Hard watch for favourite backers but Path lands the odds The first division of Tramore's maiden hurdle over two miles looked a gilt-edged opportunity for the 8/11 favourite Crooked Path to get his head in front after several creditable efforts in defeat, and the Waldgeist gelding duly obliged in the hands of Dan King. It was far from an easy watch for his supporters, though, as the market leader dropped back to third at halfway having led from an early stage. On and off the bridle from that point, the four-year-old got an all-important run through on the inner racing down into the dip and led before two out. The Denis Hogan-trained winner, in the colours of Raymond Treacy, found enough up the straight to fend off the always-prominent Le Tatoue Madrik by a length and a-ha "He has had plenty of runs and gained plenty of experience," said King. "It probably wasn't the strongest of races on paper and we are just glad he got his head in front. "He is versatile ground-wise and he'll provide plenty of fun over the summer. Hopefully he can build on this. "He has had a couple of races on the Flat, so he can go back doing that as well. He has plenty of options." Additional reporting by Donal Murphy
