Trained by Gordon Elliott – the middle part of a treble – the 20/1 chance had two and half lengths in hand on Lucid Dreams from the John Ryan yard.

The runner-up, ridden by Danny Mullins, started at 22/1, while Yeah Man (16/1) and Perceval Legallois (10/1) finished third and fourth respectively.

The Grade 3 John Lynch Carpets Monksfield Novice Hurdle also went to the Gordon Elliott team through The Yellow Clay.

The 8/11 favourite, with Jack Kennedy in the saddle, came home a comfortable 10 length winner in the colours of Bective Stud.

Where’s My Jet (4/1) took the runner-up spot, ahead of Fleur In The Park (9/2) and Prends Garde A Toi in the two and a half mile contest.

Better Days Ahead (2/1) overturned the 1/2 favourite Slade Steel in the Race And Stay Irish EBF Beginners Chase.

In the ownership of Bective Stud, Jack Kennedy had four lengths of an advantage over the Henry de Bromhead-trained favourite at the winning post.

Big win for Ray Beckett

Tipperary handler Ray Beckett tasted success in the €45,000 Bar One Racing Tara Handicap Hurdle with 28/1 chance Sequoiaspirit, in the hands of jockey Liam Quinlan.

The opening Bar One Racing Boost 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle was won by race favourite Total Look at 11/4.

Trained by Gavin Cromwell and ridden by Keith Donoghue, the French-bred son of Cloth Of Stars held off Beyond Your Dreams (18/5) by half a length.

Cast A Spell (12/1) lost her maiden tag in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF (Mares) Maiden Hurdle over two miles.

Ridden by Cian Quirke for handler Tom Hogan, the six-year-old daughter of Mastercraftsman crossed the finishing line two lengths ahead of the odds-on favourite Qualimita (30/100) in the 21-runner race.

Another de Bronhead/O’Keeffe winner

The good form of Henry de Bromhead and Darragh O’Keeffe continued as Love Me (14/1) became the Waterford trainer’s ninth winner in 14 days when taking the Gaeil Colmcille GAA Kells Handicap Hurdle.

The concluding race of the successful two-day festival went to the Emmet Mullins-handled John Gleeson-ridden Churchfield Sunset at 7/1.

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With five winners for Elliott, his stable jockey Jack Kennedy rode three winners and top owners Bective Stud and Gigginstown House Stud both had two winners each.

Wingmen wins on hurdling debut

Dual bumper winner last season Wingmen (8/15 favourite) opened proceedings, taking the Kilderry Pub & Kitchen Maiden Hurdle for Noel and Valerie Moran of Bective Stud, and jockey Jack Kennedy.

The Fairyhouse bumper winner last month Blue De Vaissy (4/6 favourite) easily won the first graded race of the afternoon, the Grade 3 Bar One Racing For Auction Novice Hurdle over two miles, in the colours of Gigginstown House Stud, again in the hands of Kerry rider Jack Kennedy.

Found A Fifty claims Fortria Chase

The Grade 2 Bar One Racing Fortria Chase then fell to Elliott’s team, as Found A Fifty (11/8 favourite) gave Kennedy a treble and owners Bective Stud their double.

Down Memory Lane (7/1), third to Caldwell Potter in a Grade 1 novice hurdle at Leopardstown last Christmas, made a successful debut over the larger obstacles when winning the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Chase for the Cullentra House team, jockey Mark Walsh and owner J.P. McManus.

The five-timer was completed for Elliott in the Bar One Racing ‘Guaranteed Overnight Prices’ bumper when Harry Swan pushed the Gigginstown House Stud-owned favourite Whinney Hill (6/4 favourite) out to claim a three and a half length success.

Home By The Lee wins his second Lismullen

The Grade 2 Railway Bar Lismullen Hurdle over two and a half miles was won by Home By The Lee (7/1).

The 2022 winner of the race, and third-place finisher last year, is trained by Joseph O’Brien for Seán O’Driscoll and the nine-year-old was ridden by Danny Mullins.

