Aces proves trumps in sprint maiden

Aces Wild opened his account back in maiden company at Dundalk when landing the six-furlong contest on the card for trainer John McConnell.

The Dandy Man colt was produced to challenge two furlongs from home by Siobhan Rutledge and got on top inside the final furlong to record a three-parts-of-a-length win. Empress Of Bough edged the runner-up spot by a short-head from Un Bacio Ancora

Aces Wild had been narrowly denied over course and distance in November but had been well held in handicap company on his last outing in December.

McConnell said: "He deserved that.

"We made a bit of a mess of him in the last couple of runs, but that was more like it. He's a fast little horse and he's lightly raced and those kind of sprinters improve with age. We are hopeful he will keep the ball rolling.

"He is still a colt so we will probably take those away from him at some stage . He's not colty but he doesn't need them.

"He's for sale probably, so hopefully somebody will come and swoop for him!"

(Quotes by Michael Graham)