Triumphant return to action for Off You Go leaves Byrnes beaming

Not seen since winning the valuable coral.ie Hurdle at Leopardstown in February, the Charles Byrnes-trained Off You Go made a triumphant return to action on the first day of this new three-day festival.

The 10-1 shot was very much the outsider of owner JP McManus' two runners in the race, but gradually made up his ground under Mark Enright, and without having the kitchen sink or any heavy utensils thrown at him he emerged victorious by a length and a quarter from the same owner's 6-4 favourite Hearts Are Trumps.

It's not too much of a stretch to envisage this horse turning up in a graded hurdle at some stage this season, but trainer Charles Byrnes is happy enough to stick to big handicaps at this stage.