Belisarius finally got off the mark as he took the Louth Land Of Legends Race Day 16th May At Dundalk Stadium Maiden under Joseph O’Brien (double for him) for his father Aidan.

A beaten favourite (twice odds-on) on his last three outings, the son of Montjeu again went off the market leader, going to post a 4/7 chance.

His four previous outings were over a mile, and stepped up in trip to a mile and a quarter here he made all, stretching clear under two furlongs out before coming home an easy four and a half lengths to the good. Resiliency finished second on his debut under Wayne Lordan for David Wachman, while Captain Teemo was a further two and a quarter lengths back in third under Gary Carroll for Ger Lyons at 9/2.

Joseph O’Brien said afterwards: "There were no excuses today. He didn’t have to do more than run up to his mark.

"He has been running consistently but he has run into a few good horses. He has always worked like a nice horse at home.

"I couldn’t say that he won’t get another couple of furlongs and I’m hoping he can go on from this."

Additional reporting by Michael Graham