The gambled-on Elegant Statesman (eventually finished fourth) dictated things in front in the opening Topaz Novice Hurdle at Galway but he had no answer when things hotted up entering the straight.

Davy Condon led on the mare, Que Pasa at that point, and she battled tenaciously on the run-in to beat Shamar Diplomat (bidding to follow-up yesterday's win and carrying a 3Ib penalty) and the aforementioned Elegant Statesman by a neck, three parts of a length and the same. Bob Le Beau came home six lengths behind in fifth.

Welcoming back his first Galway Festival victor, David Harry Kelly commented: "This is unreal –it's something you dream of and I'm ecstatic.

"This mare lives out twenty four seven and she has four rugs on in the winter. She's had little niggly problems but she's always worked as well as anything I've had with the possible exception of Moyle Park.

"Davy was excellent on her – I thought he might have gone too soon but I think he just wanted to close the door on Ruby (Walsh on Shamar).

"The Grade 3 mares novice hurdle at Down Royal is the main plan for her and she could go to Cheltenham too.

"She's very good to jump and she's not ground dependent. I have twenty or twenty five riding out."

Meanwhile Condon explained: "It was brilliant but it was a funny kind of race.

"Mark Walsh (on Elegant Statesman) step stop start fractions in front and no one wanted to play their cards too early.

"Ruby got away on me a bit in Killarney (Shamar beat Que Pasa then by three and a quarter lengths) and I thought if I got first run here we might overturn the form.

"She's tough and she had a nice pull at the weights too. The ground is slower today but it's not that tiring. They are getting into it but it's beautiful." (TW & EM)