Sopelana decisively lands second Punchestown success Having scored over course and distance in November, the Cian Collins trained Sopelana repeated the feat when running out a comfortable winner of the Matchbook Betting Exchange Handicap Hurdle at Punchestown. Well beaten in two subsequent outings, the daughter of Expert Eye regained the winning thread here under a patient ride from Kevin Healy. Held up towards rear in the initial stages, the filly moved closer into fourth after the third last flight. Despite getting the penultimate hurdle wrong, Sopelana came through on the inside to lead entering the home straight. Stretching clear on the run to the last, the Tallys Bar Syndicate owned 8/1 chance kept on well to hold the late effort of 5/4f Bibe Mus by two-and-a-quarter lengths. Cian Collins said: “She loves the heavy ground and it’s great get another win out of her. She did it very well and Kevin is great value for the 7lb. “It’s great for the lads (Tallys Bar Syndicate which includes Hector O hEochagain). They are all away today but enjoy their racing and are good owners to have. “She might sneak into the Fred Winter now. We might look at that and if the ground came up soft at Cheltenham you wouldn’t know what might happen.” Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
