Punchestown Friday review and replays including Lossiemouth winning Boodles Champion Hurdle

Lossiemouth added to her already glittering trophy cabinet with a first career success in the two-mile Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown.

Willie Mullins’ star mare, who runs in the famous pink and green silks of Rich and Susannah Ricci, has enjoyed another stellar campaign this time around having won the Morgiana, December Hurdle and Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham en route to her latest triumph.

The only time she’s been beaten this season was when a relatively lacklustre second to fellow mare Brighterdaysahead in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival in February.

The seven-year-old grey was sent off the 2/7 favourite and, having jumped and travelled well in behind front-runners Wilful and Golden Ace (11/1), she stormed home under Paul Townend, who only really asked for an effort on the run to the last flight, ultimately prevailing by a handful of lengths from Jeremy Scott's mare in second. Wilful stuck to the task in third at 16/1.

It was an 11th success at the highest level for Lossiemouth, while Mullins was completing the remarkable achievement of winning the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup at both Cheltenham and Punchestown in the same season.

Townend told Racing TV: "She was very dominant in the end. When we turned out of the back straight, I thought she was going to run away with me - but it's a pleasure isn't it? No, she was dynamite again.

"They (cheekpieces) have sharpened her up, at that level and at that trip, but she wasn't doing too bad without them beforehand was she?!

“It’s hard to believe she’s only seven, she’s been around forever - and hopefully she is around forever, but she won’t be, so we’ll have to enjoy her while we have her.

“State Man is a great servant, but imagine how lucky we are to have this one to step into his place. She’s just very good, and she’s so straightforward. She used to be keen, but she’s not anymore - you can put her wherever you want. It doesn’t matter how the race plays out."

Earlier, Mullins and Townend also took the other Grade 1 on the Friday card, with King Rasko Grey just clinging on from the fast-finishing Lord Byron (7/1) to win the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle.

Close to the pace throughout, 8/13 favourite King Rasko Grey went on coming to the final flight and although another decent jump appeared to leave the race at his mercy, Faye Bramley’s British raider Lord Byron rattled home under Harry Cobden.

He only went down by a head in the end, with two lengths further back to third home Kiely’s Place (10/1).

Dinoblue (2/5 fav) was yet another Mullins-trained horse to follow up on Cheltenham success as she landed the Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase.

The prolific nine-year-old had completed a hat-trick of victories in the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase at the Festival in mid-March, doubling down having scored in the same race last season, and she justified odds-on favouritism in Punchestown’s version again as well.

Owned by JP McManus, Dinoblue was landing a 13th career success and 11th in the capable hands of jockey Mark Walsh, although there was a brief moment of concern when she made a mess of the third-last fence.

Walsh, who was registering his 900th career winner, regained momentum soon after and Dinoblue stayed on strongly to pull away from Only By Night, the winner’s stablemate Spindleberry (9/2) running on late to grab second but well adrift.

The jockey said on Racing TV: “To get to 900 is brilliant. She was brilliant bar the third-last, but she can do that. She’s done it twice already this season. But she came and she was brave, and that was the only blip.

“She came here after she won the Mares’ Chase in Cheltenham last year so she likes it here.”

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