Owned by JP McManus and ridden by Paul Townend, last year's Irish Grand National hero represented winner number two in the Aintree showpiece for Mullins, who sent out Hedgehunter (Ire) (Montelimar) to success in 2005.

Returned the 7-1 co-favourite, I Am Maximus stormed clear of Delta Work (Fr) (Network {Ger}) in second with former Gold Cup winner Minella Indo (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}) back in third.

Betfair reacted to the victory by making Ireland's dominant jumps trainer an 8-15 favourite to clinch a breakthrough British Championship ahead of Paul Nicholls and Dan Skelton at 2-1 and 5-1, respectively.

Mullins said, “I thought Paul was super on him as I'm not sure the horse was giving him a lot of help on the way round and I could see him just minding him the whole way round.

“We saw that last year in the Irish National and he has supreme confidence in the horse and he always has that bit in the tank. When he was cut off going to the second last or the last, you saw him coming out around and just biding his time waiting for his challenge to deliver.

“I could see Paul's body language and he was happy, so I was happy then. I don't think I said anything until he got over the last and then I let go (and gave him a cheer).

“I'm buzzing here now at the moment and it's huge. As far as I know our team is back in full order with no injuries or anything and I'm happy that we have a full complement of horses and riders coming back in.”

Mullins was winning the race for a second time but it was a first Aintree National victory for Townend.

The rider said, “I ended up being first down to the first to give him a look and as he got to the Melling Road he started backing off so it wasn't a great start, but the volume of horses pushed him down over the first three and he got a bit careful on the second circuit but I was trying to conserve as much as I could as well.

“He didn't get the clearest run from the second last to the last, but it kind of helped me and I had a feeling when I got him out he was going to start motoring in the clear air and he did.”

Townend added, “The ones in front of me, I'm sure they weren't looking for me but I had them well in my sights. I was hoping he would respond like I thought he would.

“Gold Cups are Gold Cups and Grade 1s are hard to win. But Grand Nationals are just a bit different. You just need so much luck and I can't believe it, I'm a lucky boy.”

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Twenty-four hours without a winner at the Festival is a long time in Willie's world, the one in which he hit the target six times across the first two days of the meeting. Thankfully for him after Thursday's 'drought', there was a strong case to be made that the team he'd assembled for day four was his most formidable yet, certainly numerically as his 25 runners on the card surpassed the 20 he saddled on Wednesday. It also took the total number of horses he ran this week to a scarcely believable 75.

There was a time when having 75 runners at the Cheltenham Festival in a lifetime would have been a notable achievement for a trainer, but Mullins has a habit of making the extraordinary look ordinary, with no better example than the milestone he celebrated on Wednesday when saddling his 100th winner at the meeting.

As for extraordinary equine talent, there are few better examples around at present than Galopin Des Champs (Fr), who led the Mullins battalions into war on Friday when tasked with trying to defend the G1 Cheltenham Gold Cup crown he won so impressively in 2023.

It looked a deep Gold Cup on paper with six other top-level winners featuring in an 11-strong field but, just like his trainer, Galopin Des Champs is capable of making remarkable feats of brilliance look rather routine, arriving at Cheltenham this year with eight Grade 1 wins to his name already and being backed into odds-on favouritism as if a ninth was in no doubt whatsoever.

Any punters who took the short odds wouldn't have had too many anxious moments in the race itself, bar the presence of the loose Fastorslow (Fr) (Saint Des Saints {Fr})–who unseated J. J. Slevin early on the final circuit–as the field kicked for home on the run from four out.

From there Galopin Des Champs gradually moved up to press L'Homme Presse (Fr) (Diamond Boy {Fr}) at the head of affairs and it was all but over as a contest when he moved to the front with a typically fluent jump two out, ultimately winning by three and a half lengths from Gerri Colombe (Fr) (Saddler Maker {Ire}) having drawn right away on the approach to the last.

“I just think he put himself in the superstar category, to do what he did in the way that he did it,” Mullins said of the winner afterwards. “I think we have to say, we're coming back next year to try to win a third one if we can. He has the ability to do it–he just has to stay sound, I think.”

The eight-year-old was providing both Mullins and jockey Paul Townend with their fourth Gold Cup victories apiece, having matched the two wins of the stable's Al Boum Photo (Fr) (Buck's Boum {Fr}) in 2019 and 2020. Mullins is also unique now as the only trainer to have saddled two different multiple winners of the sport's blue riband.

As for Galopin Des Champs, he too is totally unique in being the only progeny of any real note produced by the late Timos (Ger), who put up one of his best efforts as a racehorse when filling the runner-up spot in the 2010 G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly for trainer Thierry Doumen.

Doumen stood Timos himself as a stallion before selling him to Tunisia at a time when Galopin Des Champs was yet to arrive on the scene to put his sire's name in lights. Timos later moved to Libya where he sadly died, with the circumstances of his death being described as “shady” by Doumen when speaking to The Nick Luck Daily Podcast in March last year.

Galopin Des Champs might well be the first and last Cheltenham Festival sired by Timos, but the winner of the St. James's Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters' Chase that followed, Sine Nomine (GB), came from a much more familiar source in the shape of Haras de la Tuilerie resident Saint Des Saints (Fr).

