After finishing in the money on his last couple of starts, Golden Wonder gained a deserved victory in the Western Motors Skoda Maiden Hurdle, scoring under Roger Loughran for his boss Dessie Hughes.

The seven-year-old son of Goldmark opened at 6/1 this morning with Paddy Power but was well-supported and opened on-course at just 4/1, going off the 7/2 joint-favourite.

Sent to the front before the third last, he asserted two out, and despite making a slight mistake at the last, he kept on strongly on the run-in to score by eight and a half lengths. Georges Conn ran on well to take second at 16/1 under Davy Condon for Gordon Elliott while Romeo Is Bleeding was further half a length back in third under Eddie O’Connell for Eoin Doyle at 5/1. Sam Da Vinci was the other joint favourite, but he could only manage a disappointing fifth under Danny Mullins for his father Tony.

Dessie Hughes said afterwards: “We were lucky they watered it so well and he got away with it.

"I’ve been looking for a three mile hurdles for him and he’ll probably go for a beginners chase now although he would want a decent cut in the ground over fences."

The winner is owned by former Fine Gael TD Paddy Cooney, who was the Minister for Justice back in the seventies.

Additional reporting by Alan Magee