Dec 11,2024
The diminutive Hey Sunshine brought up her hat-trick in fine style when Paul Townend spotted a gap on the inside to run away with the Buy Your Punchestown Christmas Gift Mares Novice Hurdle.
There might not be much of the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old, but she is improving at a rate of knots.
Victories at Kilbeggan and Downpatrick hardly suggested she was a good thing on this rise into Listed company but she comprehensively came out on top.
Rounding the turn for home, Townend looked like he may be struggling for room in the straight but the second he spied a gap, Hey Sunshine (11-8 favourite) shot through and quickened away to beat Tareze by three and a half lengths.
When it was put to him that the gaps opened up nicely, Townend said: "They did, but you need the animal to take them.
"In fairness to her, she's improving every run and has a lovely attitude for it, really wants it.
"The step up in trip helped and she hit the line strong again. The ground was a bit of an unknown but she handled it well and it opens more doors for her again.
"I don't know if she'd handle heavy ground but she'll handle nice winter ground. She handled that better than I thought though, and maybe she will handle it.
"I'd say she's just improving all the time and she's tough.
"They raced off the end of the back straight which gave me a chance to get a gap down the straight then. She's done it well."
The feature race win was part of a four-timer on the day for Mullins to go with Dancing City (2-5 favourite), You Oughta Know (7-4) and Kitzbuhel (3-1).
Triple Grade One-winning novice hurdler Dancing City made a satisfactory start to life over fences at Punchestown.
Willie Mullins' seven-year-old always looked more of a chaser in the making yet he exceeded expectations over hurdles, winning Grade Ones at Leopardstown, Aintree and Punchestown.
His only defeat at that level came at Cheltenham when he finished third in the Albert Bartlett behind Stellar Story and The Jukebox Man.
Sent off the 2-5 favourite for the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Chase, it shaped as an informative affair given Henry de Bromhead's Mossy Fen Park and Gordon Elliott's Shannon Royale had already shown decent form over the bigger obstacles.
However, the bigger threat may have come from his stablemate Olympic Man who still seemed to be travelling as well as anything when he made a real mess of the fourth-last, needing Danny Mullins to perform miracles to maintain the partnership.
That cost him any chance, and while Shannon Royale did close to within a length and a half of Dancing City after the last he never looked like catching Paul Townend on the winner.
The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham looks an obvious target in the future.
"That was nice, he jumped brilliant in the main and then took in the scenery down the straight!" said Townend.
"I gave him a slap going to the last to make him concentrate and he jumped it well. Then we heard another one coming he pulled out plenty again.
"It's as good a start as you could hope for. He's very good, he has been good since he started and we were hoping for that.
"I was happy enough to take a lead, but I didn't break stride and let him roll along.
"I think he'll come on for the run, all of ours are, especially over that trip (three miles), he took his blow, had a look and went on again so very happy."
James's Gate provided the connections of Fastorslow with a timely boost when he made a winning comeback from a lengthy absence in the Punchestown Festival 2025 Tickets On Sale Maiden Hurdle.
A talented bumper performer for Willie Mullins in 2022, finishing third to his then stablemate Facile Vega in the championship event at Cheltenham, he was then off for the best part of two years before returning for Martin Brassil.
He finished a fine fourth on that occasion in a hot Leopardstown maiden hurdle and was then pitched into the Grade Two Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle and finished third to Mystical Power, where he was beaten over 20 lengths and not seen since.
Sent off a 6-1 chance in the hands of Ricky Doyle, he travelled sweetly throughout and when the keen-going Joystick faded, James's Gate was allowed to coast to a four-and-a-half-length success over the favourite Forty Coats, despite a mistake at the last.
Brassil and James's Gate's owners Sean and Bernadine Mulryan have recently been forced to rule their top-class staying chaser Fastorslow out for the rest of the season.
"He's had his problems, but he's been in a good place since he came back this summer," said Brassil of the winner.
"We know he has raw talent from his bumper days and we'll see how much we can capitalise on that.
"I'd like to see his jumping improve a bit, but he could be a talented horse going forward.
"He's a nice horse to have around the place, he's a lovely individual."