Already twice on the scoreboard on Thursday with Monmiral (Fr) and Protektorat (Fr), Saint Des Saints's tally of three winners saw him share bragging rights among the leading stallions at this year's Festival with Flemensfirth, who was represented by the Grade 1 winners Ballyburn (Ire) and Grey Dawning (Ire), plus Ben Pauling's TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase hero Shakem Up'Arry (Ire).

Dual champion sire Flemensfirth was a big loss to the Coolmore National Hunt ranks when he died in May 2023, having been retired from active stud duties in 2020, and so too Milan (GB) when he passed in 2022. Champion National Hunt sire himself in the 2019/20 season, Milan added to his list of Festival winners in this year's finale as Better Days Ahead (Ire)–a £350,000 purchase at the 2022 Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale–ran out a determined winner of the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle for Gordon Elliott and promising young rider Danny Gilligan.

G1 Stayers' Hurdle-winning trainer Elliott finished the meeting with three winners having also struck in the G1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle earlier on Friday's card with Stellar Story (Ire). By Shantou–the leading sire at last year's Festival with two winners– the Gigginstown House Stud-owned Stellar Story was another six-figure purchase at the 2022 Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale when selling for £310,000.

Grange Stud's Walk In The Park (Ire) is the standout name among the stallions still plying their trade on the Coolmore National Hunt roster and his two winners at this year's Festival were notable for both being out of the same mare, Sway (Fr) (Califet {Fr}), who was a Listed winner over hurdles at Auteuil as a three-year-old.

Having subsequently raced in Britain in the familiar silks of J. P. McManus, Sway is now proving herself a prolific producer for her powerful owner with five winners from six foals to have raced. Inothewayurthinkin (Ire) looked potentially the pick of them so far when running away with Thursday's Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys' Handicap Chase, though his full-sister Limerick Lace (Ire) might have something say about that after she led home a one-two for McManus when seeing off Dinoblue (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}) to win the G2 Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase on Friday's card. Both winners were trained by Gavin Cromwell.

McManus also won the G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle which kicked off the final day of the meeting with the Mullins-trained Majborough (Fr). Like Timos, Majborough's sire, Martinborough (Jpn), might be a new name to many National Hunt enthusiasts, a Japanese Group 3 winner who is based at Haras de la Baie in France. He's certainly thrown up a good one in Majborough, though, a four-year-old who had previously been described as a Gold Cup horse of the future by Mullins and certainly looked a horse with plenty of talent when overhauling stablemate Kargese (Fr) (Jeu St Eloi {Fr}) to win the premier Grade 1 event for juveniles.

“He's a chaser, isn't he?” said Mullins after the victory. “When he came into the yard and they said he was our Triumph Hurdle horse, I said I thought he was a Gold Cup horse, a three-mile chaser. He's very 'trained' at the moment, a bit angular, like all the French horses. But when he comes in from a summer's grass, he will be some beast.”

That, of course, was winner number 101 at the Festival for Mullins, who wasted no time adding to his unprecedented tally in the BetMGM County Handicap Hurdle as Absurde (Fr) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) finished best of all to deny Dan Skelton's L'Eau Du Sud (Fr) (Lord Du Sud {Fr}).

It was a rare moment of agony in an otherwise jubilant week for Skelton and it was rather fitting that it should be provided by Mullins. The pair topped the training charts at the end of the Festival with nine wins for Mullins to Skelton's four, a British stable fighting back but just not able to match the might of the Closutton machine which has now churned out 103 Festival winners–and counting–with few better than the exceptional dual Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs.

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It seems as though everything de Lageneste turns his hand to, be that breeding, training or simply owning racehorses, it is a success.

Last year he completed the rare achievement of being crowned champion National Hunt owner and breeder in the same season. Nobody has ever done that before. 

Fewer still would be capable of nurturing a horse like Il Est Francais (Fr) (Karaktar {Ire}). Not only did de Lageneste breed the superstar chaser, who could be on course for next year's Gold Cup, but he also sourced the stallion, Karaktar, who is tipped to be the next big thing in National Hunt racing in France. 

The cherry on top is the fact that Haras de Saint-Voir remain involved in the ownership of Il Est Francais, who de Lageneste compares favourably with former star graduate Vautour (Fr) (Robin Des Champs {Fr}).

De Lageneste has built up a particularly strong relationship with Champion National Hunt trainer in Ireland Willie Mullins in recent years and Tuesday's short-priced Champion Hurdle favourite State Man (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}) will be bidding to fly the flag for Haras de Saint-Voir on the big stage again.

From breeding top-class National Hunt stallion Saint Des Saints (Fr), to his association with Mullins and his hopes for Cheltenham and beyond, de Lageneste makes for a fascinating Q&A.

State Man: will fly the flag for de Lageneste in the Champion Hurdle | Racingfotos.com

You became the first person in French National Hunt history to be crowned leading breeder and owner in 2023. What did that mean to you?

It gave me great satisfaction and in many ways it was a consecration of our breeding at Haras de Saint-Voir.

I can only imagine that Il Est Francais (Fr) (Karaktar {Ire}) was the highlight of last year for you. He was sublime at Kempton. How difficult of a decision was it to bypass Cheltenham with him or was the Grand Steeple Chase de Paris always Plan A?

For over two years now the plan has always been to run and try to win the Grand Steeple Chase de Paris. He has never had to fight in a race and we thought that he needed to be battle hardened in order to run in a Cheltenham Gold Cup. We have respected him since the beginning of his career, knowing that he was outstanding and a horse for the biggest challenges. Who knows what next year will bring. 

