Icare Allen sets Walsh and McManus on road to big-race double

Saturday: Fairyhouse

Icare Allen put himself back in the Triumph Hurdle picture with a smooth success in the opening Norman Colfer Winning Fair Juvenile Hurdle.

It gave rider Mark Walsh and owner JP McManus the first leg of a double, completed later by Any Second Now, in the two feature races of the day.

The French-bred was cut to 20-1 from 33s by Paddy Power for the JCB Triumph Hurdle as he bids to emulate the stable's last winner of this race, Burning Victory, who won the 2020 Triumph in fortunate circumstances with the last-flight unseating of Goshen.

It was a good comeback by Icare Allen after his limitations were exposed at the Dublin Racing Festival. Here, his jumping was not always the most fluent, but he had too much speed for his rivals and scored by a convincing seven-and-a-half lengths from Prairie Dancer with December's Aintree winner White Pepper in third.

Trainer Willie Mullins said: "He jumped better and he was just a lot better here today than at Leopardstown. He's in the Boodles and he's in the Triumph; we just haven't made up our minds which race we will go for yet."

Track specialists have their day

Following horses for courses would have been a lucrative betting strategy, and the one who may have the brightest future is the Arthur Moore-trained Carrig Sam.

Donagh Meyler: saw double at FairyhouseCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

He followed up his maiden success here on New Year's Day by landing the 2m4f handicap hurdle on his initial foray into this discipline.

Under Donagh Meyler, he made most of the running and pulled out some very good jumps, holding off the more experienced Ten Ten by a length-and-a-half with Homme D'Un Soir a close third.

Moore said: "He's a lovely horse. He was bought by my son J.D. out of a point-to-point and he has just a lovely temperament. He lobbed along in front there. Nothing fazes him and he is going to make a really lovely chaser.

"We will probably give him one more run over hurdles this season, back here at Easter or at Punchestown. He has a nice future."

Frankie and Regina double act

Where's Frankie kept the horses-for-courses act going in the following 2m7f handicap hurdle, winning for the third time at this venue in 2022, and giving Meyler a quick double.

That hat-trick consists of two wins over hurdles and one over fences, with trainer Karl Thornton confirming he will return here for a handicap chase in early April.

The Tom Gibney-trained mare Regina Dracones landed her third contest at Fairyhouse and her first there over fences when staying on strongly to land the rated novice chase under Jack Foley.

Results, replays and analysis

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