Cork jockey Michael O’Sullivan gave Slane Hill (9/1) an enterprising ride in the Lisadell Equine Hospital Handicap Hurdle. Hitting the front early doors, the seven-year-old came home in splendid isolation for trainer and owner Barry Connell.

County Waterford trainer John Flavin was also among the winners with Clarens (9/1) a battling winner of the Hotel Park St. Johann in Tirol Austria Handicap Hurdle, under Alex Harvey.

Day two of the Navan Racing Festival gets underway at 11.35am on Sunday.

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In their 756th test match, and the 20th meeting between Ireland and Argentina since caps were first awarded on 27 October 1990, Ireland held out at the death in a titanic final tussle.

Both sides had two men each sin binned on a night Cian Healy won his 133rd cap to join Brian O’Driscoll at the top of the list.

Two early Irish tries

In a much improved opening 40 minute performance from last week, Ireland opened the scoring on four minutes.

Jack Crowley, who had earlier been on the receiving end of a dangerous high tackle from Matias Moroni, which saw the centre sin binned for 10 minutes, opened the Irish try-scoring.

With Argentina down a man, Ireland aimed to exploit the wide space in front of them. A break from the home side was dominated by centre Garry Ringrose cutting through the Argentinian side. Tadhg Beirne received the ball yards from the line, but the Munster player unselfishly passed inside to Mack Hansen. The Connacht man had the easy task of touching down for his 10th international try in 23 test matches. On this occasion, Crowley’s conversion attempt was short and fell under the crossbar. This gave Farrell’s side a 12-0 advantage.

Albornoz opens Argentinian scoring

Ireland were penalised for being offside and this gave the Pumas an opportunity to claim their first score of the test match on 12 minutes. Benetton’s Tomás Albornoz dissected the posts to narrow the margin between the sides to 12-3.

Tadhg Beirne thought he had added to the Irish score minutes later when he stretched to touchdown, despite two Argentinian players tackling him. The referee, Paul Williams of New Zealand, called a try as the on field decision, but on review with the TMO, the ball was knocked on as Beirne attempted to ground the ball.

Bealham gets yellow card

Finlay Bealham was found guilty of a crock roll towards the end of the opening quarter of the game. Paul Williams reviewed the incident on the big screen where the Irish front row was clearly seen committing the foul. The Corinthians man was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes.

The penalty which followed was successfully kicked by Albornoz, his second of the night, leaving Ireland in a 12-6 lead.

Crowley kicked a fantastic drop goal from centre field on the stroke of 21 minutes to extend the home side’s advantage to 15-6.

With two Irish players blown for crossing, the visitors were handed another three-point opportunity which Albornoz took with aplomb; the score was Ireland 15 Argentina 9 by this stage, with the clock showing 26 minutes played.

McCarthy claims third Irish try

The men in green soon extended their advantage when Joe McCarthy claimed the side’s third try of the night. Coming from an Irish line out near the Argentinian try line, James Lowe at first looked as though he would be successful. Though he ended up being short of the try-scoring line, McCarthy was in support for the five-point score. Another good kick from Crowley meant the score board read 22-9 in Ireland’s favour at the break.

Half-time:  Ireland 22  Argentina 9

Mallía try for Argentina 

Individual brilliance from Argentinian fullback Juan Cruz Mallía created the space for him to claim his team’s first try of the game, after 45 minutes. The Toulouse player, with a 7s background, broke through an ailing Irish defence and easily took the five-pointer.

A straightforward kick from Tomás Albornoz brought his side to within six points of Ireland, with 46 minutes on the stadium clock.

Joe McCarthy became the second Irish player, and third of the game, to be shown a yellow card. The earlier try scorer was guilty of deliberately going offside according to match referee Williams.

Albornoz kicked his second three-pointer of the second half and brought the Pumas to within three points of Andy Farrell’s team.

Shoulder to head contact from Franciso Gómez Kodela on Caelan Dorris saw the Argentinian spend the final five minutes of the game in the sin bin, the fourth player of the night to spend time in the bin.

