There was a lot to like about the debut performance which earned the French-bred Fiston Des Issards a maiden success, when he came out on top of a competitive looking race at Loughanmore. This was a steadily run contest, ensuring that the field remained tightly grouped, even with just three fence to jumps. As a result, those horses with plenty of pace and speed came to the fore in the closing stages, with none of the nine rivals showing any more speed than this son of Buck’s Boum. Easing his way on coming to the last, it was most eye-catching to see how instantly the response was when asked to quicken, allowing him to ease clear on the run-in, beating a horse that had finished second three weeks earlier in the process.