Faugheen proved his supremacy today when claiming the Betway Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival (10 March).
Undefeated
Willie Mullins’ undefeated star led from the off under jockey Ruby Walsh. His stablemate Arctic Fire followed him home up the Cheltenham hill but the favourite could not be caught. With Hurricane Fly finishing third, it led to a valuable one-two-three for the Irish champion trainer in the day’s feature race.
“It’s some training performance to have the 1-2-3 and a 1-2 in the Supreme,” said Ruby Walsh. “It’s a great place to work and the man’s a genius. He has a great team of staff around him and it’s brilliant to be part of it.”
Mullins had an unforgettable day at Prestbury Park, also winning the Supreme Novices Hurdle with Douvan, and following it up with a win for Un De Sceaux in the Arkle Novices Chase.
Came to grief
But the dream of four wins from four favourites fell short when market leader Annie Power came to grief at the final flight in the OLBG Mares Hurdle – but victory still went to Mullins’ other runner, Glens Melody.
“It’s rare to have four runners on a day like this, let alone four winners – I keep saying to myself, ‘enjoy it while it lasts’,” said Willie.
Annie Power seemed none the worse for her fall, and while L’unique had a nasty spill at the same fence, she was attended by vets behind the green screens and was soon back to her feet.
Other races
Sadly there was one equine fatality in the penultimate race of the day, with Theatre Queen falling in the 4m amateurs’National Hunt Chase. That race was won by the Gordon Elliott-trained Cause Of Causes.
The other wins of the day were The Druid’s Nephew in theUltima Business Solutions Handicap Chase, trained by Neil Mulholland and ridden by Barry Geraghty, and Irish Cavalier (Rebecca Curtis/Paul Townend) in the final race of the day.