AFTER some good runs in defeat on turf this season, Aviatrice (11/4) returned to the scene of last year’s maiden victory and bolted up in the featured Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Handicap at Dundalk’s rescheduled meeting on Tuesday.

Luke McAteer sat close to the pace on the winner and produced her to lead over a furlong out. She soon went clear under a hand ride to beat Empress Artemis by four and three quarter lengths.

David Marnane, who trains the winner for MRC International, said: “This is a very, very good filly - I’ve made a balls of her. I brought her to Galway and I probably shouldn’t have. Then I dropped her back in trip and I shouldn’t have.

“Then even the storm stopped her from running here last week! I thought it was just going to be one of those years with her, but she has done that very well.

“She’ll come back here for the listed race (Cooley Fillies Stakes) in a month’s time. She’s in the December Mares Sale and I’d love to keep her in the yard. If somebody bought her, I’d love to hang on to her.”

Lordan’s double act

Wayne Lordan had two rides on the card and both hit the target. His first winner was the 106-rated Valiant Force (15/8 favourite) who got a lovely tow into the five-furlong conditions race before keeping on best to score for Adrian Murray.

The Malibu Moon colt was the only one of the five runners with a three-figure rating and Lordan was content to race him in second behind Eclairage who likes to blaze a trail.

The winner, owned by Amo Racing Limited and Giselle De Aguiar, was ridden to the front over a furlong out and kept on well to account for Songhai by a length and a quarter

Lordan said: “In fairness to him, he has been running very consistent all year. He has plenty of class and enjoys it up here. He’s not tied to five, he can go six furlongs if he wants.”

Wide draw

Lordan doubled up on Whistling Jamesie (20/1), who overcame the widest draw to land the Irishinjuredjockeys.com Nursery on his handicap and Polytrack debut. The A’ali colt, trained by Natalia Lupini for An Geall Is Fearr Teoranta, got away well from stall 17 and was soon in touch.

An absolute wall of horses held chances charging to the final furlong, but it was Whistling Jamesie who finished off best of all down the outer to claim the honours by half a length from One Cool Bear.

Assistant trainer Craig Bryson said: “We think Polytrack worked the oracle. We had worked him here a few times because we are close by and he always worked nicely. We thought seven furlongs would have been better, but he got away with the six here today.”

PHOENIX Pairc (9/2) led after a furlong and made the rest of the running in the View Restaurant At Dundalk Stadium Maiden. Racing on the all-weather for the first time, the grey was ridden out to beat Ocean Manifest by a length and three quarters.

Willie McCreery, who trains the three-year-old for the COR Racing Syndicate, said: “The owners were disgusted when this meeting was called off the last time, because they thought she had a good chance. At least when they put the race back on, they were delighted.

“Billy gave her a lovely uncomplicated ride and kept it simple.”

Gardens in bloom

Ben Coen came in for a winning spare ride on the Donnacha O’Brien-trained Fitzroy Gardens (7/1) in the mile and a half handicap.

Gavin Ryan had been due to partner the Australia filly, owned by Medalion, Weston, Shanahan, Magnier & Hoffman, but was stood down after a fall earlier on the card, when his mount Whispersinthewind was injured in the featured fillies’ handicap.

Making her handicap and all-weather debut, the winner sat third under Coen and came off the bridle well before the straight but kept responding and led inside the final furlong to beat Sidiza by half a length.

Coen said of the winner: “Thank God Gavin Ryan is okay. Donnacha told me she will stay the trip and handle the surface well and to ride a straightforward race on her. She picked up well to get there - didn’t do much when she did, initially, but dug it out well.”

JORDAN Breeze (10/1) recorded his first victory in the five-furlong handicap. Trained by Pat Flynn for his wife Catherine, the winner tracked the leaders and went second over a furlong out before gradually wearing down the front-running Ballysax Lil’ Mick to score by a head.

By Starspangledbanner, the three-year-old is a brother of Beauty Waves who won a five-furlong maiden at Dundalk before being sold to Hong Kong where he has won six races.

Winning rider Robyn Donaghue-Leahy said: “He’s still green as grass and it is his first time up here. He hit the line strong and is bred to be up here.”

Johnny’s Oasis (9/4 favourite) came from well off the pace to land the one-mile handicap for Ado McGuinness and Adam Caffrey.

The latter was happy to sit well off a strong pace set by Drafted before asking his mount to improve down the straight. Moving into third a furlong out, the winner collared Drafted inside the final 50 yards to beat that rival by a length and a half.

McGuinness said of Jim Fairhurst’s three-year-old: “He was a breeze-up horse and has been frustrating at times, but at least he has got a win under his belt.

“In all fairness, Adam was very good on him. They went good and hard and they were sprinting sectionals and I said ‘these ain’t no sprinters!’”