DE BROMHEAD’S ON PIGSBACK AS DICEY DELIGHTS

A FINAL-DAY double saw in-form trainer Henry de Bromhead finish on six winners for the Leopardstown Festival and split Willie Mullins (seven) and Gordon Elliott (five). De Bromhead broke through the halfcentury for the season as Dicey O’reilly (18/1) and Mind’s Eye (4/1) each won hurdles over two and a half miles yesterday. The former dented some half-decent reputations in the Pigsback.com Maiden Hurdle under five-pound claimer Dylan Robinson. ‘There were a lot of long faces after his first run but he seems good again now and he’s showing on the track what we’re seeing at home. Chasing is his game,’ said De Bromhead. A low sun again cast long shadows and racecourse authorities took no chances bearing in mind the fate which befell Nichols Canyon on Thursday. For the first four races, the sole fence and hurdle in the finishing straight were omitted for safety reasons. It led to a near three-furlong dash from the last, which wasn’t ideal, but at least it eliminated horses being spooked. The hurdle was reinstated for the Ryanair Hurdle at 2.30pm by which time the sun had slipped behind the grandstand. The total attendance over the four days was 56,617, almost 4,500 down on 2016. Meanwhile, Shane Crimin steered Spider Web to a clear-cut victory in the Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Chase. The Tom Mullinstrained six-year-old had been disappointing of late, but was dangerously well handicapped on his hurdle form and was sent off a wellbacked 13/2 jointfavourite.