Despite being far from fluent throughout, Bosman Rule proved to be much too good for his seven rivals in the three mile maiden hurdle at Listowel that kicked off the seven day Harvest Festival.

The 1/3 favourite, trained by Willie Mullins, raced second and tracked Deise Vu throughout. He made several mistakes before hitting the front after the third last flight. Vision Du Coeur looked to be a danger, but blundered his chance away at that hurdle and almost unseated Robbie Power. That severely halted his progress.

Bosman Rule asserted before the last hurdle and was eased on the run-in as he won by 14 lengths from Little Vinnie (16/1) who stayed on to take second from Deise Vu.

Jockey Paul Townend said: “It was a messy race and we only sauntered. In a better race he’d jump better. His last two jumps when he was racing were his best. He’s a horse that needs good ground.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes