WILLIE MULLINS extended his record haul of Grade One wins in a season to 39 after Kargese came with a flying finish to claim the Ballymore Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle at Punchestown.
The Closutton maestro had already struck with Lossiemouth earlier on in the day and Paul Townend produced this 9-4 favourite with a perfectly-timed run to add another to the tally.
Kargese provided one of those elite-level victories at the Dublin Racing Festival in February, before finishing second in the Triumph at Cheltenham and again at Aintree.
She had pulled too hard early on during those runner-up efforts but settled much better under a confident ride from Townend on this occasion.
It seemed as though the jockey may have been a touch too patient when Kargese still had four horses to pass approaching the final flight.
However, a swift jump at that obstacle meant she landed with more momentum than the other contenders and Kargese came home a length and a half ahead of Bottler’secret.
Earlier, Lossiemouth cruised to victory in the Coolmore NH Sires Bolshoi Ballet Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle to complete a Cheltenham-Punchestown double for the second straight season.
Last term, she followed up her Triumph success by battling home in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle in Co Kildare.
This time, the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old arrived at Punchestown on the back of comfortably accounting for Telmesomethinggirl in the Mares’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park.
All class 💪
— Punchestown (@punchestownrace) May 4, 2024
Lossiemouth is a dominant winner of the @coolmorestud Sires Bolshoi Ballet Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle under @PTownend 👏#PunchestownFestival pic.twitter.com/Y7z1sbhkQS
That same rival built up a healthy lead early on under Rachael Blackmore but Paul Townend and Lossiemouth always had the front-runner in their sights when lying second and took control before entering the home straight.
Stablemates Gala Marceau and Ashroe Diamond did their best to go with Lossiemouth but the result was never in doubt and it was all plain sailing for the 2-11 favourite, who crossed the line seven lengths clear.
