Ballyburn made impressively light work of the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival.

The 1-2 favourite was one of five runners for the all-conquering Willie Mullins and travelled strongly behind the leaders under Paul Townend.

When the field rounded the final bend there was no question whatsoever as to the outcome, with the Ronnie Bartlett-owned six-year-old strolling away from stablemate Jimmy Du Seuil to win by a yawning 13 lengths.

Another Closutton runner, Ile Atlantique, was a further three and a half lengths back in third. Just for good measure Mullins was also responsible for Mercurey (fourth) and Predators Gold (fifth), but Nicky Henderson’s Jingko Blue was pulled up to continue a testing time for the Seven Barrows trainer.

“It’s the first time he’s wowed me, I thought ‘wow, what a performance’ and to me that was a Champion Hurdle performance,” said Mullins.

“It was really really spectacular. With his size, scope and pedigree our owners might decide to go chasing with him next year, I don’t know. But with that performance he can go anywhere.

“Our team are in flying form, but we are just so sorry for Nicky Henderson that he has had to pull his good horses out. It could be us, so our sympathies go to him.”

He went on: “My heart hasn’t skipped a beat when a horse jumps a hurdle since Annie Power, but it skipped a beat there!

“I thought he was a good horse, but I didn’t view him as the horse that people were saying until today. When he jumped the last and went away up the hill I just thought ‘wow’.

“This fellow could be anything, he could be a Champion Hurdle horse, a Gold Cup horse or both with his size, scope and pedigree. He’s made for fences but looks to have the ability for a Champion Hurdle.

“I didn’t realise we’d had the first five, Michael Dickinson obviously did it in the Gold Cup but it’s nice to do it in a Grade One at Cheltenham.

“I hadn’t even got my licence then, but it was extraordinary to look at a man having so much firepower in one stable and now it looks like we’re in the same position at the moment.

“It’s nice to do that at the Festival.

“I know how good our others are, they would be top-class horses any other year and they deserve to be here, the strength behind him – he blew me away.

“When we saw Slade Steel win yesterday that really franked the form and gave us an even better chance.”

Bartlett said: “He jumped well, we didn’t know how he was going to handle the ground, but that was exciting.

“Let’s enjoy the day and the future is in front of him, so we’ll just keep our fingers crossed.

“He had lots of different options and in typical Willie style he didn’t want to tell us too much, but listen it all came right in the end.”

Ballyburn made impressively light work of the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival.

The 1-2 favourite was one of five runners for the all-conquering Willie Mullins and travelled strongly behind the leaders under Paul Townend.

When the field rounded the final bend there was no question whatsoever as to the outcome, with the Ronnie Bartlett-owned six-year-old strolling away from stablemate Jimmy Du Seuil to win by a yawning 13 lengths.

Willie Mullins has confirmed the newly-named Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle as Ballyburn’s Cheltenham Festival target, with Mystical Power and Tullyhill both bound for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Beaten by Firefox on his hurdling debut at Fairyhouse in December, Ballyburn subsequently bolted up over two and a half miles at Leopardstown before successfully reverting to two miles to strike Grade One gold at last month’s Dublin Racing Festival.

The six-year-old has been at the head of ante-post lists for both the Supreme and the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle since that latter triumph and Mullins moved to clarify running plans on Thursday.

“Mystical Power will run in the Sky Bet Supreme and Ballyburn, all being well, will run in the Baring Bingham (Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle),” he told Sportinglife.com.

“Paul Townend will probably ride Tullyhill in the Supreme.”

Mystical Power, a son of Galileo out of Champion Hurdle-winning mare Annie Power, is two from two over hurdles and looks likely to be partnered by Mark Walsh, retained jockey for part-owner JP McManus.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned Tullyhill was beaten at 1-8 on his hurdling debut, but has since registered two wide-margin wins at Naas and Punchestown respectively.