The Glow-Worm pleases

"Cheltenham here we come. I'll slow McCririck down," exclaimed Monaghan trainer Oliver Brady after his charge, The GlowWorm, justified strong support in the Kehoe Acoustics Maiden Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

"The Monaghan flyer, the Monaghan flyer...he's a good horse," shouted the jubilant trainer in the winner's enclosure after his £20,000 purchase came home 12 lengths clear of Dawn's Double.

"Nobody schools them better than me and he'll run in either the first race on the Tuesday (Supreme Novices' Hurdle) or the Vincent O'Brien Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham," Brady added.

Some punters had helped themselves to the 5 to 1 available about The Glow-Worm before racing.

Favourite backers met with a reverse in the next race, the Normans Grove Chase, having plunged on Ollimar. Sent of at 5 to 4, Ollimar failed to quicken at the business end when asked the question by rider Tommy Treacy, eventually finishing nine lengths adrift of pillar-to-post winner Mr Baxter Basics and Jason Titley. Klairon Davis put in his best performance of the current campaign when splitting the pair, four lengths adrift of the Tom Taaffe-trained 10 to 1 winner .

Titley was back in the winner's enclosure after the Kilsallaghan Beginners Chase, having scored on Noel Meade's Greenstead, with the better fancied stable-companion Sun Strand back in fourth. It might have been a different story had the well-backed Nibalda, who joined the leader approaching the final fence, not unseated Barry Geraghty.

Earlier, Geraghty extended his lead at the head of the title race to 10 when winning on Frances Crowley's Sackville in the INH Novice Hurdle. Meade completed a double when 14 to 1 shot Paddy's Pet scored under Tommy Treacy after 9 to 2 market leader The Fox Inn, also trained by him, came to grief at the second fence.