Fine show of jumping by Quinze

The versatile six-year-old gelding, Quinze, brought his winning score under both codes to 14 when he made an eye-catching winning debut over fences in the Liffey Beginners Chase at Fairyhouse yesterday.

Sent off at odds of 1 to 3, this season's Galway Hurdle hero jumped impeccably throughout, and after another bold leap at the ninth fence, bowled along merrily in front to come home with 25 lengths to spare over Halfpenny Bridge.

"I schooled him over fences at Punchestown a few weeks ago and he was brilliant, and Paul (Carberry) sat up on him at Dundalk last week and he was delighted with him. He couldn't have done it any better out there today," said trainer Pat Hughes.

"He'll run in the Bank Of Ireland Chase at Galway next Sunday and I may run him at Punchestown a week later. "I would be keen to keep him at home this season as the prizemoney is so good. We've made big plans before with horses and they haven't worked, but we'll wait and see," he added. Liam Browne's top-weight, Wray finished with a flourish under seven pound claimer Timmy Houlihan to put his head in front where it mattered from Osprey Ridge in a tremendous finish to the richest race of the session, the Lee Handicap, over a nine furlongs.

Curragh trainer Con Collins has high hopes for Great Guns, a gelded son of Deploy who stayed on stoutly to pip the warm market leader, Catz, in the dying strides of the Lagan Maiden.

"He battled terrible well and he'll be a nice horse if he gets a mile-and-a-half next year," remarked Collins.

"He's a super, super horse," exclaimed Ger Lyons, after his juvenile, On The Batter, carried the colours of the Caffreys Batterstown Syndicate to a bold pillar-to-post victory under Wayne Smith in the opening Kilbride EBF Maiden. "He was two, three or four gallops short but time was running out, so I had to run him today," remarked the winning handler. "He'll be nothing until he's a backend three-year-old - he's as good as I've ever had, " he added.