Cork thriller gets the hunter chase campaign off to a flying start

We had two fixtures on Sunday with noteworthy performances from horses and riders alike. Despite that, my idea of the highlight of the weekend action was the hunter chase at Cork.

This is a great addition to the calendar and it produced a very competitive race with a thrilling finish involving two locally-trained horses, Maxine O'Sullivan on It Came To Pass for her father Eugene and Johnny Hurley on Wrong Direction for Seamus Spillane.

There was virtually nothing between them, and perhaps it was the greater experience of It Came To Pass which made the difference. He has won four hunter chases, the first for Jim Culloty in 2015, and now three this year for Eugene, who is planning to aim him at the Foxhunter at Cheltenham.