Blackstair opens Flat account in style

Blackstairmountain proved a cosy winner of the amateur riders maiden for the father/son combination of Willie and Patrick Mullins. Abroad stretched the field when kicking on before the straight in the 1m4f contest but the 5/4f always had him in his sights.

The dual bumper winner closed the gap turning for home and collared the front-runner in the final furlong before going on for a four-length victory.

"He was a bit slow out of the stalls today again. It was the same at Leopardstown last time and I was a bit concerned about that," said Mullins senior.

"He's improving all the time and I'm very happy to win this today. He goes out to grass tomorrow morning and will be back around Christmas to run over hurdles.

"I hope he can make it at the top level over hurdles. He's not really a winter ground horse but he'll go on it."