Both previously uncapped players Tom Clarkson and Sam Prendergast made their senior international debuts on Friday night, while Cian Healy claimed his 133rd test cap, joining Brian O’Driscoll as Ireland’s most-capped player ever.

Ireland now have 14 wins in games between the sides with Argentina having 6 victories.

Final Score: Ireland 22 Argentina 19

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Robbie Henshaw will make his 75th international appearance this evening and is the only change in the starting line-up from last Friday.

The Leinster duo Thomas Clarkson and Sam Prendergast are the two uncapped players Farrell has chosen on the replacements bench for the game as Ireland hope to get back to winning ways following last their defeat to New Zealand.

Healy in line for cap 133

Cian Healy will win his 133rd Test match cap if coming off the replacements’ bench this evening. His will match the record Test cap haul of former Leinster and Ireland great Brian O’Driscoll.

Ireland’s back three is unchanged from last weekend’s opening Autumn Nations Series test, with Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Mack Hansen again chosen.

Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose will start in midfield tonight, with Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley again getting the nod as the half-back pairing.

The entire pack remains unchanged, with Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham in the front row, with Joe McCarthy and James Ryan in support in the second row.

Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, who scored a try against New Zealand, and captain Caelan Doris complete Farrell’s starting team.

Alongside Cian Healy on the replacements’ bench are Rob Herring, uncapped Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O’Mahony, Craig Casey, uncapped Sam Prendergast and Jamie Osborne.

Speaking ahead of the Argentina clash, Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell, said:

“There has been a sharp focus in training this week and the squad are determined to get back to winning ways in front of a vocal home crowd. Friday will be a special night at Aviva Stadium for more reasons than one.”

Tonight’s game, which kicks off at 8.10pm, will be live on Virgin Media One, and there will be radio coverage on RTÉ Radio 1.

Ireland Team

15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 11. James Lowe, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park.

1. Andrew Porter, 2. Rónan Kelleher, 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan, 6. Tadhg Beirne, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris (captain).

Replacements:

16. Rob Herring, 17. Cian Healy, 18. Thomas Clarkson, 19. Ryan Baird, 20. Peter O’Mahony, 21. Craig Casey, 22. Sam Prendergast, 23. Jamie Osborne.

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In a tightly-fought game, the All Blacks were full value for their first Dublin win since 2016, with the number of penalties conceded by Ireland having a bearing on the final score.

Opening Half

The opening half of a physical game saw the sides exchange penalty kicks, with New Zealand successfully kicking three to Ireland’s two.

First blood on the scoreboard went to the home side, however. The All Blacks were penalised for blocking in front of the receiver following an Irish Garryowen. With Ireland well positioned to the centre of the posts, Jack Crowley slotted his first kicking attempt at goal over the bar for a 3-0 lead.

New Zealand were quickly awarded their first shot at the posts when referee Nic Berry penalised Finlay Bealham for failing to roll away. Chiefs’ Damian McKenzie comfortably claimed the three-pointer to level the scores after 10 minutes.

All Blacks turned down opportunities to kick for points

Though New Zealand spent a substantial period of the first 40 minutes in the Irish half of the field, the All Blacks turned down a number of goal-kicking opportunities during that time.

With the sides still tied at 3-3 despite the All Blacks’ domination of possession, Damian McKenzie decided to kick his side’s next opportunity, awarded for an illegal tackle from Ireland. This gave the southern hemisphere team a 6-3 advantage on 29 minutes, as the visitors went into the lead for the first time in the test match.

During the final minutes of the first half, McKenzie brought his scoring to nine points when successful with an easy kick, giving New Zealand a 9-3 lead.

Just when it looked as though the main action of the half was complete, the Hurricanes’ Jordi Barrett was penalised for a high tackle. He was shown a yellow card by referee Nic Berry, following consultation with the TMO.

Munster’s Jack Crowley took the ensuing penalty to reduce the deficit on the conclusion of the half, leaving Ireland trailing the All Blacks 6-9 at the break.

Half-time: Ireland 6  New Zealand 9.

Though the Barrett yellow card was reviewed early in the second half, it was not upgraded to red, meaning the All Blacks’ centre spent 10 minutes in the sin bin, instead of 20 minutes which is now the new law.