Assuming all goes well at Auteuil, what could be in store for the horse next year? I presume the King George and the Cheltenham Gold Cup will come under consideration?

Exactly. He will go back to Kempton in December and if everything keeps going well for him, we could think about that great expedition in March 2025. 

You are famous for taking a chance on little known sires and making them famous. Tell us a little bit more about why you decided to back Karaktar (Ire)?

I like to buy stallion shares when I am impressed by horses on the track. Karaktar had been so impressive at the beginning of his three-year-old career before running in the French Derby and showed great ability and fantastic movement. He got hurt in the French Derby but Alain de Royer Dupré, a great horseman, liked him so much and was still thinking about the Arc de Triomphe for him. Unfortunately, he met with another problem and his trainer never found a way to get him back. We bought him for €110,000 in a sale for horses-in-training and he has turned out to be a great success. I sent him some good mares for the first season and I am rewarded today. When you really believe in something, give it your all for the chance to be successful. That's my approach to breeding. Karaktar is for sure going to be the next top National Hunt stallion in Europe, as his book of mares has been improving a lot in only the last two seasons, and he covered 243 mares last year.

Most people will know you as the breeder of Saint Des Saints. He is making a pretty emphatic mark on the National Hunt breed. That must provide you with huge satisfaction?

Oh yes. That's another great satisfaction. I had bought the mare of Saint Des Saints for about €2,000 in a liquidation sale in a supplement of a catalogue at 9pm in Deauville. She was a Group 2 winner but was quite old and had a poor career as broodmare. She was a bad milker and, unfortunately, many of her foals died. However, she was from one of the great French thoroughbred families (highlighted by de Chambure's family). Saint Des Saints showed on the turf that he was the best four-year-old in France before getting a virus in May of that campaign and that probably weakened him. However, the genetic potential was there and we are delighted to see that he is today a successful sire of sires and probably the best National Hunt sire of broodmares.

Looking ahead to Cheltenham next week, what graduates of yours are you most looking forward to and why? State Man winning a Champion Hurdle would be very special.

State Man is a short-priced favourite in the Champion Hurdle and he must win. He is trained by the best National Hunt trainer in Europe and comes from the breeding of Guy Cherel who is a perfect horseman, breeder and trainer. Not to mention that State Man's dam was class at Auteuil, a tough mare, and his sire Doctor Dino is probably the best National Hunt stallion in France. Put the best with the best and you will have more chances to be among the best. Apart from State Man, I will not have a lot of runners at Cheltenham as my policy is now to try to keep my horses in France. French breeding will definitely be successful this year at Cheltenham, though. One of the reasons is that we breed horses more for the track than the sales ring. We use stallions with a National Hunt profile in the first choice and we are lucky to stand very good French stallions for that discipline. 

You must have many fond memories from Cheltenham? Would Vautour rank as the most spectacular horse you have bred? He was awesome when winning the Ryanair Chase.

Yes, Vautour really was a great horse, really impressive in all his Cheltenham victories. He was a potential Gold Cup winner and his premature end was very sad for everyone involved. He was an amazing jumper, such a natural, and it was a great thrill to see him flying over his fences. I have found some similarities in his own way of jumping with how Il Est Francais jumps as well.

Tell us a bit more about your relationship with Willie Mullins. He has trained a lot of excellent horses that you have bred. How has that relationship developed?

Willie is just the best. An amazing man. I am a long-time good friend of Pierre Boulard, who used to buy for Willie and when I have a horse who could be exported, Willie has the first preference. We have full confidence with Willie. I have visited him twice and was very impressed by the quality of his training, by his gallops and by his staff. I am drawn by his humanity and humility. 

I understand that Willie and Jackie Mullins have a few mares in partnership with you, including a half-sister to Benie Des Dieux (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}). That must be exciting.

I take care of a few mares owned by Jackie and when the owner of Grace Des Dieux (Fr) (Blek {Fr}) [a half-sister to Benie Des Dieux) asked me to buy her, as he knew that I loved the family, I thought that this mare might please Jackie. She immediately agreed and we bought the mare in partnership. The first produce is for Jackie, a very good colt by Great Pretender. She is in foal to Karaktar and is due on April 1. The second foal is mine and that is very exciting. I am very much enjoying this venture with Willie and Jackie. 

You have a soft spot for Ireland and have been there many times. What is it about Irish racing and bloodstock that you like so much?

I like the atmosphere in Ireland and love Irish people. I feel well over there with some good friends I like to meet. It's a country I would have loved to live in.

It's not all about National Hunt racing for you. You have also had some fun on the Flat and Knock On (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) won a Listed race for you last October. What are the plans for her this year?

I stand with only one Flat mare by Acclamation (GB) and I have a share in Zelzal (Fr) as well. So the cross is simple each year, and has been successful with J'Acclame (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) [five wins in Longchamp and Chantilly] and Knock On [Listed winner and Listed-placed]. Knock On could go for Listed races over less than a mile. She is very easy and quiet in the morning, but on the track she is a lion with a lot of speed.

Finally, despite your huge success, you have never forgotten your roots and you remain closely connected to the grassroots of your sport in France. What is your philosophy to racing and breeding and what advice would you impart on others?

When I took the management of the stud at the beginning of 1990s, we worked hard, standing stallions-usually four-and improved each year our genetics in broodmares. This period was difficult but we have learned our job as breeders. When I stopped standing stallions, I invested a lot to improve the land and select the mares, and today we are hopefully reaping the benefit of all these years of work. Nothing happens by itself. I can't pretend to teach others as I myself learn everyday something new about horses. My principal advice can be to always keep [one's] humility and stay observant.

