Lightly-raced Slip Jig (12/1) rewarded the Road To Nowhere Syndicate with a first winner today, landing Tipperary's opening Hotel Minella (Mares) Maiden Hurdle (div I) for trainer Colin Motherway and jockey Darragh O'Keeffe.

The six-year-old Flemensfirth-mare was absent for 684 days following her debut run in May 2022 but today was competing for the third month in succession.

Racing behind the leaders, Slip Jig skipped through the inside of rivals to challenge from the second-last and improved to lead in the closing stages, defeating fast-finishing Fair Damsel by 1.25 lengths.

Motherway commented “I was expecting a good run and she ran a nice race in Clonmel (last month), when she finished fifth. We were delighted with that, and knew she’d improve a stone from her first run over hurdles.

“She had run a good race in a bumper first time out (in 2022) but just got a bit of an injury, so we had to give her time off.”

He added “she is the first horse for the Road To Nowhere Syndicate, so it’s great for them and they’re delighted. They’re from Cloyne and Carrigtwohill, they’re a great bunch, and will enjoy tonight.

“They’ve had her all along and have had two horses in between which didn’t work out, but lucky enough she's done the job for her.”