Mullins is crowned King of the Cotswolds on great day for Irish
WILLIE Mullins grabbed the reins as the new king of the Cotswolds on a day when Michael O’Leary’s horses took flight and led another massacre of the English at Cheltenham.
The Carlow man moved ahead of England’s Nicky Henderson as the trainer with the most wins at the festival and in doing so ensured the Irish would take home the Prestbury Cup yet again. Mullins described the feat as “unbelievable”, stating that it wasn’t “something we ever dreamt of”.
But in the midst of it all, it was the Ryanair boss who was the real showstopper on day three – his horses topping the pile in the first three races of the day, even bagging the Ryanair Chase for the first time.
He even did so without his famed lucky jacket. On the orders of his wife, O’Leary changed his attire and, based on yesterday’s evidence, he’s likely to stick with it.
Trainer Gordon Elliott had quipped that he had contemplated booking a Ryanair flight home after a bad first day, but after six winners in the past two days he might be returning on a private jet.
Asked whether he could have imagined his good fortune, O’Leary said he was so sure his luck would remain out in the Ryanair race, that he planned on getting lunch in his private box. But, sure enough, minutes after
Balko Des Flos thundered home past red-hot favourite Un De Sceaux, O’Leary was bouncing in the parade ring and there was no budging him. As a steward looked to clear punters away, O’Leary laughed: “This one’s mine,
I’m not going anywhere.”
“As JP [McManus] always says, ‘if you throw enough bullets at it, eventually you’ll hit one’,” he said.
Buthegaveaword of warning for the days ahead. “It’s a bad trend for Twickenham,” he said. “I’d say we’re going to get stuffed by the English. Revenge will be taken bitterly on Saturday.”
But he was only among a bag of big Irish winners, with jockey Davy Russell and Elliott making it a day of threes for the Irish. The 6-1 trainer win raised Ireland onto the untouchable 15 victories with a day to spare. And captain Ken Doherty was in a buoyant mood. “Last year was 19-9, it might supersede that,” he said. On an extraordinary day for the Irish, it was Mullins again in the feature race of the day, as Penhill crossed the line by a fraction.
Owner, and Brighton chairman, Tony Bloom said he was “absolutely delighted”. Similarly to wanting to keep Mullins with Penhill, he said he wanted Chris Hughton to remain Brighton boss for as long as possible. “Hopefully he won’t be going to the Ireland job anytime soon,” he said. Meanwhile, the family and friends of Berkeley balcony collapse victim Niccolai Schuster, who formed a syndicate in his memory, enjoyed their trip to the Cheltenham Festival as Ellie Mac ran in the penultimate race of the day.