Queen Deirdre and Patrick Mullins leave the opposition in their wake© Photo Healy Racing
< Westerner Lady matched Ruby Walsh's grit and determination in the saddle to claim top honours in the Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle at the Galway Festival.
Having raced in second before taking up the running on the turn for home, the Willie Mullins-trained 3-1 favourite was pressed strongly by Supreme Vinnie with Totalize snapping at their heels.
Walsh threw everything at his mare, though, and she put her head down and battled bravely, pulling away again to see off Supreme Vinnie by half a length.
That was Mullins' sixth victory of the week, and he moved on to seven when Queen Deirdre the well-backed 8-11 favourite, destroyed her opponents in the Terry Cunningham Memorial EBF Mares Flat Race.
Dermot Weld is now on the five mark thanks to Firey Speech s victory in the An Pucan EBF Nursery Handicap.
The 11-4 favourite had to concede weight all round but looked better than a handicapper in striding a couple of lengths clear of Sir Edwin Landseer in the hands of Pat Smullen.< Capri landed odds of 2-7 with a professional performance in the 'Ladbrokes' EBF Maiden.
An eyecatching second on his Curragh debut a fortnight ago, the Aidan O'Brien-trained colt made his own running in the hands of Seamie Heffernan and did everything asked of him to inflict a two-and-a-half-length defeat on Rekindling < Jack The Wire put his best foot forward to land the Ladbrokes Mobile Maiden Hurdle.
Trainer Denis Hogan did his own steering and after sending his 8-1 shot to the front two out, kept going strongly to account for Black Ace by three and a quarter lengths.
Hogan saddled his second winner of the afternoon when the Gary Halpin-ridden Tithonus (12-1) couldn't be pegged back in the Ladbrokes Red Day Handicap, triumphing by three-quarters of a length from Cairdiuil < Striking Gold belied odds of 40-1 to shed his maiden tag in the Ladbrokes 'The Grid' Handicap for Jessie Harrington and Colm O'Donoghue.
