Janidil and Mark Walsh clear the last© Photo Healy Racing
The Willie Mullins-trained Janidil was all the rage in the opening Join The Tipperary Supporter’s Club Maiden Hurdle and duly justified odds-on favouritism in good style.
Owner J P McManus was on hand to see his five-year-old gelding make all in this two-mile event, although Tiger Voice did throw down a challenge in the straight.
The pair stretched right away from their rivals after the penultimate flight and the 1/3 favourite was nicely on top on the run-in to score by two and three quarter lengths under Mark Walsh.
There was a yawning gap of 27 lengths back to Goodbye Someday in third.
Walsh said, "I had no worries anywhere and it wasn't a great race. His form was very good last year and I would have been disappointed if he was beaten.
"He is very good to jump and a lot of those French horses are jumping since they were two and he knew his job."
(TW & AM)