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Punchestown 2024
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- Loyalty holds all the Cards in Listowel opener
Alan Magee
Loyalty holds all the Cards in Listowel opener
Loyalty Card and Ruby Walsh stretch clear
© Photo Healy Racing
Loyalty Card provided Limerick trainer Austin Leahy with a welcome change of fortune when taking the Jet O'Carroll Memorial Mares Maiden Hurdle in convincing fashion at Listowel.
A 30th winner of the campaign for championship leader Ruby Walsh, the daughter of Daylami settled the issue quickly by sweeping clear before the final flight.
The 5/1 chance stayed on strongly on the run-in to beat Snaidhm by seven lengths, with Conduct Yourself a half-length further back in third.
The four-year-old is owned by Leahy's wife Ellen, and provided the trainer with his first success since Ecoeye won here earlier this year at the June bank holiday meeting.
Leahy said, "She had a good run here earlier this year, and Ruby said he was not out on the track when the starter let them go at Cork the last day and as a result she could never get competitive.
"She won in Dundalk last year, and may go back there but this time over two miles."