-heads. “This is a very nice horse,” said Flynn “Myself and my wife Catherine were in Newmarket looking at all the horses and the next thing this one passed by, and I said to Catherine ‘that’s a racehorse’ so we went in and bought him.

“He’s by a very good sire [Acclamation]. This is his first run of the year and he did it the hard way, from a bad draw [in stall 21]. He’ll probably get a few pounds for that and we’ll go for the big-ish handicaps with him over seven furlongs to a mile.”

IT was a Group 3 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Park Express Stakes to savour for Joseph O’Brien as he saddled the 1-2 - led home by stable debutante Celestial Orbit under Joey Sheridan for a 33/1 upset.

Second on heavy ground at Saint Cloud when last seen running for Ollie Sangster in November, she proved too tough to reel in once stealing a march on her rivals and had enough in reserve to keep stablemate Princess Child at bay by half a length.

The winner, owned by J.P. Magnier, Mrs Paul Shanahan, Mrs M.V. Magnier and Keir MacLennan, is a half-sister to Ascot Gold Cup runner-up Nayef Road and another blacktype filly in France.

O’Brien said: “She came over from Ollie because they were struggling to find real heavy ground for her in the UK. Ollie said that she was a very good filly, which she was on her form, but that we just needed to find soft ground - and obviously we have plenty of that here.

“I’m delighted to win a group race with her as she’s on her way to the paddocks. She’ll probably be covered in the next few weeks. She might have another run or two, we’ll speak to the owners and see.”

Impressive Paradise

A filly who could be bound for blacktype company in the near future is Johnny Murtagh’s Chasing Paradise, who built on a promising two-year-old debut last autumn to win the 10-furlong Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Fillies Maiden.

Representing a partnership of Mrs M.V. Magnier, Mrs Paul Shanahan and Sam Sangster, the daughter of Churchill ran out a dominant two-and-a-quarter length winner under Ben Coen as 2/1 favourite.

Murtagh said of the Irish Oaks entrant: “She had been going well this year and we knew stepping up to a mile and a quarter would suit her well. We didn’t know about the [testing] ground, she’s a nice mover so I do think she’ll handle better ground and she’ll probably get a mile and a half in time too.

“She’s a nice filly and has a future. She might have to step into a trial now. The [Irish] Oaks is the ultimate dream with her and she’s still got a chance.”

No doubting Noir

Noel Meade, in double-winning form, scooped the other three-year-old maiden on the card over nine furlongs with owner Patrick Sexton’s Galileo Noir (11/1) - quickening up well under Colin Keane.

A half-brother to listed-winning/Grade 1-placed sprinter Mansa Musa, the Saxon Warrior colt could be versatile in terms of distances and had been placed on his Naas comeback over seven furlongs 12 days earlier.

Meade said: “This is a good horse. I was starting to worry if the trip would be too far because he’s got loads of boot. He blew up at Naas after arriving there coming real easy. Colin thinks he can come back to a mile, and I think he’ll be fine at a mile and a quarter. He’s a good-looking horse who seems to like this ground.”

MICK Mulvany is well able to get his two-year-olds rocking and rolling in the early season, and he claimed a couple of notable scalps in the five-furlong Curragh On Course Bookmakers Supporting Free Admission Irish EBF Maiden with Lars Soldier (18/1).

The well-bought Soldier’s Call colt, a €3,500 purchase out of last year’s Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale, showed the benefit of experience gained when fourth (beaten eight lengths) on his debut here last month. After even-money favourite Edward Thatch set off at what looked a strong pace, and 1,700,000gns yearling Confucius (11/10) threw down a serious challenge, the mount of Wesley Joyce pulled out plenty under pressure to prevail by a nose.

Speaking after Laurence Mulvany’s juvenile scooped the lion’s share of €30,000, the winning trainer said: “He ran well here on his debut. I told Wesley to keep him fairly forward as he had a bit more experience than the other horses and I think that’s what won it. I don’t know where we’ll go from here. If someone comes with a big cheque this fella [Laurence] might sell him! He’s a good, honest, little horse.”

Sweet Susie

Andy Slattery is another trainer with his string in a forward place right now and he saddled his fifth winner in a week when Staysound Susie pulled out all the stops to win under 7lb claimer Jimmy Dalton in the 1xBet.ie Supports Safe Gambling Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Handicap over six furlongs.

The 11/4 winner edged out Glory To Be by a neck for the Dreamers & Believers Syndicate, while there was also a promising run in fourth from the winner’s stablemate Bint Majestic Roi.

“She loved that trip,” said Slattery. “We’ll try to nick a bit of blacktype with her because she’s going in foal this year; she’s starting to resent the stalls and things like that so it might improve her a bit over the coming weeks.” On his excellent early run of form to begin the flat season, he added: “Our horses are fit and well. Often you’d look at the programme book and there wouldn’t be the right races for your horses, but it’s all fallen right. There are races for my horses who go on the ground and that’s basically it.”

Layfayette loving it

The concluding 1xBet.ie Stayers Trophy over a mile and six furlongs looked a tidy enough race on paper and it went the way of Noel Meade’s grand campaigner Layfayette (10/1), who could have more doors open to him now when staying this far. Colin Keane, riding a double for the trainer, brought Patricia Hunt’s nine-year-old through for a 10th career success.