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The collection is a collaboration of the best writers and photographers with the leading protagonists in all spheres from breeding to sales, from point-to-point tracks to the racecourse.

The cover story is written by Donn McClean, providing insight from three-time Gold Cup winner Paul Townend, who outlines what it means to be Willie Mullins' retained jockey.

Also featured, the rise of Honeysuckle in NH racing is analysed, as is the continuing, evolving Frankel phenomenon. There is also an acknowledgement of the remarkable achievements of the likes of Wesley Joyce in returning to the saddle from injury and Liam Burke riding a bumper winner a few days after his 66th birthday.

The analysis extends to the horses to follow in the 2024 flat season as well as a crunching of the numbers with regard to the bloodstock sales and stallions, as well as what we might expect from next year's freshman sires and those that will be getting their stud careers under way.

The Irish Racing Yearbook also provides GO RACING vouchers, provided in conjunction with the racecourses of Ireland, offering free admission to more than 90 race days throughout the year, at a total value of €2500. That constitutes just more than 70 times the price of purchase of €35.

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Trainer Willie Mullins was named the Irish NH Champion Trainer for the 17th time. He saddled his 4,000th career winner in January and sets a new record for the number of winners in a NH season having surpassed his previous best of 212, set in the 2017/2018 season. The trainer of Irish Grand National hero I Am Maximus (Fr) (Authorized {Ire}), Mullins's other significant wins in Ireland were with multiple Grade 1 winners State Man (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}), Galopin Des Champs (Fr) (Timos {Ger}), El Fabiolo (Fr) (Spanish Moon) and Facile Vega (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}).

Mullins said, “To win the champion trainer title is the icing on another great season for our team. Winning titles like this wouldn't be possible without our loyal owners who send us these wonderful horses. It's a huge team effort at Closutton–our staff go above and beyond in all weathers and keep the show on the road so winning the champion trainer title is a tribute to everyone at home.”

The rest of the winners are:

• Champion Owner: JP McManus
• Champion Jockey: Paul Townend
• Champion Conditional: Michael O'Sullivan
• Champion Amateur: Patrick Mullins
• Champion Lady Amateur Rider: Jody Townend.

Named Champion Owner for the 20th time, McManus is also winning his third consecutive owners' title. Winner of the Horse Racing Ireland Contribution to the Industry Award in December, his colours were carried by I Am Maximus, with five-time Champion Jockey Paul Townend aboard, to win the BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse. McManus enjoyed further Grade 1 success with Saint Roi (Fr) (Coastal Path {GB}) and with Gentleman De Mee (Fr) (Saint Des Saints {Fr}).

McManus said, “It's always an honour to win the champion owner title. Thanks goes to all the trainers, jockeys and fantastic horses who gave my family and I some great days this season.”

Horse Racing Ireland Chief Executive, Suzanne Eade, said, “My heartiest congratulations go to our champions JP, Willie, Paul, Michael, Patrick and Jody, all wonderful ambassadors for National Hunt racing and for Irish sport. A special mention must go to our three Cork heroes, Paul who gained his first success in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National, Michael who has enjoyed a sensational breakthrough season and to Jody who rode out her claim, a notable achievement for any rider.

“The season has been a great success with big numbers in attendance at our flagship meetings from start to finish. Thanks to a very special and dedicated workforce, the vast majority working behind the scenes in racing yards and stables in every county in the country, the Irish racing and breeding industries continue to go from strength to strength.”

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Exactly a year ago the sleek dark brown gelding appeared to be about to back up his first Cheltenham success in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Hurdle with victory in the G1 Turners Novices' Chase when, with a 12-length lead in hand, he crumpled on landing over the final fence. With three more confidence-restoring Grade 1 wins to his credit since that luckless day, including the Irish Gold Cup, Galopin Des Champs has now added the big one to the Gold Cup roll of honour, his name permanently etched on the list of winners including such greats as Golden Miller and Arkle.

His victory left no small amount of drama in its wake as the long-term leader Ahoy Senor (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) fell at the 17th fence, bringing down Sounds Russian (Ire) (Sholokhov {Ire}) in the melee, after the 2021 winner Minella Indo (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}) had already cried enough and been pulled up early in the second circuit. Last year's winner, A Plus Tard (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}), representing the resurgent Henry de Bromhead stable, could not match his heroics of 12 months ago, and he too was eased down by Rachael Blackmore as the leaders started to draw away with three left to jump. Most heartbreaking of all was seeing the game Eclipse Award winner Hewick (Ire) (Virtual {GB}) make a bold go from the front after Ahoy Senor's departure, only to fall himself at the second-last fence.

Thirteen starters had faced the judge and only seven crossed the line. Galopin Des Champs was simply too good for the best of the British contenders, Bravemansgame (Fr) (Brave Mansonnien {Fr}), whose faultless round, and particularly his never-say-die effort at the last under Harry Cobden, could leave his supporters dreaming of Gold Cups to come for the 8-year-old after he finished seven lengths adrift in second. Conflated (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) posted a similarly solid performance to take third for Gordon Elliott and the Gigginstown House Stud team, while last year's Grand National winner, Noble Yeats (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}), who looked beaten a long way out, called upon his great reserves of stamina to rally to take fourth for Emmet Mullins.

