EVEN amid all the upheaval witnessed during 2020 this fixture retained one of its great constants which came in the shape of the first three-year-old hurdle of the season, and Longclaw bounced back from an underwhelming flat campaign with a clear-cut success.

As a two-year-old this Gordon Elliott inmate was placed at stakes level in America as well as taking third in a two-year-old maiden at Galway in which Alpine Star defeated Santiago. On his first outing for the N H J Racing Syndicate, the son of Kitten’s Joy took well to a new challenge in the Railway Bar 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle. Understandably given his lack of previous jumping experience, the Keith Donoghue-ridden gelding was chancy at a couple of flights but he also produced a number of good jumps.