Joli Travail wins under McGuinness to give Mullins treble Anna McGuinness made virtually all the running on the Willie Mullins trained Joli Travail to win the John Dowling Memorial Maiden Hurdle at Punchestown. Successful on his only start in France, the J.P. McManus owned gelding was off the track for 910 days before making an encouraging stable/hurdling debut at Killarney last month. Sent off 2/1f here, McGuinness kept it simple on the six-year-old, setting perfect fractions out in front. Kicking on after jumping two out, the only momentary worry for favourite backers came when Joli Travail stumbled after jumping the last. However, McGuinness soon had him back on an even keel, staying on strongly to win by two-and-a-half length from William Butler. Trainer Willie Mullins was completing a treble on the afternoon, following earlier wins for Spanish Harlem and Keep Up. David Casey said: “It looked like he learned a bit in Killarney, and he jumped better today. “He probably improved a bit for the run and the extra few furlongs helped. “Anna is a good rider. She used to work for Jimmy Lambe, and he recommended her to us when he was moving to Australia. “She’s been with us just over a year and is a great seat over an obstacle. She is willing to learn and it’s great to give her the opportunity. “Hopefully the horse will go on and looking at the size of him, he should be jumping fences.” Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