Ireland try

With the All Blacks down a man, Ireland went in search of an early second half score. The home side powered towards the New Zealand line, moving from left to right. Josh van der Flier eventually stretched and powered his way over for the opening try of the game.

Jack Crowley kicked from right of the posts near the right side line as the Cork Constitution man gave Andy Farrell’s men a 13-9 advantage, with what was arguably his most difficult kick of the night.

Damian McKenzie was soon back on the scoreboard, as his effort from just inside the Irish half of the field, dissected the posts, leaving the bare minimum between the two teams, Ireland leading 13-12 with 49 minutes showing on the match clock.

All Blacks back in front

Finlay Bealham, who had earlier been replaced, came back on the field following an HIA for his replacement, Tom O’Toole. The prop was soon penalised for driving across in the scrum, rather than driving straight.

McKenzie, whose previous penalty attempt has come off the upright, made no mistake on this occasion, and put his side into a two-point lead, 15-13 with the clock passing the 60 minute mark.

Iain Henderson, one of Ireland’s replacements, was penalised at the breakdown minutes later, giving the visitors an opportunity to increase their second-half lead.

McKenzie added to his tally for the night as he successfully kicked the penalty, pushing his team 18-13 ahead in what had been a tight game until that stage.

New Zealand becoming more dominant

New Zealand became more dominant in the game against an unsteady Ireland. The All Blacks split the Irish side on their way to scoring their only five-pointer of the test match, having gone try-less for 68 minutes.

Moving the Irish team from one side of the pitch to the other, the Caelan Dorris-led side were stretched badly, giving New Zealand full-back Will Jordan of the Crusaders the easy task of running into the corner to touch down.

McKenzie failed on this occasion to add the extra point, leaving his side with a 10-point advantage, 23-13, as the game faced into the final 10 minutes.

New Zealand maintained the gap to the death, however, to claim their 32nd success in clashes between the sides.

For Ireland they failed to extend their current run of 19 successive wins at the Aviva Stadium.

Ireland have now won 40 of their last 43 home games at the Aviva Stadium, dating back to 2016.

Final score: Ireland 13  New Zealand 23

Ireland team:

15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. James Lowe, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park.
16. Andrew Porter, 2. Ronan Kelleher, 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan,
    6. Tadhg Beirne, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris (captain).

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Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell named his side earlier this week to face the All Blacks under lights in front of a sell-out crowd tonight.

Caelan Doris, who captained Ireland against Italy in the Six Nations last February, will again captain the side from the back row.

The Ireland back three will consist of Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and James Lowe.

Bundee Aki partners Garry Ringrose in midfield, and Jamison Gibson-Park will return to scrum-half to partner Jack Crowley at out-half.

The front row will consist of Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham, while Joe McCarthy and James Ryan will comprise the second row.

Tadhg Beirne will operate at blindside flanker with Josh van de Flier on the openside, and captain Caelan Doris playing at number eight will complete the back row.

Looking ahead to tonight’s game, Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell said:

“It’s a hugely exciting four weeks ahead in Aviva Stadium and we know we’ll need to perform at a high level to beat a top-class New Zealand side. The challenge doesn’t come much bigger or better than New Zealand at a packed Aviva Stadium on a Friday night, under lights, with a home crowd roaring us on.”

On the replacements bench Farrell can call on numerous experienced international players. Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson and Peter O’Mahony are the forwards replacements, while Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley and Jamie Osborne will provide backup in the backline.

Tonight’s game is live on Virgin Media One and there will be live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.

Ireland (v New Zealand):

Player/Club/Province/Caps

15. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)(39)
14. Mack Hansen (Corinthians/Connacht)(21)
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)(60)
12. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht)(57)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(33)
10. Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(16)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(35)

1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)(66)
2. Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)(33)
3. Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht)(42)
4. Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)(12)
5. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster)(64)
6. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster)(52)
7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)(64)
8. Caelan Doris (St Mary’s College/Leinster)(43)(captain)

Replacements:

16. Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(40)
17. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)(131)
18. Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(13)
19. Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster)(81)
20. Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)(107)
21. Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)(118)
22. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)(6)
23. Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)(2).

