Mullins doubles up with pacey Vauban

Vauban overcame a tendency to jump right to impressively scoot away from the field in the Grade One Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown.

He gave Willie Mullins a quick-fire Grade One double after the first two races of the Dublin Racing Festival.

The French-bred gelding closed up on Fil Dor after jumping the second last and showed terrific pace to surge into the lead from a hard-at-work Fil Dor and Icare Allen before the last.

He put in a good leap there, albeit slightly to his right, and was soon pushed along by Paul Towned to assert on the run-in.

The 9/4 chance swept in by three lengths from 6/5 favourite Fil Dor. Vauban's stablemate Il Etait Temps was another two and three quarter lengths adrift in third at 40/1.

Paul Townend said: "He was (jumping right). Look I had nothing on my outside because I went out with the intention of putting a target on Davy's back (Russell, on Fil Dor) and having a go at him, so I left myself open to him going right. I didn't think he would but he definitely did have a tendency to go there.

"When I was taking him back, when we left them down off the bend and gave him a slap on the shoulder, he lengthened and ran straight as a die.

"He did (get the job done impressively) and with doing that (jumping right), I think there is more improvement there. I said coming here that whatever he might do today, he might improve for it again.

"He's a horse we like. I was disappointed I got beaten on him the first day (when second to Pied Piper in a maiden hurdle at Punchestown on New Year's Eve), we might have made up for that today."

Mullins added: “His form, after his run in Punchestown, was looking very good. I thought if Paul got him jumping today he could improve hugely on his Punchestown form, which he did.

“It's tremendous to win another Grade One. We're delighted he won today, put it all together and he learned and got his experience today. It's a nice way to break your maiden.

“I don't know if many horses have broken their maiden in a Grade One but it's a nice achievement for him anyhow.

“We thought he was a nice horse when we bought him. On his second last run we had him bought and then he ran once more on the Flat in France and proved that he was a serious Flat horse.

“We just had to teach him how to jump and we eventually got around to that.

“It's tremendous for Rich and Paul and all connections.”

Paddy Power made Vauban 11/4 joint favourite for the Triumph Hurdle from 6/1, and pushed Fil Dor out to 6/1 from 3/1.

Mullins won the opening Grade One novice hurdle with Minella Cocooner

Additional reporting by Gary Carson