She may not appear too often but her class is in no doubt as Quevega repeated her feat of last season with a Cheltenham/Punchestown Festival double by landing odds of 8/11 in the Ladbrokes.com World Series Hurdle.
A facile winner of the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, Ruby Walsh had to work a bit harder here in order to get the better of his little sister Katie aboard Mourad
The French import travelled well to lead early in the straight but, after making a mistake at the last, she needed to be driven out to hold off Mourad (11/2) by a length and a quarter. The pair stretched five and a half lengths clear of Carlito Brigante (16/1) in third.
Trainer Willie Mullins said: “She must be a machine to do what she did. I don't know where she found a leg from at the last. She's some athlete as nine out of ten horses would have fallen, and then to pick up and beat Mourad when he was flying at the finish.
“She's not that big but she's as strong as an ox and even after she made that mistake she rearranged herself and was galloping again after two strides. My immediate thought is to go for the French Champion Hurdle but I'll have to sit down and discuss it with the owners. I'm not tempted to take on the big boys next season, and she'll have the same campaign with the Mares Hurdle in Cheltenham.”
Mullins was also delighted with the performance of Mourad saying: “He upped his game again and is improving all season. He could go to France or maybe go back to the Flat as I think there is a good handicap in him over the summer.”
The champion trainer also indicated that Mikael D'Haguenet who weakened from the second last to finish eighth, will stick to hurdles next season.
Alan Magee
