Willie Mullins won the opening Grade 1 race of the festival but not with the horse most punters would have expected as Irancy upset a duo of better fancied stable companions to land the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner Kopek Des Bordes was sent off a warm 30/100f to follow up that victory, with recent Aintree scorer Salvator Mundi 10/3) appearing his only conceivable danger.

That pair led from flag fall, with Salvator Mundi heading the often less than fluent Kopek Des Bordes.

At halfway, the race looked set to be decided between the two but stablemates Irancy and Karbau closed right up on the run to the penultimate flight.

After another poor jump by the market leader at that obstacle, he soon dropped back to fourth, as the other three Mullins runners pressed on.

Irancy, travelling easily the best of that trio, eased ahead under Mark Walsh on the run to the last, quickening clear inside the final furlong to win readily by nine lengths.

Salvator Mundi held Karbau for second, with Kopek Des Bordes well beaten back in fourth.

Winning jockey Mark Walsh said: "Fair play to Willie for getting this lad to the track because he is a seven-year-old and he has had a lot of problems. Luckily this year everything has gone right for him and he deserved that big race today.

"Once we jumped the third hurdle at the top of the hill, the two lads were gone on me and I couldn't go any quicker, so I didn't force this fella.

"He didn't come down the hill in Cheltenham great so I just held him together going down the hill here in Punchestown and just let him go his own comfortable stride. I wasn't chasing them. Luckily enough, they came back to me going to the second last.

"He was probably there too soon and started pricking his ears. I tried to stay beside Patrick as long as I could in the straight, just filling him up because we had gone such a gallop but look, he was good, he went away and galloped away to the line."

Willie Mullins, who trained the first four home, said: “We took all the gear off Salvator Mundi today and it worked as far as his jumping was concerned but he just got running too fast and they couldn’t keep that up.

“Paul knowing how good Salvator Mundi is couldn’t let him go.

“Irancy has always been a good horse and met with a setback after winning here earlier in the season, but it might have been the best thing to have happened as he came here fresh.

“I gave Kopek Des Bordes a nice break after Cheltenham and probably gave him too much and should have brought him to somewhere like Ayr or Perth.

“Looking at him in the parade ring I thought he was carrying too much condition and that showed in today’s pace.”

Paddy Powers went 16/1 about Irancy for the Arkle Chase and 25/1 Champion Hurdle.

Additional reporting by Alan Magee.