It was hard not be very taken by the debut performance that Kovanis put up when making a winning debut at Portrush in a race that has produced the likes of subsequent Grade 1 winner Finian’s Oscar. Sent off as the short-priced favourite, despite ten rivals lining up in opposition, hinted at the performance that was potentially to come, but even his biggest supporters could not have expected him to win as decisively as he ultimately did. Never too far from what was an honest pace throughout, he sat on heels waiting to deliver his challenge, and when breezing around his rivals on the home bend, it was immediately noticeable just how confidently Noel McParlan sat motionless in the saddle, as his rivals were all hard at work. Ultimately, he only had to get a shake of the reins to in win as he pleased. When you factor in that those horses that chased him home, albeit some way adrift, were well-related £45,000, €67,000 and €65,000 purchases, it adds further weight to the performance he produced in a quick time (14 seconds quicker than the average on the card).