Pour Pavore was the well supported (7/1 — 9/2) winner of the opening Wexford Racecourse Maiden Hurdle (division I) at Wexford today, scoring for trainer Gavin Cromwell and jockey Conor Maxwell.

Today's race was confined to horses which had not placed previously but the son of Pour Moi did finish third in a point-to-point last December and today, in a first-time tongue-tie, stayed going well to eventually hold the challenge of Corey Lord by three parts of a length.

Afterwards Maxwell stated “I sat on him and schooled him at home but that was my first time to ride him on the track. It went well today and the race just fell apart on the ground. They went a nice enough even gallop. I just slotted him in, switched off and he jumped well.

"He has point-to-point form and he stayed every bit of the trip and got there well. He is probably a future chaser in time. His first few maiden hurdle efforts weren't too inspiring but the race just fell apart today.

"This ground with summer horses, they just stopped turning in and three of us kept going and my fella just kept going better than any of them. It's nearly like winter ground, it's that wet we are just slopping through it."

Quotes from Donal Murphy