BEAUTIFUL sunshine and clear skies brought a record 63,000 people to enjoy Champion Day at Cheltenham Racecourse.

The now famous ‘roar’ which accompanies the start of the first race of the four-day Cheltenham Festival helped Ruby Walsh ride his first winner of the day, Douvan, to victory by four and a half lengths in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle Trainer Willie Mullins: “It’s joy and relief. It was good to see that everything he can do at home he was able to do there. If there wasn’t so much at stake I suspect Ruby might not have let him come off the bridle – he has huge ability.”

And the trainer/jockey combination retained the luck of the Irish as he made it the double by landing the second race at the Festival, the Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy, with Un De Sceaux.

God’s Own, trained in Gloucestershire by Tom George, finished six lengths behind in second while Josses Hill took third a further two lengths back.

Said Mullins: “I thought they were getting to him before the last, but he just seemed to prick his ears going into the fence and pulled clear again. He is racing a lot more settled now. Ruby didn’t build up the sort of big lead he’s been getting at home, but perhaps that’s just the strength of opposition here.

Ruby didn’t have to fight him.”

Trainer Neil Mulholland, who is based at stables in Limpley Stoke, near Bath, saddled his first Cheltenham Festival winner when The Druids Nephew romped home in third in the Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Chase, ridden by Barry Geraghty.

Mulholland said: “There have been no hiding places for this horse because every race is so competitive – we’re delighted it’s all come good.  “This is our World Cup and this is where we want to be – it’s the big stage and we’re on it today. It’s a fantastic feeling and will take a while to sink in.”  But there was disappointment for local trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies in the big race of the day, the Stan James Champion Hurdle, as big hope The New One failed to make an impression on hot favourite Faugheen who romped home to give the Walsh/Mullins combination their third win of the day.

The 4/5 favourite was always travelling powerfully under Walsh and the seven-year-old’s one-and-a- half-length victory from his fast-finishing stablemate Arctic Fire sees Faugheen stretch his unbeaten run to nine.

Dual Champion Hurdler Hurricane Fly finished a further five lengths back in third, in a race that he has won twice in the past.

Sam Twiston-Davies, who rode The New One, said: “I don’t really think he was himself today and hopefully we can get him a lot better. He was awkward and not an easy ride – that’s not like him.

The winner is very good, but our fellow is better than you saw today. I thought if I threw him at the second-last he might power round the bend, but he didn’t produce anything, which makes you think he wasn’t quite right.”

The jockey’s father, Nigel, who trains The New One, said: “I’m disappointed, because it didn’t seem like him. He finished a lot closer last year when he made a mistake. We’ll keep going and look at Aintree next month, then come back here next year. He’s not blowing and I’ve no idea what the problem was, but he didn’t seem himself.”   However the big shock of the day came in the fifth race, The OLBG Mares Hurdle Race, which saw the favourite Annie Power, also trained by Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh, crumple when landing over the last hurdle. Both jockey and horse were soon on their feet, but the fall left 6/1 chance Glens Melody – also trained by Mullins – in front and she duly held on to beat Polly Peachum and Bitofapuzzle by a head and a neck.

Mullins said: “It’s rare to have four runners on a day like this, let alone four winners – I keep saying to myself ‘Enjoy it while it lasts’. You couldn’t write a script like that, but I just knew that all the horses were doing everything right. We had no sickness, no virus, no bad weather - it was going scarily well, and I thought coming here it was either going to be a great success or a blow-out.”

There is no overnight change predicted in the going, with a dry night forecast but rain predicted tomorrow afternoon, when Sprinter Sacre and Sire De Grugy head 11 declarations for the £350,000 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, the highlight of Ladies Day.