Racing: Willie Mullins was delighted with Hedgehunter after his ninth-placed finish in the UL Bohemians Raceday Hurdle at Limerick.
The 2005 John Smith's Grand National winner made a satisfactory return from a knee injury yesterday in a race won in good style by the Leondard Whitmore-trained Wishwillow Lord.
Hedgehunter was always towards the rear in the two-mile event and Ruby Walsh was not hard on the 11-year-old when it became clear he would not be involved in the finish.
Having stayed on to pass some beaten rivals late in the day, Walsh's mount eventually came home well behind the principles.
Mullins said: "I'm delighted with that and he jumped great and was staying on at the end, which you'd expect as two miles was much too short for him.
"He was certainly going a lot better at the end than he was at the start."
VC Bet, Coral and Ladbrokes were nonplussed by Hedgehunter's preparatory spin ahead of Aintree's four-and-a-half-mile marathon on April 14 and left him unchanged at 14-1.