THE Tipperary Foxhounds hosted their opening fixture of the season at Lisronagh last Saturday, with the feature race being the first mares’ open of the campaign.

Local handler Sam Curling has enjoyed a remarkable record in this particular contest, winning six of the previous seven runnings, and he added a seventh success to his tally this year courtesy of last season’s champion mare, The Great Unknown (1/3 - 1/4 favourite).