The daughter of Toulon, who will now go out to stud, was accompanied on the journey to Navan by her stable companion Limestone Lad, who boasted an equally impressive record at the venue, with eight of his 35 wins having been recorded there. Solerina's beaten rivals included Back In Front, Hardy Eustace and Kicking King. So it was no wonder that her owner John Bowe commented, as the duo were paraded in front of the stands after the fourth race, "I'll never have another one like her in my lifetime. It's a very emotional day for us all."

Meanwhile at the Meath track, division one of the Manor Farm Chickens Maiden Hurdle was won by 11/4 favourite Undergraduate, representing the brother and sister team of jockey Billy Lee and trainer Susan Finn.

Elsewhere, across the water at Sandown, there was a big win for Irish trainer Adrian McGuinness in the featured Sunderlands' Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle when his charge Victram landed victory at 8-1.

Bouncing back from a disappointing defeat over course and distance last December, a power-packed display from the Irish raider saw him brought from the back by jockey Andrew Lynch to slice through the field and power home.

Ahead of the biggest week in the National Hunt calender, Cheltenham officials are expecting no more than half an inch of rain before the festival meeting kicks off. The going remains unchanged as good, good to soft in places, but with some colder weather due to hit the country, track officials believe they may even see some snow over the next 48 hours.