Theatre Bird justified good support when opening her account under rules in fine style at Clonmel taking the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Maiden Hurdle.

Available at 9/1 this morning and supported on track from 6/1 into 9/2, the five-year-old proved much too strong in the straight for evens favourite Pink Hat

The daughter of King’s Theatre jumped well in front, and put in another two fine leaps in the straight to beat the ‘jolly’ by eight lengths, with Kala Brandy in third.

Winning trainer Sean Doyle said, “We’ve always thought an awful lot of her but we shouldn’t have run her the last day in a bumper at Limerick as the ground was too soft for her.

“She jumped and travelled and Bryan gave her a super ride. She’ll have a little break now and is one to look forward to for the summer. She’d be a lovely mare for Galway. She won her point-to-point well and will jump a fence in time.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes