At odds of 1/5 City Island scored with the minimum of fuss in the opening Connolly's Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Novice Hurdle at Naas.

Mark Walsh aboard the Ballymore Novice Hurdle aspirant (unchanged at 8/1 with Paddy Power) only had front runner The Echo Boy and the final couple of flights to worry about in the straight.

Owned by Bernardine and Sean Mulryan and trained by Martin Brassil, City Island stamped his authority on proceedings from between the last two to account for his aforementioned rival by seven lengths.

“It was an ideal race for him to have a run before he goes over. They are mad keen to have a horse to run in their own race (the Mulryans in the Ballymore) at Cheltenham and thankfully we might have fallen on one,” said Brassil.

“It's been the plan since Galway and we just picked out a couple of races to fit in. Hopefully it will be onwards and upwards from here, as long as there is racing.

“He jumps very well. We might as well be running around for a few quid as running around for nothing.

“He's a nice horse to have. Mark said he'll probably get three miles in time so the trip of the Cheltenham race won't be an inconvenience anyway, I wouldn't think.”

(GC & EM)