Perfect shows style

Following his promising effort at Cork last week, where he ran the long odds-on favourite, Bakkar, to a length, the Charles O'Brien-trained Perfect Venue took full advantage of the considerable drop in class to win the Glen Maiden at Thurles yesterday.

A surprisingly easy to back 6 to 4 favourite, Perfect Venue travelled well throughout the race and had little difficulty in beating Lady Spy, another market drifter, by one length.

O'Brien's winner was ridden by Niall McCullagh, who took great delight in watching his younger brother, Derek, take the Tipperary Maiden Hurdle (Div 1) on Daisy A Day, one of four horses trained under permit by James Bowe, who was riding point-to-point winners as far back as 1945.

Daisy A Day raced clear from the last to beat the gambled-on favourite, Lunar Lady, and in the second division of the same race, rain-drenched punters were dealt another blow when Fenagh Flyer, left in front by the fall of Thatswhatithought at the penultimate flight, ran out of steam after the last and went down by two and a half lengths to Sup Of Whiskey and Kieran Gaule.

Boss Doyle followed up on his Listowel success when making it two wins out of two in the Upperchurch Chase. Although his jumping was far from fluent in the early stages, the 8 to 11 favourite began to show his class as the tempo increased and raced clear to win unchallenged after a fine leap at the second-last fence.

"I have set no definite agenda for him and we will find a winners-of-two race for him now. He may turn out again in the Kevin McManus Chase at Tipperary next week," said trainer Mouse Morris .

Munif, an odds-on chance with the bookmakers yesterday morning, drifted alarmingly on the course, from 6 to 4 to 3 to 1 favourite, but still proved good enough to win the Babs Babes Welter Race for the second year running for Dermot Weld and Michael Kinane.

The uncle and nephew combination of trainer Andrew and jockey John Thomas McNamara combined for a double, the pair winning the Thurles Handicap Chase with Macaunta and the concluding Liscahill Flat Race with Glin Castle. The amateur rider has now been successful on each of his last five rides.