Swan breaks both arms

Charlie Swan will remember last evening's Roscommon meeting for all the wrong reasons: the nine-time champion suffered fractures to both arms when his mount Hot Bunny slipped up on the flat after the fourth last, bringing down Rooftop and Conor O'Dwyer.

Swan was taken by ambulance to the nearby County Hospital, and on returning to the weighroom with his arms in plaster, he said: "My filly ducked in a bit towards the rails approaching the bend and she just couldn't get her footing back out and came down. "I'll be going to Navan Hospital later, and they might have to be pinned. Hopefully I'll be back in October," said a dejected former champion.

O'Dwyer was fortunate to walk away from the tumble in a race where victory went to Noel Meade's Fable, a 14th victory of the current campaign for championship leader Barry Geraghty. Later, the Swan-trained newcomer Sharavogue Cookie finished like a train under Fran Berry but just failed by a neck to Aspiration and Kevin Manning in the Fuerty Maiden.

Athenry trainer Val O'Brien, who supplied Paul Moloney with his last winning ride as an amateur, Kilmore Lady at Galway nine days ago, was responsible for the 20-year-old's first win since joining the paid ranks when Oranby justified favouritism in the Essex Lawn Handicap Hurdle.

The session finished with a thrilling three-way blanket photo finish, with victory going to Tricias Pride, trained by Seamus Fahey, owned by his brother Brendan and ridden by another brother, Peter.