The 13/8 favourite Jasmin De Vaux won the first of three Grade 1 races at Punchestown on day two for Willie Mullins.
Carrying the double green silks of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, the French-bred was a first winner at this year’s festival for jockey Paul Townend, when taking the Channor Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle.
In what looked like a clash between the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle winner from the Cheltenham Festival and the Grade 1 Turners’ Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree, Honesty Policy (5/2), the latter kept on well in the dying stages of the race to win.
Though Jasmin De Vaux bumped the Gordon Elliott-trained runner in the run-in, the Closutton-handled runner had a half length in hand at the line in the Channon Real Estate Group Novice Hurdle.
Andy Slattery’s Fleur In The Park (17/2) was a further six lengths behind in third, under rider Cian Quirke.
It was relief for winning jockey Paul Townend, who lost his irons in the home straight, to finally visit the winner’s enclosure at this year’s Punchestown Festival.
“Always good to get one on the board,” the Lisgoold rider admitted. “You’d have hoped for one yesterday with good rides. We’d to wait a while today to get it and I nearly threw that one away as well!”
