Galway Festival: Indian Pace (7-1), trained by John Kiely, came late in the day to claim the Guinness Galway Hurdle at Ballybrit this afternoon.
Ridden by apprentice Paul Townend, the seven-year-old was full of running at the line and denied the challenge of Eagle's Pass. Northern Alliance and Dariak filled the minor placings in the two-mile showpiece.
Kiely said: "It's 10 years since I've had a runner in this race so I'm thrilled. I was always hopeful and always confident he'd run a big race, especially when the ground turned soft."
The trainer added: "After the Pierse Hurdle we always had this race in mind. We thought the race would suit him well, providing the ground was not too quick. We gave him a couple of races on the Flat and the blinkers kept him going.
"Paul gave him a grand ride. He's an up-and-coming young rider and his 5lb claim made the difference. We'll probably go chasing now later this year."
Townend, who only rode his first winner over hurdles at Bellewstown earlier this month, added: "This is unbelievable and I got a lovely run through the race. He was very tough all the way to the line."
Michael Kelly, who heads the syndicate responsible for Indian Pace, said: "It was a reasonable run on Monday but things went to plan this time. It's a great day as we only have one horse in training. Guinness sponsor this race so we might have one or two of them later on."
Thomond O'Mara, trainer of runner-up Eagle's Pass, said: "He's run a cracker. The race didn't pan out as we'd hoped as he got there a bit too soon. It could have been worse, we could have finished second-last. There's a big race in him but we just came across one too good on the day."
Tasman landed the opening race of the day, the Guinness Beginners Chase at Galway, under an enterprising ride from Barry Geraghty.
Liam McAteer's charge tracked the leaders from the off and forged clear of the field going towards the last. The 7-1 shot then stayed on well up the run-in to score by four and a half lengths from Beautiful Vision, with Tylers Cottage back in third.
Favourite Uncle Junior cruised into contention going down the back straight but blundered badly four out. Ruby Walsh did well to maintain the partnership and eventually the pair stayed on into fourth place.
McAteer said: "We'd left this horse alone for a last couple of months and this is fantastic. He's a lovely horse to train and we are lucky to have him."
The Davy Fitzgerald-trained Skip Two took the Guinness Novice Chase by a length under Barry Cash.
Cash produced the 9-1 chance at the top of the hill and kicked away from his rivals turning into the straight. Although he was strongly challenged, he stayed on gamely to deny 2-1 favourite Dreamy Gent, with Clew Bay Lodge back in third.
Fitzgerald said: "I was afraid of the ground and the trip because he was stepping back in distance. He is improving all the time and did it very well. The plan would now be to go for the Kerry National (Listowel, September 17th), with the long-term view being next year's Galway Plate.
"He has now proved he can get up that hill."
Define outpointed British raider No Panic in a head-bobbing finish to the St James's Gate Novice Hurdle. Peter Bowen's charge picked up the gauntlet at the last, having brushed aside the close attentions of a clutch of rivals, and galloped strongly to the line under Tom O'Brien.
Connections of the 7-1 shot had not counted on the late progress of Define, however, who initiated a pulsechasing run-in. Although Denis O'Regan dropped his whip at the death, the James Motherway-trained five-year-old (10-1) stayed on for a short-head verdict.
Galway Results
1.50 Guinness Beginners Chase
1st 10 Tasman (IRE) 7-1
2nd 1 Beautiful Vision (IRE) 8-1
3rd 17 Tylers Cottage 7-1
Winning Trainer L McAteer
Winning Jockey B J Geraghty
Distances 4 1/2l, 1 3/4l
Unpl. Fav Uncle Junior 11-8 fav
Runners 18 ran
Non runners 19, 20, 21
2.25 Guinness Novice Chase
1st 1 Skip Two (IRE) 9-1
2nd 3 Dreamy Gent (IRE) 2-1 F
3rd 2 Clew Bay Lodge (IRE) 5-2
Winning Trainer D E Fitzgerald
Winning Jockey B M Cash
Distances 1l
Runners 9 ran
3.00 St James's Gate Novice Hurdle
1st 2 Define (IRE) 10-1
2nd 4 No Panic (IRE) 7-1
3rd 8 Lucky Wish 13-8 F
Winning Trainer J Motherway
Winning Jockey D F O'Regan
Runners 13 ran
3.40 Guinness Galway Hurdle Handicap
1st 18 Indian Pace (IRE) 7-1
2nd 6 Eagle's Pass (IRE) 11-1
3rd 11 Northern Alliance (IRE) 7-2 F
4th 13 Dariak (FR) 25-1
Winning Trainer J E Kiely
Winning Jockey P Townend
Runners 20 ran
Non runners 21, 22, 23
4.25 Guinness Surge Handicap
1st 8 Tin Town Boy (IRE) 25-1
2nd 13 Noubian (USA) 20-1
3rd 18 Hadarama (IRE) 9-1
4th 12 Golden Applause (FR) 33-1
Winning Trainer H Rogers
Winning Jockey M Harley
Distances 3/4l
Unpl. Fav Gentleman Jeff 5-2 fav
Runners 18 ran
Non runners 16, 20, 21
5.00 Guinness & Oysters EBF Fillies Handicap
1st 8 Miranda's Girl (IRE) 5-1
2nd 5 Fictional Account (IRE) 7-1
3rd 9 Holly Hawk (IRE) 14-1
Winning Trainer T Cleary
Winning Jockey R P Cleary
Distances 3/4l
Unpl. Fav Ghostmilk 5-2 fav
Runners 10 ran
5.35 Arthur Guinness Handicap
1st 2 Maundy Money 11-2
2nd 10 Billy Dane (IRE) 11-1
3rd 7 Shayrazan (IRE) 20-1
4th 5 Varsity 9-1
Winning Trainer D Marnane
Winning Jockey C O'Donoghue
Unpl. Fav Absolute Image 5-1 fav
Runners 18 ran
Non runners 19, 20
6.05 Guinness Storehouse INH Flat Race
1st 11 Noble Commander (IRE) 8-1
2nd 6 Eirinn's Rock (IRE) 11-2
3rd 12 Persian City (IRE) 2-1 F
Winning Trainer J Halpin
Winning Jockey Mr A T Duff
Distances sh, sh
Runners 20 ran
Non runners 21, 22, 23