RACING: A videotape of yesterday's Naas meeting is likely to receive some heavy use around Ardee for some time to come after the Co Louth trainer Harry Rogers saddled the first ever treble of his career.

The highlight of the 815 to 1 three timer was undoubtedly Moon Unit's success in the Listed Sprint Stakes as she powered home under Michael Kinane to add to last month's victory in the Greenlands Stakes.

As expected, the odds-on Osterhase blazed from the front in an attempt to repeat last year's win in the race, but he was collared first by the English raider If Paradise and then by Moon Unit who pounced in the last 100 yards.

"She is better with a dig in the ground, but there was no jar there and the leader gave us a fast gallop. Mick was very good on her too," said Rogers whose horses have been in great form generally and who hit the nine winner mark for the season yesterday.

Success as a trainer has certainly come more consistently for Rogers than it did during a long if sometimes hard career as a jumps jockey. "I could have ridden a treble at Tramore once. I know I rode a few doubles there, but I'm not sure about three," he recalled yesterday. "But that's my first ever treble as a trainer. It will probably be my last for a long time!"

It might not be wise to take short odds on that as the good form of the Rogers string was perfectly shown by Skerries in the opening fillies handicap.

The saddle slipped on the ex-Con Collins trained filly as she left the stalls, but her rider, the 7lb claimer Chris Hayes, was decisive and kicked Skerries into a lead that she kept all the way to the line.

"I had to ride the race with the saddle around her neck," reported Hayes to an impressed trainer who said: "Fair dues, he is a good little rider. He used his head and went on."

Kieren Fallon teamed up to complete the treble on the favourite Take A Tangle in the six furlong handicap and that was the last leg of a three timer for the top jockey as well.

Hippodrome was just a second reserve for the 10-furlong maiden but when his stable companion Down Mexico Way was withdrawn with a stone bruise, the son of Montjeu got a run and made it count with narrow defeat of Society Milliner. Yet again the runner-up didn't look the most industrious when briefly hitting the front, but even a subsequent stewards enquiry couldn't get him into the number one spot.

Fallon's highlight, though, was undoubtedly Rumplestiltskin who kept her unbeaten record in the Listed Swordlestown Stud Stakes after briefly looking in trouble at halfway.

However, Aidan O'Brien's filly powered through to beat Waterways and she did it in a time over a second faster than Take A Tangle. Significantly, she also recorded a faster time than last year's winner Damson who raced on good to firm ground compared to yesterday's good. The runner up Waterways ran a good race under her penalty and could run next in the Group Three Albany Stakes at York next week.

There was considerable confidence behind Empirical Power's chance in the seven furlong conditions race and Eddie Lynam's horse justified it by making all under Declan McDonogh.

"Our horses haven't been running well, but I would have been worried if he had run bad," said Lynam who will now aim the winner at the Buckingham Palace Stakes, the last race on Day Three of York next week.

Empirical Power's chance was helped when favourite One More Round was all but pulled up in the straight. He was reported to have pulled muscles in his back leaving the stalls.

The concluding handicap went to Soviet Treat who held off Dipterious and Gavemers who made a decent attempt at providing his trainer Harry Rogers with a fourth winner.