Colm Murphy's mare Zanoosh battled on well to deny Willie Mullins a fifth consecutive win in the Grade 1 Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse.
The Colm Murphy-trained Zanoosh won a bumper at this meeting a year ago and hasn't looked back since getting off the mark over hurdles at Punchestown in December.
Since then, she had won twice at Navan and had then gained her biggest success previously in the Grade 3 Shannon Spray Mares Novice Hurdle at Limerick on a day when most eyes would have been on the Cheltenham Festival.
Indeed, Oldschool Outlaw finished runner-up in the Dawn Run at Cheltenham on the same day and was sent off the 11/4 favourite to go one better here, but she was unable to progress once the closely-grouped field turned into the straight.
Instead it was Place de La Nation, who had been third in the Dawn Run and was bidding to give Willie Mullins a fifth straight win in the Honeysuckle, who began to pull clear along with Zanoosh going to the second last.
Switched to the inner by Brian Hayes, who had partnered Zanoosh to all her previous wins this season, the 9/2-shot responded well to lead at the last and was driven out to win by a length and three quarters from Place de La Nation, with Mullins also saddling the third and fourth, Charme de Faust and Future Prospect, ahead of the favourite back in fifth.
Faring best of the three British mares was Jackie Hobbs in sixth for Harry Derham.
WATCH: ZANOOSH wins the Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse
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Murphy told Racing TV: "You're hoping they keep improving, she's done nothing wrong all year and in fairness she's improved with every run.
"She's been good, I said after the second run at Navan that we might not see her again this year, after having a hard race on heavy ground, but she's improved with every run and come back bouncing.
"Again, we'll see how she is after this. We'll let her tell us. She has an entry at Aintree at the weekend but I'd say we probably won't go there! It (Cheltenham Festival) probably just didn't fall right for her this year and we're glad now that we didn't go.
"I was always happy, she travelled really well and Brian knows her well. She settled and slotted in, he had a lovely posi(tion) the whole way around."
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