Nichols Canyon cashes in to stun Faugheen at Punchestown

Did the wheels fall off the machine? Was the Champion Hurdler beaten by a better horse, one on a steep upward curve? Did he need the run to blow away the cobwebs, or was something amiss?

Those were just some of the questions racing fans were left pondering after Nichols Canyon felled his previously unbeaten stable companion, Faugheen, in the Grade One StanJames.com Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown yesterday.

David Mullins, riding Nichols Canyon for his uncle, Willie Mullins, set out to make all the running and there was no hiding place early as he set a strong pace, with the long odds-on favourite sitting in behind, some three lengths off the speed.