Fiveforthree has won on heavy terrain at Punchestown twice before and the grey shrugged aside a 657 day absence to impressively land odds of 4/7 in the Free Festival Upgrade Offer Ends Today Hurdle at the home of National Hunt racing today.
Paul Townend 's mount wasn't always as fluent in his hurdling as the pace-setting Newmill but that made not a whit of difference as the now nine-year-old, previously a festival winner at both Punchestown and Cheltenham, quickened clear on the run-in to prevail by four lengths.
Patrick Mullins, representing his father Willie, the winning trainer, said of the victorious half-brother to David Pipe's former top-chaser, Celestial Gold: "Dad said that he hopes he'll come back sound and that he'll go for the World Hurdle.
"He jumped a bit rusty but you'd expect that. Mourad and himself will go now for the World Hurdle and this fellow will make a nice spare ride for someone. The two of them should be bang there."
Fiveforthree is now a general 20/1 chance for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.
