Kauto Relko put up a grand display on his fourth appearance in public when he took the Irish Racing Yearbook Maiden Hurdle to bring up a 14 and a half to one treble for rider Paul Townend.
Townend had earlier scored on the Willie Mullins pair, Quel Esprit and Golden Silver Obviously oozing confidence, he arrived with his challenge in the famous Graham Roach silks in the straight and a mighty leap by the half-brother to Kauto Star at the last, sealed the issue, as he went on to beat Gold Cygnet by two and a half lengths.
Winning trainer, Liam Burke said: “He’ll be a nice horse next year over a fence. Ruby said we got the tactics wrong in Gowran the last day when he was keen, he said that he should have let him bowl along a bit more.
“Unusually for a French-bred he has just needed time. A full-brother to him, either a three or a four-year-old has won three in France this year. This fellow is a big raw narrow horse and he’ll probably stay with me for this season.
“He improved from Gowran the last day. He could win a good race in spring and somewhere like Aintree could be on his agenda. He has a lot to live up to but he is going the right way.”
