Roc Dino gets back on track in Listowel. The Willie Mullins-trained Roc Dino (8/13) was an impressive winner of the Allman Contracts Novice Hurdle at Listowel for jockey Paul Townend. The five-year-old son of Doctor Dino has been set some tough tasks throughout the winter and was narrowly denied by the promising Midnight Jet at the Galway Festival, but returned here with a facile performance to defeat the Gordon Elliott-trained Dad Sez by two lengths. Townend was happy to sit just behind the leaders throughout the contest, and when he asked his mount to extend, he duly obliged and took up the running before the final hurdle. He was ridden out, and kept on well towards the finish, to win by two lengths. Townend said afterwards: “He is a versatile horse who was set some tough tasks throughout the winter and put it together today. He had run well in Galway the last day, where he was just second best, and reproduced that today. “He is a fun horse, is a beautiful mover and will jump a fence as well. He had a tough season but winning will do him the world of good now.”
