Aurea Fortuna off the mark in curtain raiser at Galway

Long standing maiden Aurea Fortuna got trainer Tony Martin off the mark for the week when staying on strongly under Jake Coen to win the opening Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle at Galway.

Having drifted in price from early odds of 4/1, right out to double that price, the gelding belied that lack of market confidence to gain a first success at the 12th time of asking.

Held up in rear for much of this race, Coen made ground on the inner to track the leaders after jumping the third last flight.

A less than fluent leap at the penultimate hurdle failed to halt that progress, as Aurea Fortuna went third after jumping the last.

Coming through to head leader Kotkito Bello over 100 yards out, the Debbie Breslin owned six-year-old kept on well to hold Ragmans Corner by one-and-a-half lengths.

Winning jockey Jake Coen, who was losing his claim in the process, reported: "I was flat to the boards the whole way. We went very hard early on. I just tried to give him as much of a chance as I could.

"It probably looked like I was going nowhere coming down the hill but, he is a big boy and, I just wanted to have him rolling when we hit the hill.

"He bunny hopped the last a bit and I thought he might fire it away but he was good over the last and, he came up the hill well."

Tony Martin said: “He missed the break unfortunately and he was always on the backfoot from there.

“You could see he was getting into it at the second last and he missed it, but it all worked out in the end.

“He’s run over fences at Listowel last year but was a bit weak. He jumps fences well.

“He’s in Debbie(Breslin)’s name and I think it’s her first runner and her first winner.”

Additional reporting by Alan Magee.