Usually unflappable and once again the leading trainer at the Cheltenham Festival with six winners across the four days, Willie Mullins nevertheless admitted to some nerves as he watched Paul Townend guide Galopin Des Champs to the stable's third win in the Gold Cup.

“I didn't realise what pressure I was under,” he said. “I'm absolutely delighted for Audrey and Greg Turley and for Paul, who was under huge pressure too. He had the confidence to drop him in and come through.

“They were going to plenty fast enough so I didn't want him up in there in the early stages. I thought if he has the class he will come through. All thoughts were going through my head; one or two fell and we missed all that, so we had a lot of luck as well. I think that man on board when the pressure comes on he is very good. I was surprised myself how I was over the last two fences.”

Mullins added, “He has that little bit of class: you could run him over two miles, two and a half miles. He has that little bit of speed when you want it. You just have to conserve it. Over those shorter trips he likes to get on with the job and that was to me the whole key today, not to let him get running early on in the race.”

Stay Away Fay Stays All Day

Despite having to settle for second in the Gold Cup, Paul Nicholls had made his second visit to the winner's spot this week earlier in the day when Stay Away Fay (Ire) (Shantou) took advantage of a bizarre last-flight run-out by favourite Corbetts Cross (Ire) (Gamut {Ire}) to win the G1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle.

“He's a very smart young horse, and he'll improve for the summer,” said the champion trainer. “I knew he would win turning in, because he's a very, very strong stayer. Well, I hoped he'd win, because I knew he wouldn't stop.

“He looked fantastic and to me he ran how he looked. That was only his third race under Rules and there's lots of improvement to come from him.”

French Fab Four 

It is hard to imagine anyone ever repeating Michael Dickinson's extraordinary feat of training the first five home in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but Willie Mullins is rarely short-handed in the major races and he got Gold Cup day off to the perfect start when being responsible for the first four home in the G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle. 

The favourite Lossiemouth (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}) had been beaten just once in her nascent career and she made amends for that blip when second at Fairyhouse last month by overhauling her conqueror that day, stable-mate Gala Marceau (Fr) (Galiway {GB}). That pair was followed home by two more familiar faces in Zenta (Fr) (Pastorius {Ger}) and Gust Of Wind (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}), making it a quartet of French-breds to the fore in the juvenile contest. 

To put Mullins's feat in context, he saddled seven of the 15 runners for the race he has won in three of the last four years. 

While Lossiemouth's owner Rich Ricci appeared to pour cold water on the idea of the smart filly switching to staying races on the Flat, he did leave the door open for another of his stars to be seen on the level this summer.

“I think she has got enough boot to go on the Flat but my view would be to go to Punchestown and put her away for next season. She is only four so maybe in two years' time she will go for the Champion Hurdle, depending on Constitution Hill and the rest of the field. You are asking me the same question that Willie asked me about going to the Flat with her and I'm not sure we have to. Vauban is a better question, to go on the Flat with him, because he has a good Flat rating.”

French-bred jumpers have been particularly prevalent this week at Cheltenham, with the feature races on three of the four days falling to Energumene (Fr), Sire Du Berlais (Fr) and Galopin Des Champs. Exactly half of the 28 winners at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival were bred across the Channel. 

Impervious Delights Small Breeder O'Doherty

The Colm Murphy-trained Impervious (Ire) (Shantou) gave owner JP McManus his first of two winners on the day when turning over the hot favourite Allegorie De Vassy (Fr) (No Risk At All {Fr}) on the run-in in the G2 Paddy Power Mares' Chase, in turn providing a truly memorable result for her small breeder Tom O'Doherty.

“I'm absolutely over the moon,” said O'Doherty, whose sole broodmare is Impervious's dam Blodge (Ire) (Kalanisi {Ire}).  “My sister bought Blodge at the Tattersalls sales in 2017. A lot of people won't know, but Impervious's grand-dam Bilboa (Fr) was placed in the [2002] Champion Hurdle, so it came out somewhere.”

He continued,”I saw Blodge win a point-to-point in Ireland a long, long time ago and she came from a very good family. She came from a very good place, the Kenilworth House Stud in Clonmel, and I love the pedigree. Bilboa was a feisty lady as well. She's inherited all of it.”
O'Doherty added. “It's been wonderful. Little did I think when I sold my foal for €4,000 that JP McManus would end up buying her and she would end up winning at Cheltenham.
“I saw two fences, I could not watch, my heart was in my mouth even though she is a fantastic jumper. I knew she wouldn't let me down. Once she got into battle, I knew she'd outbattle the rest. She's a terrier, and the mare at home is a terrier as well.”

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• Champion Owner: JP McManus (19th win)
• Champion Trainer: Willie Mullins (16th win)
• Champion Jockey: Paul Townend (fifth win)
• Champion Conditional: Jack Foley
• Champion Amateur: Patrick Mullins (14th win)
• Champion Lady Amateur Rider: Jody Townend (second win)

Horse Racing Ireland Chief Executive, Suzanne Eade, said, “This is the first time since May 2019 that we have been able to crown our National Hunt champions before a raceday crowd and my congratulations go to JP, Willie, Paul, Jody, Jack, Patrick and the many thousands across the country who have worked to make the season the success that it was.

