Spread Boss Ted stepped up considerably from his first start over flights to run out a convincing winner of the opening Irish Stallion Owners EBF Maiden Hurdle at Navan.

The Willie Mullins trained six-year-old had won his bumper at Kilbeggan over the summer but could only manage sixth at Naas last month on his initial outing over hurdles.

However, that experience was certainly not lost on the Roger Brookhouse owned gelding, who put up a much more polished performance this afternoon.

Tracking the leaders throughout, jockey Danny Mullins produced Spread Boss Ted to challenge race favourite Teuchters Glory early in the straight. The latter found more to press on after two out but was never able to shake off the attentions of the eventual winner.

Spread Boss Ted stayed on strongly for pressure on the approach to the final flight, where he headed his main rival before keeping on strongly to land odds of 2/1 by three-and-a-half lengths.

“It was a good performance dropping back in trip. He maybe got under one or two hurdles down the back but in fairness he sharpened up as the race went on,” said Danny Mullins.

“We got to see the improvement we wanted to see after Naas, he was a bit disappointing there and that was a bit more like it today.

“For a horse with a bit of experience he was still a bit raw but that's nice to see and hopefully he can build on it in the future again.

“Today at two miles he learned as the race went on and possibly a truly run two miles will suit him.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson.