Rarely does a horse tie up as dramatically as Clopf did in the Limestone Lad Hurdle but that was hardly surprising given the storm force winds. He had looked certain to score when going on away from the last but Aitmatov (5/2 in the morning into 13/8) picked him off to prevail by a length and a half to complete a double for Noel Meade and Paul Carberry.

Meade said: "I kicked myself that I didn't have him in the three mile hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas. The ground turned out to be quite good there and it was an awful mistake by me. If he does go to Cheltenham it would be for the World Hurdle but the two and a half miler at Aintree might be more likely. There are also plenty of suitable races for him at home. He is a lot better on better ground."

After this event the steward's began an inspection to see if the fixture could continue. The next race was given the go ahead with a further review then planned.(EM)