Fairyhouse report:Emmpat returned from a six-month absence to provide the in-form Charlie Swan with success in the final day feature of the Fairyhouse Easter festival, the €130,000 Menolly Homes Handicap Hurdle.
The well-backed winner was a fifth victory in the race for jockey David Casey, who grabbed the initiative in the straight and had three lengths in hand of the runner-up, New Field, with Monoceros in third.
This race also holds a place in Swan's affections, as the 2002 winner Anxious Moments was his first big success as a trainer and, on the back of Sunday's Powers Gold Cup win with One Cool Cookie, the former champion jockey fancied his chances yesterday.
"For the last 10 days, the owner, Mike Mee, has been ringing me asking how the horse was and I kept saying I wished the race was tomorrow. All we wanted was for the ground to dry up," Swan said.
"He had the class to win over a mile and a furlong last year when Kieren Fallon rode him, and he was unlucky when fourth in the Galway Hurdle. We will probably go for the Swinton at Haydock," he added.
"David was cool on him there. If I'd known he'd won it four times already, I might have backed him!"
De Valira went some way to making up for his defeat at Cheltenham with a narrow-neck defeat of Cuan Na Grai in the Grade Two novice hurdle and will now be aimed at the Punchestown festival.
It continued the return to form of Michael O'Brien's horses, and the trainer's representative, Denis Cullen, said: "He didn't have the clearest of passages at Cheltenham, our horses weren't firing at the time and he wasn't man enough for it all. But he came out of it well and it looks like it made a man of him. I imagine we would go to Punchestown as long as the ground doesn't get too quick."
Gemini Lucy also had an unhappy experience at Cheltenham but Jessica Harrington's mare bounced back to winning form with an all-the-way effort in the Dan Moore Handicap Chase.
Old Flame was the only one to get within any kind of striking distance of her, but by the line he had come up 17 lengths short.
"She was in season at Cheltenham and she doesn't really like going left-handed and she has to have top of the ground," explained Harrington of the 5 to 2 favourite.
"She got a bit low at the third last but I think that's the best she has ever jumped."
Gemini Lucy will go next for the Swordlestown Cup at the Punchestown festival.
Paul Carberry took a heavy fall from Robin Du Bois at the second-last in the opener and was stood down for the rest of the day. That cost him a winner on board Carndale, on which "Slippers" Madden deputised to win the three-mile handicap chase by a length.
Bahrain Storm will get the chance to tackle the top juveniles at Punchestown after getting up to beat Financial Reward in the opening hurdle.
"I swear he would have been my fourth Cheltenham winner if he had got into the Fred Winter. He was a certainty, but he missed the ballot by 1lb," said Pat Flynn afterwards.
"I think he could go on and do big things because he has a great attitude. He was always a winner today."
David Casey doubled up on Kranji in the two-mile handicap chase for Arthur Moore, which sealed his award for the leading rider of the meeting, and it was Nina Carberry who got the Noel Meade-trained newcomer Jered home in front of Cuchulains Son in the bumper.
n Yesterday's crowd of 8,559 brought the three-day Easter total to 36,898.
The Tote turnover of €376,346 brought the festival total to €1,431,127, up 11 per cent on last year.
Bookmaker turnover yesterday of over €111,000 brought the total to €1.3 million.
