Willie Mullins-trained leader jumps wrong obstacle and is forced to be pulled up in bizarre incident at Naas

'Wasn't it spectacular the way he never even touched the top of the rail?'

There was drama at Naas as the Willie Mullins-trained Road To Home blew his chance when jumping the wrong obstacle while leading the 2m2½f maiden hurdle.

The 5-1 shot was ridden by Brian Hayes and had been jumping well on his first start over hurdles before the incident approaching the second-last.

Footage courtesy of racingtv.com

Hayes rode him tight to the rail turning in but his mount spotted a spur, used for marking, and leaped right over it. The incident meant he had taken the wrong course and he was pulled up by Hayes.

The 9-4 joint-favourite Lovely Hurling capitalised on the mistake to win for Mark Walsh and trainer Colm Murphy.

Ireland's champion trainer took the bizarre incident in good spirts and said: "I didn't get a chance to talk to Brian about it, but wasn't it spectacular the way he never even touched the top of the rail? If you could have a three-day eventer that could do that in the middle of a field you would be delighted!"

Road To Home added to what was becoming a frustrating day for Mullins after Murcia was a neck second earlier on the card and evens favourite Gala Marceau finished third in Warwick's Listed Mares' Hurdle.

However, later at Naas two of his top mares fought out the three-runner Listed Opera Hat Chase virtually between themselves, and in a close finish Dinoblue got the better of slightly better-fancied stablemate Allegorie De Vassy.

The winner now shades favouritism for the Mares' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival at odds of 11-4 with bet365, just in front of Bioluminescence, who like Dinoblue is owned by JP McManus.

Mullins is still fresh from a Grade 1 haul at last week's Dublin Racing Festival, where he claimed six of the marquee prizes with the likes of Galopin Des Champs, State Man, Ballyburn and Kopek Des Bordes.