Supasundae swoops as big two crash out

SUPASUNDAE landed the feature Grade One Punchestown Champion Hurdle but there was a huge anti-climax as Samcro and Melon crashed out at the third last. Samcro, the previously unbeaten novice trained by Gordon Elliott, and Melon, the Willie Mullinstrained gelding who finished runner-up to Buveur D’Air in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, fell at the same time but independently. Both horses were unscathed but Elliott held his head in his hands as his frustration at the meeting continued. With Samcro’s exit, any hope he had of catching Mullins in the Irish trainers’ title race was extinguished. Despite Elliott later claiming the Grade One novice hurdle with Dortmund Park, Mullins has — in the past week — gone from trailing him by over €500,000 to leading by almost the same amount. Mullins will be crowned Irish champion trainer for the 12th time today. Trained by Jessica Harrington, Supasundae was rewarded for a fine season in which he won the Irish Champion Hurdle and was runner-up at the Cheltenham Festival and Aintree. Harrington said: ‘Maybe we got lucky there, but he was going well when the others fell.’ Meanwhile, Sevenna Star didn’t cause many ripples in the Investec Derby betting when edging home by a short head from Ispolini in the bet365 Classic Trial at Sandown. KATIE WALSH, one of the most successful female jockeys over jumps, announced her retirement last night after winning on Antey at Punchestown. The 33-year-old sister of Ruby Walsh landed the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham last month on Relegate, taking her Festival tally to three. Walsh’s 2012 third on Seabass remains the best result for a female rider in the Grand National.