Winning start over hurdles for Aspen Colorado at Listowel

Smart bumper performer Aspen Colorado made an encouraging and winning hurdling debut at Listowel.

Sent off the 6/4 favourite for the John Lynch Memorial Maiden Hurdle over two miles, Joseph O'Brien's four-year-old was three-quarters of a length too cute for Sanibel Island - with the third horse home, Golden Poet, some seven lengths in arrears of the front two.

Winning jockey Mark Walsh said: "He jumped well, on the whole. He missed the second-last and Jack (Kennedy, Sanibel Island's jockey) was coming to me.

"In fairness, he (Aspen Colorado) stuck his head down and battled well on ground that was very tacky.

"It's not his ground and I didn't really travel the whole way - his class got him through.

"He'll improve a lot for that. Hopefully he can go into his novice hurdle now and keep stepping up."