Mark Roper, who has a string of 12 horses at his Curragh yard, saddled his first double at Ballinrobe yesterday. Clear Blue Water, which beat subsequent 1996 Yorkshire Oakes heroine Key Change in a Leopardstown maiden as a juvenile only to lose the contest in the stewards room, opened his account over hurdles in the Ballinrobe Maiden Hurdle under Tom Rudd to spark off the 134 to 1 brace.

Broken Rites defied top weight in the Lough Mask Handicap to provide 19-year-old Kildare-born rider Angela Matthews with her first success since graduating from the apprentice centre RACE. Navan-born Steven Curtis (15), crowned champion junior pony rider last year, also recorded his first success in the plate when partnering the Lee Bowles-trained Soviet Dreamer to just pip Mystic Ring and Michael Black, who carried 4lb overweight, by the minimum margin.

Edward O'Grady, who decided to make the trip west after his only declared runner, Red Piper, at the Curragh pulled out lame yesterday morning, landed the Ballinrobe New Stand Handicap Hurdle with Clashbeg who under an inspired drive from Norman Williamson scored narrowly from Honey Trader and Paul Hourigan after the pair battled it out from the final flight.

"Her owner Paddy McLoughney is in Limerick Regional hospital and hopefully that will cheer him up. I suppose in time she will jump fences but for the moment it's more of the same," said O'Grady. Balbriggan handler Pat Cluskey saddled Eloquent way to record her second win at the venue when storming home by four lengths under David Mason.