THERE IS DELIGHT IN ABSURDE FOR PAUL

Paul Townend produced absurde to perfection as last year’s ebor hero got the better of l’eau Du Sud in the BETMGM county handicap hurdle at the cheltenham Festival.

Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton have dominated this event in the last decade, winning eight of the last nine, so it was no surprise to see the week’s top two trainers involved at the business end once again.

Paul nicholls’ afadil had led the field into the straight where Skelton’s 7-2 favourite l’eau Du Sud appeared to be travelling supremely in the hands of the trainer’s brother, harry.

however, Townend was weaving a passage to the front and after the last it was closutton’s dual-purpose star who pulled out extra to land the spoils at 12-1.

as well as winning the ebor when given an equally-inspired ride by Frankie Dettori, absurde finished seventh in the Melbourne cup.

and Townend said: “I got a lot of satisfaction out of that one. What a horse to travel the world and then come back and put in a performance like that on that ground.

“I thought I’d have the pace of them all on his Flat form, but the ground was a big worry.”

Mullins said: “Paul can’t have a warm bone in his body, he was so cold the whole way and delivered him at the right time. he just missed the last but everything else went right.

Worried

“I was very worried about the ground, that’s why I thought Risk Belle was the best of my squad, I’d more or less drawn a line through him.

“They went very slow and his Flat speed was a big factor at the end. When I saw where he