Willie Mullins took a fourth win in a row on the card as second-string Saturnas won the Grade One Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Chase at Leopardstown.
The Closutton inmate was second in the Royal Bond at Fairyhouse, but Peace News fell when challenging in that race and was sent off favourite to make amends.
Henry de Bromhead's charge did not travel with any real fluency, though, whereas Saturnas was always going well.
With Ruby Walsh on board Riven Light, Paul Townend took the ride on the Wicklow Bloodstock owned Saturnas (9/2).
Gordon Elliot's Brelade (8/1) provided the main challenge to the Mullins inmate coming into the home straight, but Saturnas showed plenty of class to take the lead approaching the last.
Both cleared the last well and despite the best efforts of Jack Kennedy on Brelade he could not reel in the winner.
Sunni May finished strongly for third.
Saturnas wins the Grade One Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle at #Leopardstown #RTEracing pic.twitter.com/KqHnlnlXUK
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 27, 2016
Mullins said: "He did it the hard way. We knew there was going to be a good pace. We weren't afraid to make it, but anyway we weren't allowed.
"He jumped and galloped and he has lots of stamina. You can depend on his jumping and that's what keeps him in the race. Stamina then won it for him.
"He'll probably come back here for the Deloitte."
He went on: "It was good for my owner (Nick Peacock). I think he is just back from two or three months' holidays.
"I thought he maybe just met Airlie Beach on a good day in Fairyhouse. Certainly today I felt he travelled a lot better the whole way.
"It's also fantastic for Paul to get a Grade One winner. It's not often Ruby (Walsh) picks the wrong one. I'm delighted for Paul.
"Ruby's just wasn't jumping behind but I think that horse ran a cracker and if we can get his jumping right he could be a force."
Townend said: "He ran a nice race in Fairyhouse in the Royal Bond, he just bumped into Willie's other one (Airlie Beach). He came on for that I thought.
"It was a proper race, a true-run race. It was a good gallop and he jumped super and he ground it out, he was very tough.
"He travelled a bit sweeter today. Maybe it was the ground, I don't know, but he definitely carried me a lot better today."
