Captain gets Irish off to a flying start

Captain Cee Bee led home a 1-2 for owner J P McManus in the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices Hurdle as the Edward Harty-trained gelding got the better of juvenile Binocular on the uphill climb to the post.

Tony McCoy opted to ride Binocular due to concerns about the softening ground for Captain Cee Bee but Robert Thornton made the most of his opportunity.

He produced the seven-year-old gelding to challenge at the last and, despite a slight mistake, soon got on top to score by two lengths. Snap Tie was a further four and a half lengths back in third.

?It?s a dream come true,? was Harty?s initial reaction after saddling his first ever runner at the Festival. ?I was worried about the ground.?

Thornton, who picked up a three day ban for his use of the whip, reported that his mount didn?t really travel on the good-to-soft surface and ?wants better ground?.

J P McManus said, ?It?s a pity that one has to lose. We knew that Captain Cee Bee had a good preparation for this race but we were a bit concerned whether he was experienced enough.?