Willie Mullins strikes on first visit to Sedgefield as Mr Escobar comfortably gets off the mark over hurdles

Willie Mullins struck on his first visit to the track when Mr Escobar landed the 2m1f novice hurdle under Brian Hayes.

Rated 87 on the Flat, the six-year-old was winning at the fourth attempt over hurdles when making all for a comfortable four-and-a-quarter-length victory from Kingston Narcissus.

"He wouldn't have been good enough to win a maiden hurdle in Ireland, so Patrick and Willie thought they might as well come here and try to win a maiden," Hayes told Sky Sports Racing.

"He's a bit quirky. He didn't jump round one day at Killarney, he ran out before the [first] hurdle, so that's in the back of your mind going down to the first. I just thought the best of the ground was out wide, but it didn't matter and he would have still won anyway. It was nice to get it done.

"The track suited him, it kept him interested, and I was delighted with the way he jumped."

Salsada strikes

Salsada was back in the winner's enclosure for the first time in more than three years after taking the 2m4f handicap hurdle.

The Brian Ellison-trained seven-year-old won a maiden hurdle at Sedgefield by 13 lengths in October 2021 and made it two from two at the track on his first visit since when winning by six and a half lengths under Craig Nichol.

Ellison said: "She won well. At Hexham [two starts before] she ran a blinder and was beaten a short head, and then she disappointed at Wetherby for whatever reason. I brought her back here because she's won here and I just think up-and-down tracks like this suit her."

Kirby at the double

Phil Kirby struck in consecutive races to land a double, with Joe Williamson steering Bathgate to victory in the 2m1f handicap hurdle before striking again on Clean Getaway in the 2m½f handicap chase.

Read these next:

'He gave me a lovely feel' - Willie Mullins' exciting French recruit Karniquet dominates on Irish debut and is cut for Supreme 

'I'm lucky to be associated with the McManus family' - Jasmin De Grugy completes four-timer under Richie McLernon 

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.