Sept Etoiles downs jolly to land Down Royal opener The Gordon Elliott-trained Sept Etoiles proved too strong for market leader Court Compliance when staying on best to take the opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Hurdle at Down Royal. Sent off 11/2, the four-year-old tracked the leaders under Sam Ewing before coming through to challenge the odds-on jolly at the penultimate flight. Leading on the approach to the last, the gelding went on to score by one-and-a-quarter lengths in the well-known colours of the Sloan family. Sam Ewing said: "I rode a similar sort of race (to his debut). "We went a good gallop and he learned a lot first day. He came home really well and hit the line hard, and did that again today. "He's open to a lot of improvement off that again - jumped and travelled well, and he is very honest as well which is a big help. "Very genuine, he didn't want to get beaten. Over the last two, he was very quick away from the. "He stepped up and I think he's a nice horse going forward." Additional reporting by Michael Graham.
