Walsh said "He's a good old staying horse and he'll run next in either the Troytown Chase at Navan or in the Hennessy at Newbury. Some day he could turn up at Aintree."

Edward O'Grady's German import Catch Me, a three time winner on the flat, opened his account over timber with a smooth two length success under Barry Geraghty in the Naas Annual Membership Maiden Hurdle.

The winning trainer said of the 8-11 favourite, "He's over the first hurdle and will run again in about two weeks time either here or at Navan.

He's not quite the finished article, and needs to polish up his jumping." Catch Me remains the 8-1 favourite for the Sun Alliance Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The Michael O'Brientrained Le Toscan, with Robbie Dunne in the saddle, upset the odds-on favourite Leading Run by nine lengths in the INH Stallion Owners EBF Novice Hurdle.

Meanwhile at Wexford, trainer Noel Meade's Hard Scuffle took the Whites Hotel Maiden Hurdle by two and a half lengths under Denis O'Regan. Meade was on duty at Naas and commented "He's a New Zealand horse who was recommended to me, but just took an awful long time to settle in. I think he's a nice horse and he should make a nice chaser."

O'Regan then completed a quick double courtesy of the top-weight Mission Possible, who took the spoils in the Casey Enterprise Handicap Hurdle by a length, while Hard Scuffle's stable-companion Irish Nation made it a treble for the jockey, and a double for Meade, with success over Holly Tree in the Slaney Horse Feed Maiden Hurdle.