Sunshine lights up Punchestown Listed heat

The diminutive Hey Sunshine brought up her hat-trick in fine style when Paul Townend spotted a gap on the inside to run away with the Buy Your Punchestown Christmas Gift Mares Novice Hurdle.

There might not be much of the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old, but she is improving at a rate of knots.

Victories at Kilbeggan and Downpatrick hardly suggested she was a good thing on this rise into Listed company but she comprehensively came out on top.

Rounding the turn for home, Townend looked like he may be struggling for room in the straight but the second he spied a gap, Hey Sunshine (11-8 favourite) shot through and quickened away to beat Tareze by three and a half lengths.

When it was put to him that the gaps opened up nicely, Townend said: “They did, but you need the animal to take them.

“In fairness to her, she’s improving every run and has a lovely attitude for it, really wants it.

“The step up in trip helped and she hit the line strong again. The ground was a bit of an unknown but she handled it well and it opens more doors for her again.

“I don’t know if she’d handle heavy ground but she’ll handle nice winter ground. She handled that better than I thought though, and maybe she will handle it.

“I’d say she’s just improving all the time and she’s tough.

“They raced off the end of the back straight which gave me a chance to get a gap down the straight then. She’s done it well.”

The feature race win was part of a four-timer on the day for Mullins to go with Dancing City (2-5 favourite), You Oughta Know (7-4) and Kitzbuhel (3-1).