Wish Ye Didnt got favourite backers off to a flyer in the first race of the Punchestown festival by successfully defending her crown in the Kildare Hunt Club Fr Sean Breen Memorial Chase.
Representing the formidable combination of trainer Enda Bolger and jockey Nina Carberry, the seven-year-old mare was the 5-4 market-leader to clinch the Ladies Perpetual Cup for a second time on the banks course in County Kildare.
Carberry cut a confident figure throughout and Wish Ye Didnt quickened up from the home turn, safely negotiating the final obstacle to seal a nine-and-a-half-length success.
It was a sixth victory in the last seven runnings of the three-mile contest for cross-country king Bolger.
Enniskillen was runner-up for the second successive year.
Bolger said: "She's qualified for this race next year so that could be on the agenda.
"She's entered on Saturday but we have several others and we'll just have to see.
"She's just a natural (over the banks), and gets plenty of help from (Nina Carberry) on top."
Tempo Mac ran out an authoritative winner of the Killashee Handicap Hurdle for trainer Gordon Elliott and jockey Luke Dempsey.
The six-year-old won four times between June and September of last year before being given the winter off and he blew away the cobwebs when sixth at Navan last month.
Sent off at 25-1 for this fiercely competitive event, Tempo Mac kept out of trouble, steering a wide course rounding the home turn.
Plenty looked to be in with a chance at the top of the straight, but Elliott's charge was four and half lengths too good for Ancient Sands.
To Choose and Bamako Moriviere finished third and fourth respectively.
Elliott said: "It's nice to get a winner early here this week. I've not had a winner for 21 days and at this time of year, you start panicking.
"I'd say the better the ground, the better he is. We could have a bit of fun on the Flat with him.
"He won snug and is an improving horse."
With Yorkhill and Vautour having already suffered short-priced defeats, there was further heartache for odds-on backers in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper as the heavily supported Jenkins was touched off by 22-1 shot Coeur De Lion.
With Patrick Mullins booked to ride, Nicky Henderson's Jenkins was just 4-5 for the lucrative prize following an impressive debut success at Newbury at the start of the month.
At the top of the home straight it seemed a question of how far he would win by as he quickened clear, but the Robert Tyner-trained Coeur De Lion got rolling late under Barry O'Neill and edged out the favourite by half a length.
Moulin A Vent was best of the rest in third.
Willie Mullins ended an otherwise disappointing day on a high as son Patrick guided Cilaos Emery to a successful debut in the Donohue Marquees INH Flat Race.
The French-bred four-year-old was the 100-30 favourite for the concluding race of the evening and after moving powerfully towards the front leaving the back straight, he had just enough left for the closing stages to fend off Someday by half a length.
Mullions junior said: "He works very well, but he's quite a light horse, so we hadn't done any hard work with him.
"We weren't sure how good he was, but what he was doing in half-speeds is quite good. He's quite green and I think there's a lot of improvement in there."
