Road Exile made a winning debut 24 hours after his former stablemate, Classical Creek, a fellow first-time-out winning pointer, had impressed in a Down Royal bumper on rules debut. Road Exile looks to be the latest smart pointer that Cormac Doyle has introduced, as the Harzand gelding justified the confidence that his connections had in him, which saw him sent off as the well-backed short-priced favourite. He posted an assured round of jumping, and having travelled strongly throughout, he was always within his comfort zone. Leading the field into the home straight, he had a wall of challengers surrounding him, but again his jumping proved to be a real asset as he outbattled a more experienced and previously-placed rival in very game fashion, clocking a time 12 seconds quicker than the average on the card.