Presenting Percy makes winning debut over fences at Galway

Cheltenham Festival hero Presenting Percy made a successful start to his career over fences in the W.B. Gavin & Co. Irish EBF Beginners Chase at Galway.

The six-year-old provided trainer Patrick Kelly with his second successive victory in the Pertemps Final at Prestbury Park in March, with the previous year's winner, Mall Dini, also featuring in this eight-runner contest.

Presenting Percy was an 11-4 chance in the hands of Davy Russell and travelled and jumped fluently throughout the two-mile-six-furlong affair.

De Plotting Shed, the 2-1 favourite for his fencing bow, did his best to make a race of it from the home turn, but Presenting Percy brushed him aside fairly readily by three lengths.

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Kelly said: “I’m happy and Davy is very happy, so that’s a good sign. Today we were starting him out and we’ll see where we go from here. He jumps well and he should do (make as good a chaser as hurdler).

“It was a very good race and now it’s just a matter of giving him enough experience.

“There’s plenty of improvement there and he’s an exciting horse for the future, once he stays.”

Mall Dini was fifth on his first appearance since occupying the same finishing position in last season's Kim Muir.

Half The Odds caused a minor upset in the opening galwayraces.com Mares Maiden Hurdle.

Three-time bumper winner Ainsi Va La Vie was the 1-2 favourite to maintain her unbeaten record on her first start over jumps, but could only finish third behind Noel Meade's 10-1 shot, ridden by Jonathan Moore.

Moore said: “She jumps brilliant, winged the last and I always knew we’d get by them after that.”