Odds-on Mystic completes hat-trick

Mystic Theatre recorded her third success in-a-row, as she ran out a comfortable winner of Joe Cooney Memorial Mares Novice Hurdle.

The Willie Mullins trained six-year-old won her maiden over the course and distance last month, and was expected to follow-up this evening, going to post the clear favourite at 1/3.

Sent straight to the front by Paul Townend, the Rose Boyd owned bay made all. She wasn't fluent two out and was soon pressed by Just Janice She went on again before the last, and was pushed out on the run-in to score by three and a half lengths.

Just Janice was second at 10/3 under Davy Russell for John Kiely, while Ten Theatre was fourteen lengths back in third.

Townend said afterwards: "She was keen enough with me today. She made a bit of a mistake at the second last but she was back on the bridle straight away and got the job done nicely in the end.

"Today was about keeping it as simple as we could. She made all here the last day and won a point-to-point so we knew she'd stay and she jumped well enough on the whole.

"It was a step up in class from the last day and she had to do a bit more but she did it nicely.

"It was similar ground to the last day and she handled it well enough."

Additional reporting by Gary Carson