Tupelo Mississippi made a taking debut at Courtown when finishing a fine second in the first division of the four-year-old maiden. The son of Yeats was up with the pace throughout and having quickened with the leader from three-out, he picked up smartly from the back of the last, hitting the front under Barry O'Neill, only to be caught in the final strides by Baptism Of Fire. Having stuck to gamely to his task, the €35,000 store lost little in defeat here. Handled by Colin Bowe, the producer of Samcro, this horse could well develop into a smart performer under rules in the future.