Mullins and Townend land Listowel opener The H O S Syndicate and OTI Racing-owned Love Me Tender scored a runaway success on his jumping debut for Willie Mullins in the opening McSweeney Brothers Maiden Hurdle at Listowel this afternoon. A 4/9 favourite in the hands of Paul Townend, the four-year-old German import eased clear from the second-last hurdle to beat Eric McNamara’s 15/2 shot Approval by all of 20 lengths as National Hunt racing returned to the course after two Flat days. The Gavin Cromwell-trained Bud Fox, a 13/2 chance, was a further one and a half lengths back in third place. Love Me Tender made his debut for Mullins in the Ebor Handicap at York last month, finishing tenth of the 22 runners at odds of 7/2 favourite. He was a fourth Listowel festival winner for the champion trainer and a third for the former champion jockey this week. “It was a nice performance, he was very keen,” said Mullins. “I feel sorry for the second there because our fella should have won his hurdle before this, but we didn’t get an opportunity to run him over hurdles. “He looks better than what you should be meeting down here. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get a run into him and we saw what happened then in the Ebor, he ran too free. “He was a little bit like that today as well, but he’ll learn. I think the hurdles will help him to steady up, and teach him a bit more about settling and racing properly. “I’ll see where I’ll go, he has some nice Flat entries and there are novice hurdles too. I hate missing their novice hurdle year.” When asked if he was a two-miler over hurdles he added: “He would look it, on that evidence. “I think he’d have no bother staying, but he likes to get on with the job, so he’ll take a lot of settling over a longer trip and I don’t think he needs to do that for the time being. “We can go out in trip on the Flat, the only thing over a longer trip is that he’s going to be harder to ride and harder to settle in a race. “I think a few spins over hurdles will settle him.” Additional reporting from Gary Carson
