The novice Letterlee provided permit holder Tom Cahill and jockey Shay Barry with the most memorable day of their careers by landing yesterday's Burger King Thyestes Chase at Gowran.
Letterlee was having only her fifth start over fences, but with the top three in the market all hitting the dirt, Letterlee sailed over any doubts about her inexperience with the same aplomb as she sailed over the obstacles to beat Corymandel by nine lengths, with New Co back in third.
Those two were filling the same positions as last year, but once Barry sent Letterlee up to join the pace-setting Corymandel before the turn in, the mare was always holding the initiative.
The favourite, Tell The Nipper, was making ground when he gave Richard Dunwoody a heavy fall at the third last, the punters' second choice, Una's Choice, unseated his rider four out, while Dun Belle exited at the seventh from home.
Barry (25), who has ridden just over 50 winners, said: "That is definitely my biggest winner. I thought at the second last something might come to me, but when I grabbed a hold of her she really quickened up. It's great for the lads who have got her ready."
Cahill, who works in the dairy industry and took out a permit in 1981, and trains just four horses from his base near Grangemockler, Tipperary, was also keen to spread the praise: "All I do is feed and enter her. My son Mark does all the work. He rides out for John Nallen in the morning, comes home at 12.30 and works with ours. We work them on Ger Hourigan's gallops."
Small doesn't mean a lack of confidence, however, and Cahill, whose string consists of two point to pointers and Olympic Lady, who ran earlier in the day, added: "The only thing I was afraid of was that she might be a bit novicey, and the ground was a bit dead, but I knew she was really well."
Richard Dunwoody stood down from his remaining ride after the Tell The Nipper fall after feeling unwell and missed out on a winner. Garrett Cotter replaced him on Bob Treacy and Cotter gave Michael Hickey's 10 to 1 shot a dashing ride to beat Buckminster by 10 lengths.
It wasn't a totally bad day for Dunwoody, though, as he rode a pre-Thyestes double. Nomadic, a Longchamp winner when trained by Andre Fabre and an 80,000 guineas Newmarket purchase into Noel Meade's yard, signalled possible Triumph Hurdle hopes when comfortably winning the opening maiden.
"We had more done with him today. We'll see about the Triumph, but I think he's a nice horse," Meade said.
Ballygowan Beauty, a relative of the 1987 Thyestes winner Lucisus, justified favouritism under Dunwoody in the second division of the Sligo Maiden, while the first division went as expected to Society Brief, who easily beat Dunwoody on Glen Empress.
Laochra was a warm favourite for the bumper but ran free and could only finish third behind Jolly Side and Margaret Mullins, who was prominent throughout.
