The 16-to-1 chance Espoir D'Allen has won the feature race of the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival - the Champion Hurdle.
The Gavin Cromwell-trained horse romped home under Kildare jockey Mark Walsh, with the Willie Mullins trained Melon 15-lengths in second, with Silver Streak third at 80-to-1.
Buveur d'Air - the Champion Hurdle winner in each of the last two years - fell at the sixth from home.
It was an eighth win in the race for the ultra successful owner JP McManus at his favourite stomping ground.
What a performance from these two 👏 pic.twitter.com/NlPLK8VOQA
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 12, 2019
"We try to win them all, thankfully the Champion Hurdle has been very lucky for us"
🙌 It's a third straight win in the Unibet Champion Hurdle for JP McManus - he's now won it EIGHT times!
Watch the #CheltenhamFestival LIVE on @ITV pic.twitter.com/rUFjDi19B5
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 12, 2019
