BENIE Des Dieux was dynamite again on Thursday at Gowran Park. She has still never been beaten when she has completed the course since she joined Willie Mullins.

Susannah Ricci’s mare has won over fences and over hurdles, she has won over two miles, over two and a half miles, over three miles.

She has won going left and going right, on undulating tracks and on flat tracks, on yielding ground and on heavy ground. Her only blip was when she fell at the final flight in the 2019 Mares’ Hurdle when she had the race in the bag.

So Apple’s Jade under-performed in the John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle on Thursday; it was left to Penhill to do the chasing, and Benie Des Dieux beat her stable companion by 21 lengths, exactly the same distance by which Apple’s Jade beat him at Leopardstown in the Frank Ward Memorial Hurdle in December.

But it was also the style of the winner’s performance, the manner in which she picked up, the ease with which she came clear.

There was also the reaction. Paul Townend’s reaction, Willie Mullins synopsis: she could be his best mare ever. Think Annie Power, think Quevega. That’s some accolade.

The other significant aspect of the post-match reaction was the fact that the champion trainer didn’t rule out the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, so hold those Mares’ Hurdle bets.

A tilt at the Stayers’ Hurdle would be fascinating. Paisley Park giving her 7lb. That would be some race.