'I'd say there's an awful lot of improvement in him' - Gordon Elliott targeting spring festivals with impressive Dee Capo

Gordon Elliott saddled his fourth winner of the weekend and has the home spring festivals to look forward to with the lightly raced Dee Capo, who readily accounted for some more vaunted rivals in the 2m2f conditions hurdle under Danny Gilligan.

The winner produced a nice turn of foot from the last to see off Ashdale Bob by a length and three-quarters to give Elliott options over the next couple of months.

 "We came here short of work and I'd say there's an awful lot of improvement in him," the tainer said. "He had a couple of quick runs in November so we decided to freshen him up and come back for the spring. I'd imagine he could go to Fairyhouse or Aintree. He's a good horse."

It was a bittersweet couple of days for jockeys' championship leader Jack Kennedy, though, with suspension ruling him out of Elliott's four weekend winners.

Brideswell is the lad

There was a shock in the feature Listed handicap chase when 33-1 shot Brideswell Lad scored for Wexford trainer Seamus Neville.

But there was no fluke about the victory under Brian Hayes as the winner took it up at the second-last and galloped on resolutely to see off the persistent challenge of the luckless Battle Of Mirbat by a length and three-quarters.

Brideswell Lad: 33-1 winner at LeopardstownCredit: Patrick McCann

Neville said: "He'd lost his form a little but we felt he was getting there. He had a very heavy fall at Listowel in September and it took him a long time to get over it. He's a very ground-dependent horse; the soft today was not a Navan soft, for example.

"We'll go to Fairyhouse and Punchestown and keep him going for the summer."

A bird in the hand . . .

Paul Gilligan pointed to a conspicuous white stain on the front of his trousers where a bird had left its mark.

He said: "Look at that. It happened when I stopped for diesel on the way here, and the wife told me not to wipe it off. It could be lucky!" 

It certainly did not prove bad luck for the Galway trainer, who heads to Cheltenham with three horses, and the victory of Zeeband in the opportunity maiden hurdle will have given him plenty of confidence.

Ridden by the trainer's son Jack, the winner showed a good attitude from the final flight to see off Master Otis by a neck, and in the process put a lacklustre effort at Navan last time behind him.

Gilligan, who has Kings Hill, Buddy One and Sequestered going to Cheltenham, said: "We shouldn't really have run him at Navan. He had run a great race at Fairyhouse a few days earlier and it just came too soon. 

"We had to run him really because his owner Paul Carty was over from Boston. He looked like winning turning in but the four-day gap just told. He's a winner now."

He added: "We'll have a bit of fun with him. It's great to have a winner at a place like this, especially with horses going to Cheltenham."

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