A round-up of the pick of the action from Navan on Sunday as Gavin Cromwell's mare Theemeraldempress made her mark on debut over hurdles.
Huff puts in good debut effort
Huff'n'puff ultimately ran out a two and a half-length winner of the opening BAR 1 Casino 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle, claiming another winner for in-form trainer Henry De Bromhead.
The 3/1 chance, who was a Flat winner at Roscommon in May this year, was ridden to victory by Jordan Gainford but the race was not without drama as Huff'n'puff adjusted quite markedly to his right at the first flight, resulting in Nustty (18/1) and 125/1 chance Arizona Star to unseat their riders.
He continued to jump a little sketchily but settled into a rhythm in behind Norman Prince, who also jumped right at times, before arriving to challenge on the long run to the final flight.
Huff'n'puff quickened well before producing his best leap at the last and stayed on well to beat the staying-on Glen Echo (33/1) and Sunrush (6/1).
Paddy Power and Sky Bet introduced the winner at 33/1 for the JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March, the Grade 1 contest his stable won with Quilixios under Rachael Blackmore in 2021.
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The Gavin Cromwell-trained Theemeraldempress (11/2) won the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Maiden Hurdle by a length from Royale Walk.
The trainer told Racing TV: "She's such a straightforward, simple mare at home. We didn't really know how good she was. But she's done that very well - she travelled well, jumped well and stayed on very well.
"We bought her at the Aintree sale after winning her point-to-point and Sean Doyle recommended her on the day, he was bullish about her and you have to take his word."
The winner was added to Paddy Power's antepost market for the Cheltenham Festival Mares' Novices' Hurdle at 25/1 and asked whether Theemeraldempress might me the type to progress into a potential contender, Cromwell said: "Yes, I think so, we very much think she could be. Who knows where she'll end up. The ones that don't show you a whole pile at home do tend to be the better ones."
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