Noel Meade and Paul Carberry completed a short-priced double in the opening couple of races at Punchestown when Aitmatov added to the earlier gains for Tu Va with Perfect Smile Aitmatov justified odds of 4/6 in the Go Racing In Kildare Hurdle.
Carberry had to make the running against his three rivals on Aitmatov in the two miler. He looked in trouble when Leblon and Jigalo came with their challenges two out. However the German-bred, now a thirteen time winner stayed on strongest from before the last to see off that pair by three lengths and eleven lengths.
Previously owned by the late John O'Meara, and a tough horse on the flat in France where he began his career, Meade's brother Ben summed things up perfectly afterwards by saying: "It looked a bit tricky at one stage but he battled like a pro." He'll likely be contesting races like the Lismullen and Tara Hurdles at Navan now. He is a possibility for chasing at some stage too.
