Maher off the mark on Flood's Peace N' Milan

Jockey Cian Maher registered his first Irish winner at Gowran today when steering the Fran Flood trained Peace N' Milan to a fourth career win in the Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle.

Maher moved the daughter of Milan to the front after the second last and from there the pair maintained their lead before scoring a three and a half lengths win over staying on 9/4 favourite Graineyhill

Flood later said “it's nice to get a winner at a big meeting like this and she loves that ground. We were searching for a place to find ground deep enough. She's coped with it everywhere she's gone and I dropped her back to two-and-a-half today and it worked out lovely.”

He added “Cian is with us about two-and-a-half months. He's from Monasterevin and that's his first winner in Ireland but he had two winners in Britain for Evan Williams.

“I liked the way he rode straight away and he listens and is intelligent. On the young horses we have schooling at home, they all jump well for him.

“I'm delighted to have him, he's a good young lad to have in the yard and he definitely did nothing wrong there. Hopefully it's the first of many for him.”

Quotes from Gary Carson