Gaelic Warrior powered home to claim another victory at the highest level as the Willie Mullins-trained eight-year-old won the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup.
The son of Maxios, owned by Rich and Susannah Ricci, has had a tremendous season and backed up his eight-length Cheltenham win with a resounding defeat of old rival and stable companion Fact To File.
Mark Walsh set out to make all the running aboard Fact To File, tracked by fellow JP McManus representative Inothewayurthinkin, with Grangeclare West and Gaelic Warrior behind and Champ Kiely hunted around in rear by Danny Mullins.
Irish Gold Cup winner Fact To File, who skipped last month's Ryanair Chase on account of the ground, still held the advantage despite a mistake five out, but Paul Townend had moved Gaelic Warrior within striking distance and with four to jump they landed almost as one.
Gaelic Warrior moved into a narrow advantage after the next fence and with two to jump the 5/6 favourite asserted his dominance. There were no late dramas and Townend was able to ease down as Gaelic Warrior came home 26 lengths clear of his pace-setting stablemate.
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Wednesday’s triumph was Gaelic Warrior’s seventh career success at Grade 1 level, while he was becoming the first Cheltenham Gold Cup winner to double up in the Punchestown Festival equivalent since the Jessica Harrington-trained Sizing John in 2017.
The win also saw Mullins become the most successful trainer in the race’s history as his sixth score took him one better than Tom Dreaper who took the honours on five occasions including a treble for the great Arkle in 1964, 1965 and 1966.
Paddy Power make Gaelic Warrior their 2/1 favourite to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup again in March 2027.
Winning jockey Townend said on Racing TV: "He was class, wasn't he? He was saucy on the way to the start which worried me a little bit, but he did chill out when we got there and once we jumped off he dropped his head. I got in a lovely little pocket and he did everything right from there.
"He can do (come alive on the downhill run), but like Cheltenham, it wasn't anything like he can be. I was happy enough, they often run down the hill there but once he levelled off he was happy again. He was listening to me, big jumps when I wanted them or when they presented themselves. He was always thinking on his feet and he's grown up a hell of a lot. He has a hell of an engine.
"For the season that he's had, he's just so tough. He was here in brilliant form. It's a credit to Willie and the owners too, to take each other on (with Fact To File)."
Mullins said: "It was tremendous, my heart was in my mouth when I could see Paul taking Gaelic Warrior up to Fact To File... it was tough for me watching, the way things were going today I thought maybe one of them with knock the other. But the two of them jumped fantastic.
"It was a fantastic race to watch, to be here to see it, and it takes good owners to let the two horses take one another on. A tremendous day's racing.
"A lot of our horses, today especially, have run poor - horses who have come back from Cheltenham. So I thought Fact To File might have the edge because he might be that bit fresher but it didn't work out that way. I always feel class horses will produce even when the rest of the stable may be going back a little bit."
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