A week after his last racecourse appearance, that being at Ballinrobe, Ballinroe Bob showed his appreciation for encountering a sound surface for the first time when holding on by a neck in the Martinstown Opportunity Handicap Hurdle.

Eoin McCarthy's mount made a bad mistake at the last and drifted to his left on the run-in but he just did enough to fend off Jimmy Maguire

Winning trainer, Tom Cooper said: "He is a great jumper and the nice ground probably helped him. He is slow enough and he'll go over fences."