Top-class bumper horse Kilcruit belatedly opened his account over hurdles with a straightforward success at Punchestown.
The seven-year-old won the major bumpers at the Dublin Racing Festival and Punchestown last season, either side of being narrowly denied by stablemate Sir Gerhard in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.
He was expected to take high rank in the novice hurdling division this term, but was beaten at odds of 1-14 on his hurdling debut at Cork and suffered another odds-on reverse at Leopardstown over Christmas.