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In front of a record Wembley NFL crowd of 86,651, the come from behind win helped ease the pressure on Head Coach Doug Pederson as the Jaguars scored 25 consecutive points having trailed 10-0 early in the second quarter.

With second quarter touchdowns in rapid succession from Brian Thomas Jr., Tank Bigsby and Parker Washington in the third and final NFL London 2024 game, the Jags claimed a second win in four games having started the season 0-4. For the Patriots, Sunday’s loss is a sixth consecutive defeat after their opening day win.

Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence produced a far superior performance to last weekend’s loss at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Jacksonville outfit’s linchpin completed 15 of his 20 passes for 193 yards and one touchdown.

Despite Lawrence’s improved performance, it is Parker Washington’s touchdown that will gain most attention, however. He produced the longest punt return in Jaguars history and the longest touchdown in NFL London games history as he ran back a 96-yard return to give the Jaguars a 22-10 advantage at half-time.

As the London NFL series of three games now concludes, the Jaguars will host the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium in week 8, while the New England Patriots will have the New York Jets visiting them next weekend.

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Both sides unfortunately come into the fixture with 1-5 records for the season so far.

It will be the Jacksonville franchise’s second game in London this season, having lost to the Chicago Bears last weekend at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Patriots hold a 3-1 record in international games and are unbeaten in their two previous visits to London.

The Jaguars, however, who have played a ‘home’ game in London for the past decade, are 6-6 in the 12 all-time games played in the English capital.

Both sides currently sit last in their respective divisions in the NFL: the Patriots are last in the Buffalo Bills-led AFC East, while the Jaguars are the final team in the AFC which is currently headed by by Houston.

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Though the British season officially runs from January 1 to December 31, the Ballydoyle trainer leads the standings by more than £3 million after a string of big-race successes.

Breeders’ Cup Classic contender City Of Troy has spearheaded O’Brien’s efforts in Britain this year, winning a Group 1 hat-trick in the Betfred Derby, Coral-Eclipse and Juddmonte International at York most recently.

Kyprios returned to the top of the staying division with victories in the Gold Cup and Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup, while Jan Brueghel led home a one-two for the stable in the Betfred St Leger at Doncaster.

As usual, Aidan O’Brien was quick to deflect praise as he emphasised the importance of the team effort at Ballydoyle and Coolmore.

“It is a big team effort from everyone in Ballydoyle and Coolmore,” O’Brien said. “There are so many special people in so many different areas that if I started talking about them, I would be here until tomorrow. You can have the horses and the place but, if you don’t have the people, it won’t happen.

“The owners are the people who put the resources in every year, to try and help us make it better. They put a lot of time in and give us advice. We do our best, give information back, and try to follow the roadmap that they draw for us. Some years it goes very well, some years it is ordinary, and some years it is medium.

“This was a good year for us. We won plenty of good races. I am just delighted for everybody when we do have a good year. We don’t take anything for granted and try to look to the future.”

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The 29-year-old, who previously won the title in 2019, 2020 and 2021, finished this season with 163 winners, more than 50 clear of his closest challenger, his fellow Irish rider, Rossa Ryan.

Highlights for the Murphy include a Group 1 double at Royal Ascot with Australian challenger Asfoora in the King Charles III Stakes and Khaadem in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.

Commenting on his jockeys’ title success, Murphy said:

“This is something I really tried to achieve this year. I have had great support from so many trainers and owners, and having a fair lead has meant I have been able to enjoy it over the last month or so.

“It has taken a lot of hard work from my agent [Gavin Horne]. With the one meeting a day rule, it is paramount that he chooses the correct meeting to send me to, which is not easy when there are three or four meetings. I think he has done a great job, and that has been key to me riding so many winners.

Discussing future aims, the top jockey admitted:

“There are many races that I have not won. The two standouts for me are the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Derby. The Arc has so much international appeal and recognition nowadays, while the Derby has so much history.”

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