Dorans Weir the apple of Hourigan's eye

Dorans Weir built upon her eye-catching piece of form at Leopardstown to land the Listed mares' bumper in Fairyhouse.

She was driven to the front in the straight by Eoin O'Brien but had Pink In The Park upsides in the final quarter of a mile.

Dorans Weir got the better of that rival approaching the final furlong and kept up the gallop to win by a length and a quarter at 9/2. Pink In The Park, the 7/4 favourite, came in second and she was half a length in front of stablemate Nikini (9/4).

“She's a good mare, she's a dream and I'm lucky to have her. She's the one that will keep me going for another few years,” said trainer Michael Hourigan.

“She should have won in Leopardstown but maybe if she'd won there she wouldn't have won today as she would have had another 3lb.

“We'll look at Punchestown now, we'll go for the Grade 3 mares' bumper.

“She has already run in a hurdle race and finished fifth. If she doesn't run at Punchestown she'll be going on her holidays.

“I have only 12 horses riding out but I wouldn't give away any one of them. They've all run well and are young horses.

“I'm loving it but the problem we have is no staff, it would break your heart. Fellas come in and ride out but some days they don't come in at all.

“The days they don't come in you lunge them and school them in the loose school. It's just a nightmare, I would not like to be starting out and I love what I'm doing. I'm 60 years at it now and I'll be 75 at Christmas.”

Dorans Weir was beaten three parts of a length into second in a Leopardstown bumper at Christmas by The Very Man who went on to win the Grade One Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival.

Additional reporting by Gary Carson