Dream start over fences for Meade's Conti

Dream Conti (6/4 fav) jumped well and showed good battling qualities to take the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners’ Chase for Noel Meade and Mark Walsh.

The bumper and maiden hurdle winner was always handy and led running down to the final fence, where he wasn’t totally fluent and was headed by Henry de Bromhead’s French import Demain De L’Aube (5/2).

The scopey Lauro gelding battled back well on the run-in to gain a half length verdict, with thirteen lengths back to Final List (7/1) in third place.

The winning rider Mark Walsh, deputizing for the sidelined Sean Flanagan, remarked: “Chasing was always going to be his game with the size of him and he jumped so well he carried me to the front.

"He carried me everywhere and he battled well after the last as he was slow at the last.

“It was a nice performance and he is a lovely horse for chasing.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes