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Day four of the Galway Festival saw Willie Mullins tighten his grip on the leading trainer award with a near 14/1 treble, headlined by Zarak The Brave's success in the Guinness Galway Hurdle.
The first four-year-old to win the race since Perugino Diamond in 2000, Zarak The Brave lived up to his name by prevailing in a driving finish from the luckless Noel Meade-trained Jesse Evans, who was finishing placed in the race for the third year in succession. The winner was a smart juvenile hurdler last season, and most recently took third in the Grade-1 Prix Alain du Breil at Auteuil in May.
Never allowing his pacesetting stable companion Cash Back to get too much rope, Paul Townend made his move on Zarak The Brave on the run between the final two flights. Jesse Evans and My Mate Mozzie emerged from the pack to throw down strong challenges, but the Simon Munir & Isaac Souede-owned gelding stuck his neck out to win by a head and three-quarters of a length.
This was a sixth win in the prestigious handicap for the Master of Closutton, though his first in partnership with stable number one Paul Townend. The six-time Champion NH Jockey announced himself on the big race stage when winning this on Indian Pace as a fresh-faced 17-year-old in 2008 but had been out of luck ever since.
Speaking to Racing TV after the race, Willie Mullins said:
"Only one four-year-old that I'm aware of (Perugino Diamond) has won the race before and it says something about how tough the horse is. Paul was fantastic on him and had him out in the right position the whole way around".
"He is a lightly-raced four-year-old and the Morgiana Hurdle is a possibility now along with the Fishery Lane Hurdle at Naas in November. There is every possibility he could be a Champion Hurdle horse."
Mullins's three-timer was initiated by Hercule Du Seuil in the Grade-3 Guinness Open Gate Brewery Novice Chase over 2m2f, the JP McManus-owned son of Saddler Maker producing an efficient jumping display under Mark Walsh to win by six-and-a-half-lengths. A Grade-2 winning novice over hurdles last season, he might be capable of taking even higher rank over fences judged by this authoritative performance. He was introduced at 20/1 in the betting for next year's Arkle.
The Mullins treble would be completed by I Will Be Baie in the concluding bumper. The five-year-old Crillon gelding, who had finished second on his rules debut at Punchestown in June, raced to a ready success in the hands of Patrick Mullins to become his trainer's eighth winner of the week.
Elsewhere on the card, there was Listed success for trainer Joseph O'Brien and jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle with Miramis in the Corrib Fillies Stakes, while reigning Champion Flat jockey Colin Keane teamed up with his father Gerry to win the 1m½f handicap on the veteran course specialist Laughifuwant. The other Flat race went to the Ciaran Murphy-trained Granville Street, who provided McMonagle with a double.
Highly regarded young rider Sam Ewing had to sit out most of the summer with a broken arm but is making up for lost time at the Ballybrit venue this week. He rode his second winner of the meeting when taking the opening 2m6½f beginners chase on the Gordon Elliott-trained Mars Harper, who had finished runner-up to Sharjah in a 2m2f beginners on Monday.