“The wonderful achievements of so many within our industry show Irish racing in the best possible light and high-profile wins on the biggest of the world's racing stages are reflected in the terrific crowds that we have seen here this week and at Fairyhouse over Easter. It augurs well for the summer ahead and I wish all involved the very best of luck as the new jumps' season begins at Down Royal on Monday.”

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Her willing and sublimely talented partner was A Plus Tard (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}), who was runner-up to his stable-mate Minella Indo (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}) last year but turned the tables in emphatic fashion this time around. Tackling the defending champion for the lead over the final fence, the 8-year-old A Plus Tard found an extra gear when making light work of Cheltenham's famous hill to win going away by 15 lengths.

“It's the closest thing to feeling like a rock star you will ever feel without being able to sing,” said Blackmore. “It is just incredible to have people back and I feel very, very lucky.”

Twelve months ago at a distinctly different Festival with not even owners allowed on course to watch their horses, Blackmore had ended the week as the leading rider, setting a new first then by winning the Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle (GB) (Sulamani {Ire}). A month later, another groundbreaking moment was recorded when Blackmore became the first woman to win the Grand National, sealing an extraordinary season for trainer Henry de Bromhead, for whom she is the principal rider.

Much pre-Festival chat had focused on de Bromhead's stable being out of form, but the Irishman returned to Cheltenham with his big guns blazing. Honeysuckle snared the Champion Hurdle for the second time and Bob Olinger (Ire) (Sholokhov {Ire}) took advantage of the desperate last-fence fall of Galopin Des Champs (Fr) (Timos {Ger}) in the G1 Turners Novices' Chase, but the best was saved for last with a repeat, albeit reversed, quinella in jump racing's blue riband.

With Blackmore moved to tears and struggling to find the words to convey her response to her historic victory, thoughts also turned to the late David Thompson of Cheveley Park Stud, whose decision to race a few jumpers for a bit of fun has been transformed into a phenomenally successful project. Thompson died in December 2020 but his wife Patricia, son Richard, and three grandsons were at Cheltenham to enjoy the plundering of National Hunt racing's biggest prize in their colours, which for decades have been more synonymous with top-class Flat runners.

“My father would be loving this,” said Richard Thompson. “He was behind the project and this horse was the first one he bought and was the last one he saw win before he died. He watched the Gold Cup for many years, and to win it is incredible. It's a fantastic day for the family. That was all class. We know he's got so much quality and Rachael rode the perfect race. It's the Gold Cup, anything can happen, but it looked so smooth.”

With Asterion Forlonge (Fr) (Coastal Path {GB}) cutting out much of the early running and previous Gold Cup runner-up Santini (GB) (Milan {GB}) and Aye Right (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) taking close order through much of the first circuit, Blackmore had A Plus Tard buried away in mid-division, biding their time before the main contenders started to lay down serious challenges as the field descended the hill with three left to jump.

A Plus Tard coasted into contention, but initially had no obvious way through a tightly packed throng of horses ahead of him, including Minella Indo and another previous winner, Al Boum Photo (Fr) (Buck's Boum {Fr}). As members of that leading group started to surrender, Blackmore's patience was rewarded when a gap opened up for A Plus Tard to breeze between Protektorat (Fr) (Saint Des Saints {Fr}) and Al Boum Photo to launch his bid for glory.

“The wall of horses in front of me made sure I didn't get there too soon,” said Blackmore. “He felt very happy throughout the race this year and jumped fantastically, and I was able to take him back a little bit everywhere.

“Thankfully he was just really good over the last two and he picked up incredibly over the last. It is an incredible feeling when you do that over the back of the last at Cheltenham. I was taking my luck and we got the split.”

The modest rider refers to luck regularly, and indeed just as hers was in on Tuesday when steering the peerless Honeysuckle to a second Champion Hurdle victory, Blackmore hit the floor hard in the next race when brought down with Telmesomethinggirl (Ire) (Stowaway {Ire}).

Luck, like form, comes and goes in racing, but class, as they say, is permanent. And it would be hard to find a classier act in the sport right now than the 32-year-old Blackmore. Revered and respected by her peers, a heroine to so many youngsters watching on in the hope that they can follow in her wake, she is everything that racing needs, especially at a time when it so often finds itself on the front pages for all the wrong reasons.

“I just feel so lucky. I just don't know how or why I am so lucky to be in the position that I'm in,” she said as she composed herself in the winner's enclosure. “Not every jockey gets to be in this position. Last year I had the choice between the horses who came first and second in the Gold Cup–who is that jockey that gets to do that? Thankfully this year I was on the right one.”

Blackmore continued, “I'm very lucky to be getting to ride these kind of horses. Henry is just an incredible trainer and he has had another one-two in the Gold Cup, that is just incredible.

“I can't believe it's not even 12 months since the Grand National happened, and what with Honeysuckle this week winning her Champion Hurdle, I wish I had better English to describe how I feel, to be honest, as it is very overwhelming. This really is a magical place.”

Describing his stable jockey as a “savage rider”, de Bromhead added, “It's incredible to be involved and I'm just delighted for her.

“Rachael said to me about three weeks ago that she was kicking herself [about last year's Gold Cup] and she wanted to ride him to use his pace. I said to her to do whatever she wanted, and she started banging on about what she was doing as we were about to leg her up. I just said 'you're the boss'. That was it, and coming down the hill and I thought she was very brave and brilliant. It was an incredible ride.”

He continued, “It's been a ridiculous year. Everyone's been telling me how bad my horses are going, so we've had a few bad months as well. Even a couple of runners this week have made me wonder if there's a problem, but then you see Honey and this guy–they were unreal.

