Willie Mullins has not ruled out Benie Des Dieux running the impressive Gowran winner in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival
![Talking Horses: Benie Des Dieux romp puts mare on course for Cheltenham](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/da1ec3e26c9238cd64b1f324e40aa80afa948010/0_168_4471_2682/master/4471.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=ad003f31233e3c941b2b7b6d7445a780)
Benie Des Dieux is odds-on with most bookmakers for the Mares’ Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival after making a hugely impressive return to action in the John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park on Thursday afternoon.
Willie Mullins’s nine-year-old was a narrow even-money favourite for the Grade Two contest ahead of the multiple Grade One winner Apple’s Jade, who returned to winning form at Leopardstown’s
Christmas meeting. The anticipated head-to-head did not materialise, however, as Apple’s Jade faded quickly from three out before being pulled up before the second-last flight, while Benie Des Dieux drew clear of the field under a tight rein at the same stage of the race.