GORDON Elliott, who was busy supervising Markhan’s successful Stateside raid on Saturday, has made a rapid start to the new season and reeled off a treble on the opening day of the Killarney May Festival which included a victory for Star Maker in the €50,000 Kelly Brothers Handicap Hurdle.

A smooth win in a Punchestown handicap back in November suggested that Star Maker could be the type to land a decent prize at some point and he duly bounced back from a below par run at Christmas to enter Galway Hurdle calculations.