Apolon De Charnie adopted within the hoofprints of final 12 months’s winner, Poniros, to supply Willie Mullins with one other big-price winner of the Grade 1 JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Poniros was 100/1 in 2025, however Apolon De Charnie was half that worth (50/1) this afternoon, as Mullins teamed up together with his son, Patrick, within the opening race on the Boodles Gold Cup Day card.
The winner travelled strongly into second place earlier than the ultimate flight of hurdles and was quickly ridden clear by Mullins Jnr to expire a one-and-a-half size victor over the Skelton’s Maestro Conti (5/1).
Minella Examine (7/1) from the Adam Nichol yard and ridden by Ryan Mania was an extra short-head again in third.
Earlier this morning a wager of £20,000 each-way was positioned on the eventual third-placer.
Reacting to the win, coach Willie Mullins acknowledged:
“Each time I checked out him on the TV, I might see him going effectively. He was going effectively on a regular basis, whereas my different ones had been assembly with hassle… Proactif was coming with a run, Mon Creuset was coming with a run, I assumed, ‘We’ve possibilities right here’, coming to the second final. However Patrick managed to get his head by.”
