Thurles black-type double for Mullins & Townend After a Listed success with Karia Des Blaises earlier on the card, Willie Mullins and Paul Townend doubled up in the other black-type contest at Thurles when Bon Viveur defied notable market weakness to land the BOYLE Sports Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle. After drifting from 6/1 to 14s before the off, the Jackie Mullins-owned six-year-old was held up in rear by Townend in the Grade 3 event over just short of two miles-five. In what was a steadily-run affair, all four runners were in with a shout on the run to the last before Open Secret and Bon Viveur went on, and it was the latter who led inside the final 100 yards to score by three-parts of a length. The son of Flemensfirth had won his maiden at Tramore in November and had coughed post-race when running poorly at Navan last month. Townend quipped "It was hard to get a few people on the phone beforehand, so maybe that's why he was such a big price! "When you are riding for Willie though, you have a chance every day and this is for a very important owner, so it is nice to get it done. "To be fair, he was plenty keen going so slow in behind them, but at times he gave himself a chance, was able to sling-shot off the final bend and the two good jumps in the straight made the difference. "He is a big massive horse who covers ground and jumps really well, so I thought going so slow wouldn't suit him. I thought I was doing everything wrong by letting it turn into a sprint, but he showed a turn of foot that I didn't expect." Additional reporting by Tom Weekes