“One thing I have to say is to get the roar this year is fantastic. It was amazing to win it last year but with the crowd here it's just a different league.”

The Nice Guy…

It was Ireland's day on Friday, with all seven races falling to visiting trainers. Henry de Bromhead may have claimed the headlines by landing the big one for the second year running, but much of the day belonged to Willie Mullins, who celebrated five winners to take his tally to a record-breaking 10 for the Festival of 2022. Mullins was already the winningmost trainer at Cheltenham and his incredible Festival record now stands at 88 winners.

First blood was drawn by the burgeoning young talent of Vauban (Fr) in the JCB Triumph Hurdle, now a dual Grade 1 winner over hurdles for his young sire Galiway (GB) who could yet revert to the Flat, with the Melbourne Cup mooted as a possible target post-race by owner Rich Ricci.

Next up, State Man (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}) justified favouritism in the fiercely competitive G3 McCoy Contractors County Hurdle, sealing Paul Townend's leading rider title for the Festival with five wins.

Mullins hadn't finished yet, but three different jockeys were deployed to claim his next three wins: Sean O'Keeffe scored his first Festival success on the horse who could have been named for his trainer, The Nice Guy (Ire) (Fame And Glory {GB}), in the G1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle. The race brought joy for owner Malcolm Denmark, celebrating his first Festival winner since Monsignor (Ire) won the G1 Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle in 2000, but it was marred by the fatal injury between the last two flights for Ginto (Fr) (Walk In The Park {Ire}).

Mullins's son Patrick, one of Ireland's leading amateur riders, claimed victory in the final strides aboard Billaway (Ire) (Well Chosen {Ire}) in an important race hitherto missing from his impressive record, the St James's Place Foxhunters Chase, informally known as the amateurs' Gold Cup. Lastly, it was the turn of Mark Walsh to drive the game grey mare Elimay (Fr) (Montmartre {Fr}) home to glory in the G2 Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase, in which she was runner-up last year.

Ireland's clean sweep was completed by the Joseph O'Brien-trained Banbridge (Ire) (Doyen {GB}) winning the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Hurdle in the hands of Mark McDonagh for major National Hunt supporter Ronnie Bartlett, whose Galvin (Ire) (Gold Well {GB}) had earlier finished fourth in the Gold Cup.

While it was Irish-trained horses who figured most prominently on the final day of the Festival, a number of the key winners had been bred in France. Notably, A Plus Tard was bred by Henri and Antonia Devin at their hugely successful Haras du Mesnil near Le Mans. They had extra cause to enjoy their day at Cheltenham as the County Hurdle winner State Man is a son of their resident stallion Doctor Dino, the most sought-after jumps sire in France, as is the Triumph Hurdle runner-up Fil Dor (Fr), who is also a Devin-bred.

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The one key difference 12 months on was that the owners of Flooring Porter (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) and Allaho (Fr) (No Risk At All {Fr}) were allowed on course to celebrate in person. And celebrate they did. The huge black-and-white-bedecked entourage that accompanied the dual Stayers' Hurdle winner Flooring Porter made the most of every second of the aftermath of their tough little horse's rousing victory, prompting scenes in the winner's enclosure resembling a pitch invasion as the winning jockey Danny Mullins was carried on the owners' shoulders. 

It was hard not to share in their joy and marvel at the pillar-to-post success of the 7-year-old, who was given to his trainer Gavin Cromwell four years ago after failing to reach his reserve of €6,000 at the store sales. He has now won £462,000 in prize-money and, as his manner of victory showed, is clearly still full of running. 

What he lacks in stature – and he was easily the smallest and slightest of the 10-runner field – Flooring Porter makes up for in heart, with a running style that lays down the gauntlet to his rivals and says 'catch me if you can'. Catch him they couldn't, even though the favourite, and Flooring Porter's conqueror last time, Klassical Dream (Fr) (Dream Well {Fr}), loomed ominously when freewheeling down the hill under a motionless Paul Townend. But Danny Mullins was sitting aboard a partner with deeper reserves, and as Flooring Porter's challengers lined up behind him, he flew the final hurdle to land spring-heeled and find another gear to boost him back up the hill for home. With Klassical Dream fading out of contention, Thyme Hill (GB) (Kayf Tara {GB) ran on for second, with the 2019 winner Paisley Park (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) just a nose behind him in third. 

“For these races you have plan A to Z, but I never came out of plan A, and that hardly ever happens,” said a beaming Mullins, whose father Tony has enjoyed a share of the limelight in recent years as the trainer of Princess Zoe (Ger).

“These championship races are what it's all about. The most special thing about it today is the reaction from the owners. They weren't here last year to enjoy it and it's very special for them. It's fantastic to hear the boys enjoy it like that, and it shows it can be done with a syndicate. You don't have to be in the elite to win at Cheltenham, and that's the magic of jump racing.”

The team of four friends that make up the Flooring Porter Syndicate ended up buying the horse after spotting a Facebook advert, and they include Ned Hogarty, who owns a flooring business in Galway. He said, “It shows you don't have to be a sheikh to win a Grade 1! We came here hopeful. The rain yesterday probably didn't play to our strengths, but it worked out. We all needed this at home. It's been strange times the last couple of years and this is a morale boost.”

