Lulamba helped British trainers to reach eight winners for the week at Punchestown when running out an easy winner of the Ballymore Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle on Saturday.

Nicky Henderson has a long history of success at Punchestown and he was saddling his second victor of the week when Lulamba (11/10f) comfortably reversed Triumph Hurdle positions with Poniros.

James Bowen has been called up to stand in for the injured Nico de Boinville and he made good use of his partner’s staying credentials to take it up a long way from home and pushing on before the second-last.

While Townend loomed on Poniros, when push came to shove, Lulamba was far too strong, pulling away to win by four lengths for Marie Donnelly, in whose colours Townend had scored so memorably in the Boodles Champion Hurdle the day before.

“He wouldn’t be the quickest horse in the world but he’s got a high cruising speed and he’d probably be one for a bit further next year,” said Bowen. “He’s well able for this trip at the minute.

“His jumping was good all the way around... I got to the front but I didn’t want to be doing too much from there to turning in. He was just filling himself there and he’s kicked off the bend.”

Henderson was delighted to be back in the winner’s enclosure, particularly after the disappointment of Constitution Hill not firing on all cylinders against State Man 24 hours earlier.

“These are big days,” the Seven Barrows maestro noted. “It’s been a big week and a great week for the Donnelly family. Two winners like that is pretty special.

“We tried to get in the way yesterday, it was a bitter pill, but well done them. Now we’ve done it together. This is a fantastic place, we love it. This is a proper horse for another day. He deserves it as much as everybody.”

Bill Baxter

Earlier on, Harry Bannister had propelled Bill Baxter to victory in the Palmerstown House Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase for trainer Warren Greatrex.

“We’ve always been keen to come here if we’ve the right sort of horse,” Greatrex said on RTÉ. “This horse has been a star for us. He won the Topham two years ago and he’s found it hard since then but he was on a dangerous mark today.

“I was a bit worried about the ground but Harry’s given him a great ride. We had a runner in the first chase and James (Bowen) came in and said, ‘If I’d have been wider, I’d have had a right chance,’ so we decided to go wide and he’s given him a fabulous ride. I’m so happy.”

Danny Mullins special

It is not uncommon for Danny Mullins to have a contender or two for Ride of the Year but the rider renowned for thinking outside the box, moved far beyond it, figuratively and literally, as Shanbally Kid won the Oaklodgelandscapes.ie Handicap for his Uncle Willie and owners Gigginstown House Stud

The 15/2 joint favourite was still a maiden after five runs over fences and had been pulled up as a 66/1 shot when last seen in the Jack Richards Novices Handicap Chase at Cheltenham.

This time, his pilot charted the widest possible path, giving away an incredible amount of ground over the 3m7f journey. It speaks to the eight-year-old’s talent and supremacy, and thus the effectiveness of the tactics employed that he ended up winning by 15 lengths without knowing he was even in a race.

“He’s just a little horse, always over hurdles, he loves a bit of room and he’s just a little bit timid, I suppose,” Danny explained. “Being out there on his own, he just relished it. That trip, getting a bit of space away from horses.

“Typical of Willie, he placed him right. I said to Willie, ‘I want to keep space on him and he said, ‘If you think he’ll jump for you doing that, go ahead and do it.’

“You have to play to win. In horseracing, you get beat probably 80, 90 per cent of the time bar you’re Paul Townend. In a race like that, you have to have a bit of neck and have a go and thankfully, it worked out today.”

Course specialist

Vital Island (9/2) is a standing dish at Punchestown and the 13-year-old garnered a third festival victory when triumphant in the Howden Cross-Country Chase.

It was a second winner of the week for owner-trainer Richie O’Keeffe and one that assuredly gave him great pleasure, as his venerable Trans Island gelding saw off a high calibre field in the three-mile contest.

Vital Island had two Kerry National winners, Busselton and Desertmore House, in front of him when having to settle for fourth in the 4m1f Mongey Communications La Touche Cup on Thursday but despite those exertions, he accounted for some more talented performers this time over a shorter trip.

Dual Grade 3 chaser French Dynamite was the nearest rival at the line, getting to within three-quarters of a length at the line, while dual Grade 1-winning chaser, Conflated, threw done a challenge in the straight before fading to fourth.

They could not contend with Vital Island’s cat-like prowess over the banks and various other obstacles, and when it came down to it, his indomitable spirit after the last under Barry Stone.

“He thinks he’s at home when he’s here,” joked O’Keeffe afterwards. “He lit up coming back here today for the second day. He ran a good race on Thursday but just made a few mistakes. Today he had a clear round and he knew where he was going.

Another for Emmet

Emmet Mullins had a day to remember on Friday when saddling a treble and he completed the festival with another well-backed bumper winner in conjunction with young jockey John Gleeson, who sent 7/4f clear at the bend and while It’s Only A Game sprang from the pack under Derek O’Connor, the bird had flown and the margin of victory was six lengths at the line, with a further dozen lengths back to Ladbroke Grove in third, with the runner-up and third-placed horse both trained by Martin Brassil for Seán and Bernardine Mulryan, sponsors of the Ballymore Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle.

The 34th Running of the ‘Have The Conversation – Say Yes To Organ Donation’ Punchestown Charity Race was won by Sarah Costello, who delivered the Andy Slattery-trained 7/4 favourite, Dark Note late under hands and heels to deny Nicky O’Connor on the Tony Martin-trained Presenting Max by half a length.