AIDAN O’Brien wasted no time making his mark in the newest and most high profile addition to the Irish flat racing programme for 2020 as the unconsidered Chief Little Hawk, one of three runners in the race for the Ballydoyle trainer, bagged the €320,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes.

A terrific innovation which will be the richest two-year-old race of the season in Ireland, or Europe for that matter, attracted a varied field of 19 and Chief Little Hawk was allowed to go off at 22/1 after failing to build on a debut victory on the second day after racing’s resumption.