IT’S WILL POWER
A magic 10 on the trot for Mullins
A FINAL day masterclass from Willie Mullins saw him scoop a 10th consecutive champion trainer’s title at Punchestown.
Mullins went into yesterday’s fixture with a decent lead over Gordon Elliott and he consolidated his advantage by claiming two of the €100,000 prizes on offer.
The high class juvenile hurdler Bapaume sealed the title for Mullins in the AES Champion Hurdle.
Ruby Walsh’s second winner of the week bested old rival Mega Fortune before the last and went on to score by a length and a quarter.
“He’s been a very good juvenile hurdler and has held his form well all season,” said Mullins.
The double was completed by Open Eagle who claimed the valuable handicap hurdle under Patrick Mullins.
In general the season has been a challenging one for Mullins whose team have been hit by one setback after another. The loss of Vautour and 60 Gigginstown-owned horses was then followed by setbacks to Faugheen, Annie Power and Min.
However, he was still able to overtake Gordon Elliott in the final two days of the season to claim the most hard fought of victories.
“I didn’t think it was possible to be honest and even more so when a couple of photo finishes went against us earlier in the week,” he said.
“I’m delighted for the team at home and all our owners, its been a fantastic effort.”
Mullins also paid generous tribute to his title rival Gordon Elliott.
“Gordon is a great competitor and has been magnificent. He’s been a gentleman at all stages,” added Mullins.
Earlier on the card Elliott did strike Grade 1 gold with Apple’s Jade who outclassed her rivals in the Mares Champion Hurdle.
The Cheltenham heroine was pitted against a host of Grade 1-winning rivals but she was simply different class.
Bryan Cooper asked her to seize control of the race after the second last and she duly stormed home to finish with 14 lengths to spare.
He said: “She’s a star. She’s just a very good mare and that was a great performance from her.”