Volkis scores for Slattery/Ferris

Jockey Martin Ferris made use of his spare ride on the Andy Slattery trained Volkis O’Bleu (25/1), which went on to win the Hen Party Heaven at the Festival Handicap Hurdle at Punchestown today.

Ferris, who was substituting for Mike Darcy, was made work hard on the blinkered son of Rochesson who looked far from straightforward on the run-in but eventually held the challenge of Up The Girls by two and a quarter lengths.

Afterwards Slattery said “Martin (Ferris) did a good job. The whole secret to him is jumping – you don’t ask him, he has his own way of jumping. Today he was brilliant.

"He has now won two races and that’s more than a lot of them have done! We’ll look for something similar next.”