IN a year of ever increasing upheaval in the two-mile division, Petit Mouchoir did his Cheltenham claims absolutely no harm with a performance that was nothing short of relentless in the Grade 1 BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle.

A race that had initially looked set to play host to the reappearance of Faugheen, instead became an ideal stage for Petit Mouchoir to confirm his resounding Christmas victory over Nichols Canyon.