Princess Zoe had to settle for a share of the honours on her jumping debut at Punchestown, after a dead-heat finish to the Bar One Racing "Bet 10 Get 50 Sign Up Offer" Mares Maiden Hurdle.
The Tony Mullins-trained grey has been a fantastic servant over the past four years, with a Group One triumph in the 2020 Prix du Cadran the highlight of a Flat career that also saw he win the Group Three Sagaro Stakes at Ascot and finish second to Subjectivist in the Gold Cup.
She looked set to be retired for broodmare duties in 2023, but failed to meet her reserve price at the Tattersalls December Sale, prompting connections into a rethink.
Following a pleasing schooling session last week, Princess Zoe was given the green light to give hurdling a go with a view to a potential appearance at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Despite her exploits on the level, she was not even favourite for her first start in the National Hunt sphere, with the Willie Mullins-trained Pink In The Park preferred at a shade of odds-on.
The top two in the market were the first two in the race for much of the two-and-a-half-mile journey, with 5-4 chance Princess Zoe asserting into a clear lead on the second circuit under Danny Mullins.
Having jumped adequately in the main, the eight-year-old looked to have victory sewn up after travelling strongly into the straight, but she flattened the final flight, giving Henry de Bromhead's Ladybank – carrying the Honeysuckle colours of Kenny Alexander under Rachael Blackmore – a real shot on the run-in.
There was nothing to choose between the pair on the approach to the winning line and they flashed by as one. After a tense wait, the judge confirmed he could not split them and declared a dead-heat.
The Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham now appears the likely target over the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
And Mullins, who admitted to being nervous about whether his stable star would take to the jumping game, is confident there is more to come from her ahead of the Festival.
👀 DEAD HEAT!
— Punchestown (@punchestownrace) January 30, 2023
🏇 Ladybank and Princess Zoe cross the line together in a thrilling conclusion to the Bar One Racing "Bet 10 Get 50 Sign Up Offer" Mares Maiden Hurdle@BarOneRacing pic.twitter.com/62yvBDYlJU
He said: "We’re very happy with her. Danny said he thought she was a little guessy on her own at one or two of them.
"At the moment we’re thinking of the mares’ novice at Cheltenham but it’s not definite. It looks the logical way as opposed to the Albert Bartlett.
"I thought she was a little gassy having not run for a while. That might have emptied her a little.
"We had all her work done at home but she needs that run to bring her to herself. Danny said when she was gassy early on he’d let her go to the front and then she just had nothing with her. I think it was a very good performance to jump out and make all."
He added: "I’m very happy with her. She’s taken to jumping and she’s brave, usually they might be ducking at hurdles but she didn’t do any of that.
"I don’t think she’ll run again before Cheltenham."
Looking beyond the Festival, Mullins is not ruling out the possibility of Princess Zoe reverting to the Flat for some of the major staying prizes later in the year.
He added: "Paddy (Kehoe, part-owner) has always said to me that as long as she’s able to run, breeding is only secondary to him. Who am I to complain?
"It’s great for the likes of me because we’ll never have the likes of her again. She’s just a great mare.
"Something did happen last year (on the Flat), we never noticed in her work but maybe Kyprios is such a powerhouse that it emptied her.
"Every time we thought we were going to get back and show him but we never did. I’d say Kyprios is one of the all-time greats, that’s what I think. We might have another go at him."
Diverge gave High Definition's form a major boost ahead of this weekend's Dublin Racing Festival with a wide-margin victory in the opening race.
One-time Derby favourite High Definition made a smart start to his hurdling career at Leopardstown over the Christmas period and is set for an intriguing clash with Facile Vega in the Grade One Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle on Sunday.
Diverge was beaten 20 lengths into sixth place by High Definition on what was his Irish debut, and on the strength of that form he was a 10-11 favourite to open his account for Willie Mullins in Punchestown's Bar One Racing "Best Odds Guaranteed All Races" Maiden Hurdle.
Those who took the cramped odds will have had few concerns for the duration of the two-mile contest, with the five-year-old son of Frankel pulling 23 lengths clear of his nearest pursuer Mon Coeur - leaving Mullins to consider a possible tilt at the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
"He did it well and improved a lot from the last day," said the champion trainer.
"We changed the tactics as he was very free in Leopardstown. I said to Paul (Townend) 'don't be fighting him too much'. We thought there might be enough pace in the race, but our fella just seemed to want to jump past Danny (Mullins, on Stellium) so Paul let him on and let him enjoy himself. He loves jumping.
"He has entries at Cheltenham and we'd probably be looking at the Supreme. Any horse that wins his maiden by 23 lengths on his second run has to. He looks like he's booked a place on the team anyway."
The Closutton handler doubled up in the Bar One Racing 'We'll Lay You A Bet' (C & G) Maiden Hurdle - but it was his apparent second string Haxo who claimed top honours.
Sir Argus was the 4-11 favourite under Townend, but he was reeled in on the run-in by 7-2 chance Haxo and Danny Mullins, who was also completing a double of his own following a dead-heat victory aboard Princess Zoe, trained by his father Tony.
"For jumping Haxo deserved to win that and that's what won it for him in the end," Willie Mullins added.
"He's a second-season novice and jumped really well. He's a nice type and looks a chaser in the making.
"For jumping Haxo deserved to win that and that's what won it for him in the end,"
"Sir Argus, I think, just lost his confidence after his fall the last day in Clonmel. He's done plenty of schooling, but on the racecourse he seems to have lost his confidence. We'll have to keep him schooling and try to get him back right."
