Mange Tout gets the job done in Down Royal opener Mange Tout claimed the opening Lisburn And Castlereagh City Council 3-Y-O Hurdle at Down Royal on what could be a highly productive afternoon for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy. With a number of leading contenders in later races, the pair got their day off to the best possible start with this Robcour-owned French import. A winner on her sole previous outing at Compiegne in May, the daughter of Born To Sea was expected to follow-up in this extended two-mile heat, going off the 8/15 favourite. Soon sent to the front by Kennedy and stretching clear from the third, her advantage was eroded from three out and she was headed by Wizard Of Odds approaching the next. However, the Bill Durkan-trained gelding blundered at that flight and relinquished the lead, with the market leader taking advantage and ultimately keeping on well to prevail by four-lengths. The aforementioned Wizard Of Odds (5/1) had to settle for second, with Bibe Mus (10/3) a further five-and-a-half lengths back in third. "It was a good performance. My fault - I left the hood off her because she was so laid-back at home and I thought it was the right thing to do. She wore a hood in France. I'd say I should have left it on her," Elliott explained. "Jack said she ran away with him the whole way. It was a good performance to win considering what she did. "She showed a bit of class the way she jumps. I think she is nice. "We'll get her home and see how she is, but we learned a lot from today." STEWARDS REPORTS S.D. Torrens, rider of Antoine De Paris, trained by Noel C. Kelly, reported to the Clerk of the Scales that his mount never travelled. Additional reporting by Michael Graham
