Allegorie De Vassy survives first-flight blunder to win readily

Those who took the 1/8 on Allegorie De Vassy had a heart-stopping moment when Paul Townend was almost unshipped at the first, but after that she warmed to her task in the Grade 2 mares' novices' chase at Thurles.

She jinked right at the first obstacle and Townend lost his irons and was left clinging on around her neck. He maintained the partnership, but she was also off to her right at the next.

She moved clear of the field after the fifth fence, but it wasn't her most fluent round of jumping. Her class told, though, as she strode right away in the straight to win emphatically by 19 lengths for Willie Mullins.

Gavin Cromwell 's Malina Girl had raced second throughout, but dropped to third before the last as her stablemate, Brides Hill came through for a remote runner-up berth at 17/2.

She is now two from two over fences having taken a Grade 2 mares' novices' chase at Limerick over Christmas. She won at Grade 3 level over flights for Mullins.

Mullins said: "Maybe it was my fault as I said to Paul to let her go from the start and she was too exuberant at the first - I don't think he'll be listening to me again!

"Paul thinks it was pure exuberance and he was letting her roll down to the fence rather than pulling her together and asking her. She went off right but he gathered her together more after that.

"I think it was a one-off and she didn't get a jump this week as our jumping area was frozen. She was just too fresh and exuberant but settled into it nicely and confirmed what she showed at Limerick.

"What impressed me at Limerick was that she was able to jump so well out of the heavy ground - most horses can't keep that up for 2m4f but she did, against good opposition.

"I'm very pleased today and doubt she'll run before Cheltenham although will have a school somewhere, maybe after the Dublin Racing Festival or the week after that. At the moment the mares' chase (at Cheltenham) is where she'll go."

Paddy Power shaved Allegorie De Vassy from 7/4 to 13/8f for the mares' chase at Cheltenham.

Additional reporting by Tom Weekes