Plain sailing for Lovely Hurling It was mostly plain sailing for Lovely Hurling (13/8 to 9/4jf) at Naas today as the J.P. McManus-owned winner shredded his maiden tag, with an impressive success in the Cavan Developments Supporting Kill GAA Maiden Hurdle. Held up in rear-division by jockey Mark Walsh, Lovely Hurling was hampered by a faller at the fourth-last but glided into contention and scored eased down, from Autoportrait . Previously successful in a Wexford bumper last May, today’s somewhat out-of-season success means Lovely Hurling’s novice-season culminates in early-December, with his trainer Colm Murphy reporting “I’m delighted with that, although I’m not sure what the plan is now. “We’ll see how he is after this and see what is there for him. “He’s only run on soft ground and is a big chaser in the making. “He seems to be improving away the whole time and is one to look forward to. He has plenty of size and scope. He’d get you out of bed in the morning!” The race also saw Road To Home, under jockey Brian Hayes, run out approaching the second-last flight, only for the horse to then dramatically jump a narrow 'spur fence', which marks the boundary of the infield. Quotes from Alan Magee
