'This is what it's all about' - Puturhandstogether for Joseph O'Brien as he comes up trumps again in Fred Winter

Joseph O'Brien is delighted to have won with Puturhandstogether

Joseph O'Brien: delighted with Puturhandstogether's victoryCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Joseph O'Brien may have conquered the best in Group or Grade 1s on three different continents but he still gets a huge kick out of results like this.

He has landed two Melbourne Cups, a Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and countless top races on the Flat in Europe, in a training career that began only in 2016.

But he is old enough to remember the joy that his father Aidan brought when landing three Champion Hurdles here with JP McManus's Istabraq between 1998 and 2000.

And he was delighted to give the owner his 79th festival success when Puturhandstogether scored a smooth success in a race the trainer is starting to dominate.

The 17-2 shot was chosen by Mark Walsh ahead of stablemate Beyond Your Dreams and never gave the jockey cause to regret his decision as he travelled strongly from the off.

The winner moved easily to the front at the final flight and scored by a comfortable six lengths despite going to the right on the run-in. The ease of his success gave the lie to the competitive nature of a race in which less than three lengths covered the next seven home.

It was a second straight Fred Winter victory for O'Brien, after Lark In The Mornin last year, and his third in the race overall.

What the winning trainer said

Joseph O'Brien pictured at Owning this weekCredit: Patrick McCann

Joseph O'Brien: "He was running on winter ground on his last few starts and he's a son of Caravaggio, so we were always hoping when he got better ground at the spring festivals that he'd progress. But I didn't expect a performance like that, he really stepped up today.

"This is a special week, it's a special week's racing, it's always a privilege to have runners here and even more special to have a winner. I'm delighted for JP, to have a winner for him this week is what it's all about."

What the winning rider said

Puturhandstogether and Mark Walsh return in triumphCredit: Patrick McCann

Mark Walsh: "The proper good gallop suited this fellow, he can be a little bit keen. He settled perfectly today, he jumped and travelled brilliantly. I just didn't want to get there too soon."