Lossiemouth stormed past all her rivals to claim a stunning victory in the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The 7/5 favorite, targeted for this race over filly hurdles, was one of three horses trained by Willie Mullins and selected by stable jockey Paul Townend.
The gray mare’s Cheltenham record was perfect heading into Tuesday’s feature race and remained so until she defeated Brighter Daysa Head by six and a half lengths and New Lion came home in third place without any trouble.
Alexei ran a big race in fourth place, just ahead of the brave defending champion Golden Ace.
“She has a filly pedigree so she has speed and I think the cheekpiece made a big difference,” Mullins said.
“It helped her focus even more, and as horses get older you probably start looking for ways to escape from hard work, just like we do, and this really encouraged her.”
Rossie Mouse leaves Brighter Day Ahead after her in Champion Hurdle
“I saw her driving to work the other morning, and when she pulled up, Paul also pulled over and spoke to him, and we both had the same feeling that this was the way to go. And the race looked very open, so we thought we’d give it a try.”
“We were all nervous up until third-to-last, but then I saw her batting at third-to-last and I looked back at JP (McManus)’s colors (New Lion) and thought, yeah, he’s starting to get pressure and he was the one I was worried about.”
“Winning the Champion Hurdle definitely eclipses anything she’s ever done before. But to be back here for a fourth year in a row is an achievement in itself, but to win it four years in a row, she’s had a triumphant win, two filly wins and this one, so that’s great.”
“Just 12 months ago, the Statesman would have left her for dead. Last year, when the Statesman was ousted, he might have pulled her down!”
McManus hits a double on his 75th birthday
Johnny Who returns to Cheltenham winners’ enclosure
Saratoga and Johnny provided owner JP McManus with the perfect birthday present on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.
In the McCoy Contractors Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, Saratoga was one of three horses running in the green and gold silks of McManus, who celebrated his 75th birthday, with the Padraig Roche-trained gray horse at 10/1 odds under jockey Mark Walsh.
The former Flat performer went home ahead of Winston Jr. to emulate the success of his half-brother Brazil, who breezed through the 22-horse field and succeeded in 2022 with the same owner, trainer and jockey combination.
Jonnyhoo, coached by Jonjo and AJ O’Neill, managed to avoid Search for Glory after dropping a rider at the end and wrap up the leading Quebecer to win the Trustmark Ultima Handicap Chase.
Champion trainer Dan Skelton was very bullish in the run-up to Cheltenham that Madara was his best chance of success in the handicap, but he won the Sun Racing Plate handicap chase well under Harry Skelton.
Henderson bookended the opening day as Holloway Queen won the National Hunt Chase, becoming James Bowen’s first Festival winner.
