AFTER spending almost two months out of the saddle, Bryan Cooper marked his return to race riding with a winner as Lucky Phil, trained by his father Tom, won the Tote-sponsored handicap hurdle restricted to horses owned by a syndicate or racing club. A 14-race maiden coming into this race and unlucky at Sligo and Listowel on her last two starts, Lucky Phil was returned the 2/1 favourite and took advantage of a good opportunity to defeat Alice Johnston by three lengths. The winning trainer was sending out his first winner in just under a year.

The card began with a remarkable display from Terence O’Brien’s Leahman who won the Jack Duggan Memorial 3-Y-O Hurdle by 33 lengths to pull off a gamble. The son of Lawman, who last ran off 49 on the flat, was placed in the first juvenile hurdle of the season at Roscommon but turned in a revelatory effort from the front under Kevin Brouder. After being backed from 20/1 and bigger in the morning the winner was returned at 6/1 and he was already in charge when the chasing Theatre Of War fell two out. This left the Brian Leahy-owned gelding to come home a long way clear of the others.