FOUND A FIFTY returned with a bang to secure a third successive BAR 1 Betting Fortria Chase win at Navan.

Multiple Grade One winner Solness set a decent gallop at the head of the field before the race got serious as they rounded the bend for home.

The Gordon Elliott-trained Found A Fifty hit the front two out as Solness weakened and extended his lead approaching the last and saw it out well ahead of stablemate Touch Me Not by one and a half lengths for Jack Kennedy.

Elliott said: “He’s some horse! He always gets us out of trouble, in fairness to him.

“I was a bit nervous before the race – I said he’s not getting any younger, but Navan is Noel and Valerie’s (Moran, Bective Stud) local track and we said we would target everything for it. We are a little bit light this year and that one there is very important. That will make the week good now.

“He jumped a little bit right down the back straight and I was a bit worried, but I was sort of happy when Solness dropped out of it and there was nothing on his outside.

“In fairness to him, he was very, very gutsy – it was a great performance, I’m delighted.

“This was the plan, and we have him in the Hilly Way (at Cork) and we will see what way the ground is. He won it last year. He seems to be better early in the season than late on.

“We will enjoy today, but we hope he wins plenty more this season. He has done us proud now for the season, and we are very happy with him. If he comes back and wins it next year, we will be delighted.”

Noel Moran added: “It is great to get a winner in Navan. We always try to get a winner here.

“In fairness, he’s some horse – that’s three years in a row now.

“It helped all right (Majborough being withdrawn), let’s be honest about it. You want to run against good horses, and it is not nice to see good horses not running, but still, we will take that today.”

Feet Of A Dancer ridden by Sean O'Keeffe (file pic). Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Meanwhile, Paul Nolan’s Feet Of A Dancer continued her good form from last season with an effortless victory in the Railway Bar Lismullen Hurdle.

The Authorized mare won a Listed race at Punchestown and the Grade Two Yorkshire Rose at Doncaster last season before finishing third to Wodhooh at Cheltenham and she moved upsides long-time leader I’ll Sort That between the final two flights.

The 17-2 chance was pushed out by Sean O’Keeffe and left her rivals in her wake to come home eight lengths clear.

O’Keeffe said: “I think she was even a little bit better today; she really surprised me. We weren’t expecting that now as such, but she is improving. She’s still only a seven-year-old, so she has every right to still be improving.

“That was brilliant. I was afraid she was a bit in my hands and winging hurdles everywhere, running a bit fresh, but she had a nice blow turning in, and I knew she would stay galloping. I could see the others around me starting to get a bit tired. In fairness to her, she always gallops to the line, so I was confident of that.

“We were thinking she could go up to three miles as well. Maybe she was just a bit fresh today as she was keen. She’s an improving mare, and she had a crack at a Grade One last year, so maybe she can do it again this year after that.

“I’d definitely say the Stayers’ Hurdle division might be worth going down this time around, and she will probably relax as she goes on through the season. If she just keeps improving the way she is, hopefully she will bring us to those places.”