Cheltenham Festival: The fact that he submits all rivals to land Ryanair Chase Crown

The fact that she signed up showed a different class to her rivals when Ryanair Chase in Cheltenham was running out of a pleasant winner.

Eight -year -old Willie Mullins opted for an intermediate competition instead of the Golden Cup, and his charge was led by Mark Walsh in nine fields.

Gelding owned by JP McManus jumped and duly traveled and looked perfectly ready to put the race to the bed at the foot of the hill, something he did with ease when he was passing over the line nine lengths in front of his heart.

Mullins said about Favorite 6-4: “It was a hell of a field and it won very easily, he is a real horse.

“They went through a good gallop, and he just stayed with them and jumped right and got off the bend, I think Mark didn’t worry, he just needed to get over the last two fences and did it good.

“The surprise is the way he conquered him and I was hoping for coming here, he was good enough to win him over and he would beat him, but when you get it on the field Il est Francais and Protectort, they are good horses and horses for the whole life of some people.

“Every day of the week, I think he would be the one who would give Galopin des Champs the biggest problems, and he was in the Golden Cup, but we thought it was better for our capabilities to come to come to this race.

“It could be the Golden Cup horse next year and it will be a year older. We just felt at this stage of his career, a hard race in the Golden Cup if Mecca appeared is not what he wants. This is the way our thinking has been all season, and JP has been a very professional, we just didn’t want him to have a hard race, because sometimes he can ruin the horse’s career.

“I will not talk about two -year plans after losing, but I suppose it will go there next year.”

The fact that he beat up just under five lengths of Galopin des Champs in Leopardstown last time, and Mullins added: “Probably some people felt after the Irish Golden Cup that he had not really seen him and maybe the golden Cup for a year.

“I heard someone say Mark had a job to pull him and that’s extraordinary.

“There was much more mature there.”

The way of winning was not unexpected for McManus, who said, “I had a little today, I couldn’t let him run! He is a beautiful horse.

“I was not surprised how he did it to be honest, it was very simple.”