Quevega was much too good for Reve de Sivola at Punchestown© Photo Healy Racing
Solwhit s withdrawal (necessitated a 40 cent Rule 4) at the start, owing to some blood showing in a nostril, ruined the much awaited clash with Quevega but nothing could take from the super-star mare's performance in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes World Series Hurdle to win it for the fourth-year-in-a-row in front of 16,116 racegoers. Reve de Sivola tried valiantly from the front but Ruby Walsh was happy from a long way out. He let Quevega go about her business from before the last as she stretched on to score from that aforementioned rival by five lengths. They left Zaidpour all of thirty one lengths behind in third.
Walsh commented: "It's plenty heavy enough for her but in fairness it's plenty heavy enough for any horse today. She's just a brilliant little mare. She's exceptionally well-placed and trained.
"She has a great attitude. Ildar (Badredtinov, her groom) does a brilliant job with her. She's not the easiest mare in the world to look after.
"He doesn't speak much English but he speaks Quevega!
"She's so accurate in her jumping. She travels, she's honest. She's the real deal, she has four of these won, five in Cheltenham. Solwhit didn't run but you can only beat what's put in front of you and beat them she did.
"The older she gets the better she travels – the more relaxed she is. She's a wonderful jumper – very, very accurate.
"She's only a nine-year-old and has been to Cheltenham to win five times which is incredible.
"The way she dug herself out of a hole to win over there this year was amazing.
"She's the best mare I've ridden – a once in a lifetime job!"
Meanwhile winning trainer Willie Mullins said: "She did a bit of work last Saturday that we'd like to have seen her do in advance of Cheltenham.
"We were worried going to Cheltenham that she was a bit big in herself which she was, as she nearly looked like a mare in foal over there.
"She looked big and she weighed big. That's probably why she was so sluggish in Cheltenham. She probably just got her second wind across the top and down the hill. Once she got that then, and saw the last hurdle, when the gap opened up – I never saw anything like it, she just devoured the jump and the ground.
"That's her attitude – when Ruby asks her to go she just gets down to work.
"Last Saturday was the first time that I saw her race fit. She just needed to be race fit to do what she did today because that ground out there is very heavy.
She's not liking it as she gets older but still as those horses get older, they are stronger, and they get through that sort of ground.
"She has more speed too than people give her credit for. I always have her entered in the two mile races in case anything happens to Hurricane Fly.
"She works with plenty of speed at home. We're never afraid of dropping her back to two miles.
"I think the plan will remain the same for next season – I don't see any reason to change it.
"Whether we go to France now or not I don't know – I'll have to chat to the Hammer And Trowel Syndicate (her owners).
"We'll have to see how she comes out of today.
"If she can do these two races every year it'll be fantastic.
"The big thing we want now is to go back to Cheltenham for a sixth mares hurdle."
Meanwhile Charles Byrnes said of Solwhit: "There was blood coming from his nose and it turned out to be a scratch but Davy (Russell) had no choice but to withdraw the horse because there was blood there.
"We dodged a right one anyway in Quevega!" (AM & EM)
