THE racing career of Bob Olinger had a fairytale conclusion last week, when at the age of 11, he retired with a Grade 1 success in the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle. That was a fifth top-level victory for the Sholokhov gelding, who has won close to €1 million in prize money since he made a winning start to his career for Pat Doyle in a four-year-old maiden at Turtulla.

Not that anyone needed reminding of it, but last week’s events in Punchestown proved to be further evidence of the incredible quality that continues to be produced from Doyle’s Suirview academy.