Lossiemouth Destroys the Field to Complete the Cheltenham-Punchestown Double

Lossiemouth delivered the kind of performance that leaves no questions unanswered. At 2/7, the Willie Mullins-trained mare went to post as a warm favourite for the Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown on Friday evening. She won by 5 lengths. The race was over before the final flight.

This was her 11th Grade 1 win, and it completed a double that underlines just how far above her rivals she operates this season: Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in March, Punchestown Champion Hurdle in May. Two of the most prestigious hurdle races in the National Hunt calendar, won in the same campaign.

The Race

Paul Townend settled Lossiemouth into the pace and let the race come to her. There was no drama, no searching for angles, no moment of jeopardy. She moved to the front when Townend asked and her rivals had no answer. Golden Ace held on for second place, Wilful third. The margin at the line was 5 lengths.

“She was very dominant in the end,” said Townend. “She was dynamite again.”

What the Double Means

When Lossiemouth won the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in March, she became the eighth mare to win that race. She was already a champion hurdler. Friday’s Punchestown win confirms the season as one of the outstanding hurdle campaigns in recent memory.

She has beaten the best opposition available in both countries. She has won on the biggest stages, in the biggest races. She has done it emphatically.

The question going into the winter will be whether she can do it again. On the basis of this performance, there is no obvious reason why she cannot.

Willie Mullins and Paul Townend

There is a rhythm to the way Mullins operates at Punchestown. The festival is his home stage. He runs horses that are ready, in races they can win, and Townend rides them with conviction. The combination of trainer and jockey at their best is not something their rivals can easily replicate.

Lossiemouth is the headline, but the partnership behind her is the constant.

Looking Ahead

The National Hunt season draws to a close over the next few weeks. Connections will take the summer to assess options. If Lossiemouth returns for another campaign in 2026/27 with her form intact, she starts that season as the benchmark by which every hurdler will be measured.