Power-packed finish proves decisive for Mullins star

Firefox, third in the Supreme and runner-up to Mystical Power at Aintree, ran another fine race in defeat to finish second

POWER PLAY: Mark Walsh onboard Mystical Power (green and gold silks) beats Jack Kennedy onboard Firefox to win the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle, the first Grade One of the 2024 Punchestown festival.  Picture: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

Mystical Power finished with a flourish to reverse Cheltenham Festival form with Slade Steel in the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

Henry de Bromhead's Slade Steel had proved too strong for the Willie Mullins-trained Mystical Power in the latter stages of the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in mid-March, since when the latter had gone one better in Grade One company at Aintree.