MICK Mulvany set the tone for his season when winning the Irish Lincoln with 20/1 shot Ribee on the first day of the flat. It was the Dublin-born, Meath-based handler’s third straight win with the four-year-old, and second win in the valuable premier handicap.

Premier handicaps can, thankfully, often reward the smaller yards with big paydays, but Curragh maidens are typically won by a certain few yards, so Mulvany’s Good Friday became a very good Friday when Lars Soldier, bought by the trainer’s brother Laurence for just €3,500, beat Ballydoyle’s Confucius in a Curragh maiden.