DAVY Russell returned from an 11-month injury layoff at Downpatrick on Friday and gained a first winner in 343 days at Navan on Saturday, with Chemical Energy (4/7f) which formed part of a treble for trainer Gordon Elliott in the Bar One Racing Double The Odds Maiden Hurdle,

Russell fractured and dislocated vertebrae in a first-fence fall from Doctor Duffy in the Munster National last October with his recovery initially necessitating realignment of his spine.