Willie Mullins sets record for winners in a season
Willie Mullins again blew his rivals away with 10 winners across the cards at Fairyhouse and Cork on the Easter weekend bringing his tally for the season in Ireland to 241 winners, a new record, and there’s still a month of the season remaining.
The champion trainer landed eight winners for eight different owners at Fairyhouse. His big success over the weekend came in the Grade 1 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle on Sunday when the race went the way of Jade De Grugy in the Kenny Alexander colours.
A strong 7/4 favourite under Paul Townend, the five-year-old bounced back to winning ways after a Cheltenham Festival defeat when getting the better of her own stable companion, the Michael O’Sullivan-ridden Spindleberry, by two and a quarter lengths.
“It was a huge performance coming back from Cheltenham, she’s very tough. Paul didn’t think he was going well a lot of the way but it shows what sort of engine she has.
“We didn’t find out or look for anything at home since Cheltenham, it’s a Grade 1, so you have to take your chance. This is the race you want to win rather than Cheltenham because it’s a Grade 1,” the champion trainer said afterwards.
Mullins and Townend had earlier taken the two-mile maiden hurdle with 8/11 favourite Rath Gaul Boy which raced to a 12-length success over Henry de Bromhead’s Pen To Paper.
Jody Townend was in the saddle as 17/2 chance Captain Cody beat the de Bromhead-trained Mossy Fen Park by six and a half lengths in the Grade 2 Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Novice Hurdle for owners Vincent Caldwell and Angela Shamoon.
The 9/4 favourite Mirazur West and Mark Walsh won the Grade 2 Donohue Marquees Novice Hurdle for owner JP McManus.
He beat the Con O’Keeffe-trained 80/1 chance Kilbarry Saint by four and half lengths while newcomer and 15/8 favourite Kopek Des Bordes romped to a 13-length win over the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Clap Of Thunder in the €100,000 Tattersalls Ireland George Mernagh Memorial Sales Bumper with Patrick Mullins in the saddle.
Sean O’Keeffe rode both Mullins’ winners at Cork on Easter Sunday.
The County Wexford jockey took the two-mile conditions’ hurdle with Sir Gerhard which bounced back from his defeat in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival with an easy 12-length win over the long-absent Joseph O’Brien-trained Sempo.
Only two runners went to post for the Grade 3 Bar One Racing Chase over three miles and, at odds of 1/4 favourite, the 10-year-old Asterion Forlonge scored with the minimum of fuss.
Redemption Day, Macdermott and Implicit all gave Willie further wins on Irish Grand National Day at Fairyhouse on Monday and with the season ending Punchestown Festival still to come in a few weeks time, it’s certainly a hugely dominant spell for the Kilkenny trainer.