BLEWBURY trainer Eve Johnson Houghton celebrated her first winner in Ireland when Ice Age completed a hat-trick by landing a valuable prize at the Curragh.

The four-year-old, who recorded back-to-back wins at Windsor last month including the Sky Bet-sponsored Sprint Series Finale, picked up €88,500 after romping home in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF “Bold Lad” Sprint Handicap.

Charlie Bishop allowed the 15-2 shot to bowl along at the head of affairs, before kicking clear inside the last of the six furlongs to score by a length and a quarter from fellow British challenger Al Qahwa on Sunday.

“He’s just kept on improving this year,” said a delighted Johnson Houghton.

“He’s so quick into his stride that sometimes he was doing too much too early and then not quite getting home.

“Now he’s learned that even though he’s quick into his stride, he doesn’t have to go flat out.”

Johnson Houghton and Bishop had teamed up to strike with Accidental Agent at Kempton the previous day.

The three-year-old’s success in a seven-furlong handicap provided compensation for stable star Scarlet Dragon’s agonising head defeat by Chemical Charge in the Group 3 toteplacepot September Stakes earlier on the card.

Meanwhile, Coneygree could now go to Ireland for the JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal on November 4, or run in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on the same day after missing today’s Guinness Kerry National due to testing conditions.

The 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, from Mark Bradstock’s Letcombe Bassett stables, was on course to make his seasonal reappearance at Listowel, but connections were put off by the prospect of heavy ground.

Bradstock’s wife and assistant, Sara, said: “Having galloped him on perfect ground and on the all-weather, the powers that be say it wouldn’t be good for his fragile legs to run him over three miles on bottomless ground under top-weight.”

Back on the Flat, Wantage trainer Henry Candy landed a 128-1 across-the-card treble with Turnpike Trip (3-1) and Claudine (16-1) winning at Lingfield, before Oritz justified 10-11 favouritism at Kempton.

Mick Channon’s West Ilsley stables were also among the winners with Caravela getting off the mark in a Thirsk maiden on Saturday after nursery victories earlier in the week for Neola at Goodwood and Diamond Dougal at Brighton.