The 8.00 at Dundalk went off no less than 16 minutes late and the gambled-on Banner Road (got in as the third reserve, available at 25s this morning and ended up heading the market at 3s) was withdrawn for refusing to load. When action finally commenced it was She's My Dandy that prevailed at the business end.

Pat Smullen was completing a double as he dead-heated on Flic Flac in the previous race. Here riding for Liam McAteer, Smullen on She's My Dandy just held the flying late run of The Kernigal by a short head.

McAteer said: "She is a nice filly and she's only improving now. She'll come back here in a month after getting an easy week or two.

"Pat was very impressed with her as she travelled well but he thought that he got there too soon.

"Anytime he rides for us he nearly wins – he has a great strike rate for us.

"We have a lot of two-year-olds this year and they are all three-year-old types really. We have no handicappers as all the good ones have been retired."