As if Monday's Grand National success on Bobbyjo wasn't enough to make Paul Carberry the central character of Fairyhouse's Easter meeting, the locally-born rider hammered the point home with an almost 190 to 1 treble at the festival's wind up yesterday to earn the leading rider award with five winners.

Highlight of yesterday's three was that hardy perennial Merry Gale who dismissed any thoughts of tiredness after his two Aintree races with a defeat of Cable Beach, also owned by Herb Stanley, in the Oliver Freany & Dan Moore Handicap Chase.

Richard Dunwoody had sent Cable Beach past Merry Gale at half-way but the winner's enthusiasm was all too evident and Carberry forced him back to the front up the run-in to win by three-parts of a length. Another Aintree veteran, Jeffell started favourite but could only finish a 10 lengths third and his rider Conor O'Dwyer said: "Two miles on that ground is sharp enough for him. It wasn't the effects of Liverpool that beat him."

Liverpool clearly hadn't taken the edge off Merry Gale either who was winning his 16th race and taking his prizemoney total close to £300,000.

Asked if Merry Gale will now go for the BMW Chase at Punchestown, trainer Jim Dreaper confirmed he will and added: "And then he'll go to Laytown! He takes a lot of work and Herb would like him to run in the Galway Plate, too. We thought he was going to be a great horse but he's had his problems and turned into a very good horse instead."

Carberry opened the proceedings with a win on Noel Meade's Johnny Brushaside, the favourite in the maiden hurdle but then came to the aid of the layers with a 10 to 1 win on Aidan O'Brien's Ceili Queen in the Beginners Chase.