Hogarty added, “If anyone had told me we wouldn't have won again [since the last Festival] until now I wouldn't have believed them. The horse was due it, we were due it, the parish was due it, and the country was due it. Hopefully we can all celebrate and drink a few pints on Paddy's Day. It's memories we'll have forever.”

A key figure responsible for helping to make those memories is Cromwell, the former farrier who took Cheltenham by storm three years ago when saddling Espoir d'Allen (Fr) to win the Champion Hurdle. Sadly the 5-year-old was never seen on a racecourse again after suffering a fatal accident in training some months later. But Cromwell has returned from that tragedy with a horse whose quirks have taken some careful management but who has stamina and verve in abundance. For good measure, between Flooring Porter's two Cheltenham victories, the versatile trainer has also enjoyed a 2-year-old group victory at Royal Ascot with Quick Suzy (Ire) (Profitable {Ire}).

“I was worried as to whether he'd get done for a turn of foot but Danny kept his cool and he knew what he was doing – he knew what he had underneath him,” said Cromwell. 

“Danny is so good with these front-runners, he seems to have a serious clock in his head. It's there for everyone to see and Flooring Porter hasn't been straightforward, he's just gone with him straight away and he's just a proper horseman.”

He added, “The crowd here is just magic. It was amazing here when Espoir d'Allen won the Champion Hurdle but we came here as an outsider and he wasn't that expected. Coming here today we had one of the fancied ones and we fancied him. It all worked out, so it's fantastic.”

Allaho All Class

It wouldn't be the Cheltenham Festival, or St Patrick's Day, without a winner for Willie Mullins but the trainer had to suffer a heart-rending reversal in the opening contest, the G1 Turners Novices' Chase, when Galopin Des Champs (Fr) (Timos {Ger}) fell at the last after a superb display of galloping and jumping which had put him into an apparently unassailable position. While he lay stricken on the landing side of the final fence, the Henry de Bromhead-trained Bob Olinger (Ire) (Sholokhov {Ire}) galloped on past him, having to be urged up the hill by Rachael Blackmore for what had looked an unlikely victory for so much of the contest. 

With Galopin Des Champs mercifully just winded and returning sound to the unsaddling enclosure, it wasn't long before his trainer and jockey Paul Townend were back out in front, with the imperious Allaho defending his crown and leading home a one-two for Mullins in the Ryanair Chase.

“It makes you wonder why I didn't pick him last year, doesn't it?” said Townend, who has chosen Allaho's stable-mate Min (Fr) in 2021, leaving Rachael Blackmore to land the spoils. “He gallops and jumps. He's just really, really good. We took our time learning about him, and I think we've got there now. That's what he likes to do and he's built for it, look at the size of him. I'm delighted.”

Mullins, now with five winners at Cheltenham this week, said of Allaho, “He jumped from fence to fence and came down to the last as if it wasn't there, and that is a mark of a champion. I was a nervous wreck. The horse was doing everything right for Paul then coming to the last I thought 'here we go again', but he got over it and jumped it well. Paul has nerves of steel and I'm delighted he is on our side.”

The Thompson family of Cheveley Park Stud were the leading owners at last year's Festival with three winners, and two of those, Sir Gerhard (Ire) (Jeremy) and Allaho, have now backed up in 2022. For the final day, they also have a major chance in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup with A Plus Tard (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}), who was second to his stable-mate Minella Indo (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}) 12 months ago and is currently favourite to go one better on Friday. 

Though the Cheveley Park Stud colours bear the patriotic red, white and blue of Britain, where the Thompsons' Flat horses are bred and trained, the late David Thompson chose to base his select National Hunt string in Ireland, and he was well rewarded for the investment he made. Cheveley Park Stud has now been represented by nine Cheltenham Festival winners.

Britain Fights Back 

Despite a fairly lacklustre performance from the British trainers at last year's Festival, this time around the honours are more even, with Ireland leading Britain by 11 winners to 10 going into the final day. Thursday's three Grade 1 contests all went to Irish stables but the remainder of the day's races fell to stables in England and Wales. 

The Harry Fry-trained Love Envoi (Ire) (Westerner {Ire}) remained unbeaten when winning the G2 Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle to give jockey Jonathan Burke his first Festival victory. Dual-purpose trainer Hughie Morrison was rewarded with his first Cheltenham winner since Frenchman's Creek (GB) in 2o02 when Mouse Hamilton-Fairley's homebred Third Wind (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}) held off Alaphilippe (Ire) (Morozov) in a tight finish to the G3 Pertemps Final, while Cheltenham specialist Coole Cody (Ire) (Dubai Destination) landed the G3 Craft Irish Whiskey Plate for Welsh-based Evan Williams.  

Williams's namesake, the unrelated Venetia Williams, notched her second win at this year's Festival when Chambard (Fr) (Gris De Gris {Fr}) sprang a surprise in Thursday's finale to win the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup in the hands of Lucy Turner at odds of 40/1. 

A tip of the chapeau must go to former TDN contributor-turned-Paris restaurateur Emmanuel Roussel who was absent from Cheltenham for the first time in many years but was represented on the roll of honour as co-breeder of Chambard with André Cyprès and Antoine-Audoin Maggiar. Roussel, who also named the 10-year-old, explained that Chambard translates loosely to “a noisy mess”. His victory was thus a rather fitting way to bring the curtain down on the penultimate day of the Festival, as the record crowd of 73,754 departed Prestbury Park in varying states of inebriation to regroup for one last hurrah on Gold Cup day. 

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