Advocat made light of the testing conditions to take the featured Carey Bros Vista/Therm Hurdle at Thurles yesterday. Despite trainer Noel Meade's fears of the heavy ground, the son of Dancing Brave, who was making his seasonal reappearance, came home one and a half lengths to the good of market rival Palette.
Meade revealed afterwards that Advocat had pleased him in recent schooling sessions over fences: "He jumps very well, and I was planning to run him over fences at Christmas. But after that performance I will have to reconsider his options as he is also entered for The Ladbroke," said Meade.
Carberry is still two behind Ruby Walsh in the riders table after the latter was on the mark with See Just There in the Molony Cup Handicap Chase. The front-running Old Abbey ensured this three-mile event was a real stamina test, and he was only headed on landing over the last by the progressive two and a half length victor.
Willie Mullins's charge was completing a notable hat-trick, having also scored at the previous two meetings here, and will now be upped in class for the valuable Paddy Power Handicap Chase at Leopardstown.
Kieran Kelly took the riding honours with a 337 to 1 double on the Paddy Heffernan-trained pair Keelson and Drum A Deal. Keelson was left clear after the final fence exit of Sea Fisher in the opening Nenagh Handicap Chase, while Drum A Deal relished the muddy conditions when recording a wide margin victory in the Portroe (Pro/Am) Flat Race.
Derek Kelly partnered his first winner as a professional, and his second in all, when Half Barrell justified strong support in the Dromineer Handicap Hurdle. The six-year-old gelding, who also provided the Loughrea claimer with his only previous success in a bumper at the Galway Festival meeting, rallied well in the closing stages to deny the Carberry-ridden Storming Ahead by a short head.
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