Duc Des Genievres bolted up under Paul Townend to take the Arkle Challenge Trophy on day one of the Cheltenham Festival.
The grey romp clear before the last to win a messy race, and continue a perfect start to the Festival for trainer Willie Mullins, who also had Klassical Dream win the festival opener, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
The six-year-old scored at odds of 5-1, with Joseph O’Brien’s Us And Them second at 14s and Articulum picking up third at 25-1.
While everything went right for the winner, including the ground, the race quickly turned into a nightmare for several of the other leading contenders.
Mick Channon’s Glen Forsa unseated rider JJ Burke early on, before Kalashnikov was brought down by the falling Ornua.
Lalor, the ante-post favourite who drifted significantly on the day, was pulled up before the turn for home.
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