GORDON Elliott might have been self-critical of his campaigning of Lizzie Twigg, but he branded the rapid improver as his dark horse for the week at his Galway Races press morning recently and she duly became a much more valuable type when winning the Listed Colm Quinn BMW Novice Hurdle.

With 2/1 favourite Gomez Addams dropping away tamely from the front end to a well-held fourth, it was smooth sailing for Jack Kennedy on the 5/2 chance, who carries her trainer’s colours. The Poet’s Word five-year-old ultimately ran out a stylish winner by two and a half lengths from Joseph O’Brien’s Fastnet Crystal.