Stormy Ireland made it three wins from as many starts this winter with a decent display in the Grade Three Limestone Lad Hurdle at Naas.
The Willie Mullins-trained mare came up just short of the best around last season, finishing second to Roksana at the Cheltenham Festival before following home super stablemate Benie Des Dieux at Punchestown.
But this season has gone swimmingly for the daughter of Motivator, who took up the running coming to the second-last flight from pace setter Mengli Khan.
Winning jockey Paul Townend only had to shake the reins to pull nicely clear approaching the last where odds-on (3/10) favourite Stormy Ireland put in a big, bold leap before running away to score by six lengths from Franco De Port, also trained by Mullins.
Mengli Khan held on to third from the running-on Big Blue.
Big Blue, trained by Australians Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, was reappearing for the first time after pulling up in the Christmas Hurdle won by Epatante at Kempton on Boxing Day.
Mullins said: "I was particularly pleased she was able to win at that sort of trip and she’s improving all the time. She doesn’t have to make her own running now which is good to see.
“She was rated 148 coming into this race so she is good enough to be entered and run in the Mares Hurdle at Cheltenham after that run.
“Franco De Port left his bad run at Christmas behind and I probably got the tactics wrong then. We made the running at Limerick and I don’t think it suited."
Sky Bet make Stormy Ireland 13/2 (NRNB) to go one better than last year in the OLBG Mares' Hurdle and PR Manager Michael Shinners said: "Willie Mullins has some fantastic mares to call upon and a lot depends on the Festival target of Benie Des Dieux but Stormy Ireland couldn't have done any more than win her three races this season and it could be that she's improved a bit since last spring."
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