Bellshill and Patrick Mullins© Photo Healy Racing
< Don Cossack capped a brilliant campaign with an emphatic victory in the Bibby Financial Services Ireland Punchestown Gold Cup.
Passed over by Bryan Cooper, with fellow Gigginstown runner Road To Riches a more certain stayer, the 5-2 chance was given a typically patient ride by Paul Carberry.
He tracked Road To Riches and Djakadam until being unleashed in the straight and strode purposefully clear by seven lengths, with Djakadam and Road To Riches taking minor honours, just as they did in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Not for the first time this week, a Willie Mullins second string landed Grade One honours, this time in the Irish Daily Mirror Novice Hurdle.
Hot favourite Shaneshill coasted into contention turning for home, but his stablemate Killultagh Vic (8-1) was travelling just as well and showed the better reserves of stamina to hold off the late thrust of Thistlecrack with Shaneshill fading into third.
Mullins struck again, with Bellshill giving him his fourth success in the Attheraces.com Champion INH Flat Race since 2011.
Despite being the choice of Patrick Mullins, Bellshill was allowed to go off at 8-1 and always looked like he would play a part in the finish before inflicting a three-and-a-quarter-length defeat on market leader Disko < Walk To Freedom had shown precious little since landing a Cork maiden in January and probably deserved to be sent off at 50-1 for the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel Hurdle, but he belied those odds and there was apparently no fluke about his six-and-a-half-length defeat of Marchese Marconi < Ballyadam Approach (12-1) was out of the handicap in the Guinness Handicap Chase but having tracked the front-running Baby Mix for much of the race, he hit the front approaching the last and stayed on strongly to go in by seven and a half lengths.< Shamiran (33-1) bounced back to form to repeat his victory of 2012 in the Martinstown Opportunity Series Final Handicap Hurdle.
