Donoghue successful on first ride back

A hurdles winner at Down Royal last month, O'Faolains Glory (3/1) made a winning start over fences in the Paddy Madine Tareesh Memorial Handicap Chase.

On his first ride back from a thumb injury which cost him a few winners at Punchestown, Keith Donoghue gave the mare a dashing ride from the front and having seen off the challenge of market leader Erigmoor halfway up the run-in, she held the late thrust of One And Only by half a length. 

Donoghue, whose brother Ian trains the seven-year-old for the Glory Hunters Syndicate, said: "I haven't done much in two weeks! I broke the top of my thumb and had a bad cut on it as well. The cut was nearly worse than the break. I got it stitched up and got an operation on it and a bit of a wire in it, but it seems okay.

 "Ian has a good job done schooling with her and she had been round a couple of point-to-point tracks and that. 

"We knew that's the way to ride her, go hard. She pulled herself up a bit, but thankfully we held on. 

"They were important (jumps over the last two fences) - I thought at the last I was going to win easy enough, but I was just glad the line came then."

Quotes from Michael Graham