Apple’s Jade completes Grade One double with another big win

Apple’s Jade completed her Grade One double as she ran out an impressive winner of the AES Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at Punchestown.

Willie Mullins’s charge finished second to Ivanovich Gorbatov in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in March but then reversed that form in comprehensive style when seeing off that rival by 41 lengths at Aintree earlier this month.

She was sent off the 8-13 favourite to beat her old adversary again here and it looked set to be another battle between the pair as they kicked clear of the rest of the field.

However, Cooper was merely lobbing along in front and when he gave the signal, Apple’s Jade pushed on again and eventually came home nine lengths clear.

Ivanovich Gorbatov tired in the dying strides allowing another Mullins runner, Let’s Dance, to snatch second in the shadow of the post.

Apple’s Jade is an 8-1 shot from 14s with Paddy Power for next year’s Champion Hurdle and Mullins admits she is certainly an above-average recruit.

He said: “She had a very hard race in Aintree and I wondered if it would impact on her today. We let her take her chance as it’s the end of the season.

“She looks very, very good. She won at Christmas but then we had an awful time as she was stiff and sore and we couldn’t train her.

“She came back at Cheltenham and that put her right as she flew in at Aintree.

“I’d say we will leave it at that. There is a chance she could go to France for the Prix du Breil but we’ll have to see.”

Whiteout produced a cracking performance from the front to land the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Champion Hurdle.

The 16-1 chance was much the lesser-fancied of Willie Mullins's duo behind favourite Limini, but after winning out the battle for the lead with Keppols Queen at the second last, she charged ahead under Paul Townend.

Limini scythed through the field to be the main danger approaching the last, but Whiteout had already flown, going on to score readily by four and three-quarter lengths.

Mullins felt a change in tactics had benefitted Whiteout and he believes she is capable of winning on the level too.

He said: “Paul gave her a game ride from the front. We decided to change tactics today and it paid off. She likes this track and jumped really well.

“I booked her to visit Shantou during the week. She is entered in the Chester Cup but won’t go there now. I think there is a good flat handicap left in her though.

“Limini didn’t jump well enough.”