THE former Grade 1-winning hurdler Bapaume headed a treble for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend with a jumping display of real quality in the Kildare Post & Kildare Now Beginners Chase.

This two-mile, three-furlong affair played host to a pair of subsequent Cheltenham Festival winners in A Plus Tard and Duc Des Genievres 12 months ago and this year’s scorer has realistic pretentions to holding his own at a much higher.