There was a full-throated roar from the stands as the 2026 Dublin racing festival finally got under way on Sunday and another as Lossiemouth, the favourite, went to post for the Irish Champion Hurdle later in the afternoon, but the cheers 10 minutes later were for her market rival, Brighterdaysahead, as Gordon Elliott’s mare convincingly reversed the form of the December Hurdle here last month to win the big race of the day.
Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead were foaled within three weeks of each other in March 2019 but last month’s Grade One was the first time that the two mares had met on the track.
