ACCBank Champion H´dle (Grade 1) of €220,000.00 5-y-o plus 2m.

1st - €132,000.00, 2nd - €44,000.00, 3rd - €22,000.00, 4th - €8,800.00, 5th - €6,600.00, 6th - €4,400.00 6 Ran

Course and distance winner Punjabi recorded a second festival success to add to the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle he won last year. It was a race that many will argue over, as both Sublimity and Harchibald were held up in rear by their respective riders as Punjabi and long time leader Salford City set off on a lively pace.

People will undoubtedly make up their own mind but Punjabi is a classy horse, was given a classy ride and deserves the accolades that come with it.

Sublimity came late to claim second but he was a good three lengths off at the death and Punjabi's tank was far from empty. John Carr has obviously not had the easiest of passages to Cheltenham and here this season but he is lightly raced and will be back again next season.

Ebaziyan ran a blinder coming from last to stay on to be third, having previously appearing to lose all his form this season and that will keep connections mulling his options next season.

For Harchibald, he could only manage fourth, connections of him will obviously be wondering why officials opted to water when the rain was clearly on the way but in saying that Harchibald looks to have lost his old spark. Good ground is key, it was officially that here today and he is just simply failing to reproduce his top form.

Kalderon was out of his depth and Salford City just couldn't maintain the strong gallop.