Jasmin De Vaux gets off the mark over hurdles

Jasmin De Vaux got his hurdling career under way with victory in the Headfort Arms Hotel Maiden Hurdle at Navan.

Willie Mullins’ five-year-old won the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival last season and was the prohibitive 1-3 favourite to oblige under Paul Townend.

His jumping was not without error as he made his way around the two-mile trip but he was resolute in holding off The Enabler, who travelled very strongly, to win by four and a half lengths.

“The engine is there, but the jumping needs working on,” said Townend.

“He’ll get confidence – a bit more practice is what he needs.

“As I say the engine is in there. It is a lot harder to put an engine in one than teach him to jump.”

Magic Boum also made a winning debut under rules for Gordon Elliott in the Mervyn Gray Construction Maiden Hurdle.

The four-year-old won her sole point-to-point start in February and was a 10-1 shot under Sam Ewing, though her chances improved greatly when Mullins’ 1-3 favourite, Kaid D’authie, fell early on.

Magic Boum went on to score by three-quarters of a length, with the trainer saying: “That was a bit of a surprise.

“I thought she would run a nice race there and maybe go back for a bumper but, with the favourite (Kaid D’authie) falling, the race was there.

“Being in front so long probably didn’t suit her. After the mistake at the last, she was tough, it was great she won.”

Division two of the same race then went to Colm Murphy’s Goraibhmaithagat, who was a successful by two lengths under Simon Torrens having started at 16-1.

He was another making his debut under rules with a point-to-point win already on his CV, and is owned by JP McManus having been bred by his wife Noreen.

Frank Berry, racing manager to McManus, said: “He did his job nicely in the point-to-point last year and we came here hoping he would run a nice race, and improve for the run.

“He did it nicely and jumped well and everything – delighted with him.

“They mightn’t have gone mad in the race, but you’d like the way he picked them up and stayed on.

“A fine, big, nice horse. It is a grand start for him.”

It was a successful afternoon for Ewing and Elliott at Navan as the rider took three of the eight races across the card, with Magic Boum, The Yellow Clay and Sa Fureur (9-4 favourite) obliging, with Elliott training all three plus He Can’t Dance (2-9 favourite) to win the concluding bumper under Harry Swan.