Lakota Warrior made a very favourable impression when beaten only a head on his debut performance at Lingstown in March. The Denis Murphy-trained gelding was always close to the pace in this tightly grouped six-runner contest and began to make good progress from before two fences from home. From this point he made rapid ground, closing on the eventual winner and briefly got his head in front of him after jumping the last but Gerri Colombe surged forward on the flat to win only by a head. A €58,000 store purchase, the four-year-old is out of a half-sister to three-time track winner McLlhatton, who has displayed a nice mix of speed and stamina in this contest. Given the attributes he has shown on his debut performance, he will not be waiting long to enter the winners’ enclosure.