Unstoppable: Willie Mullins mops up first four races on Gold Cup day
Victory in the first four races on Friday, capped by the Gold Cup success of Al Boum Photo, propelled Willie Mullins back into pole position to snatch the top trainer title at the festival.
Mullins needed a helping hand to land the JCB Triumph Hurdle with Burning Victory as clear leader Goshen unseated Jamie Moore at the last.
There was no such intervention needed for Saint Roi to win the Randox Health County Hurdle and Monkfish to follow up in the Albert Bartlett.
Al Boum Photo retaining his Magners Gold Cup capped an astonishing two hours with the four-timer paying 2,196-1.
The Irish champion had gone 13 races without a winner before winning the bumper after which he was a 28-1 chance as Gordon Elliott strode clear to finish on six winners after the first three days, double the score of Mullins.
Before the Gold Cup, Mullins was a 4-5 favourite on Betfair Sportsbook with Elliott trading at 11-10. Immediately after Mullins was 1-5 and Elliott was trading at 4-1.
Mullins, who saddled eight winners at the 2015 festival, snatched the title from Elliott last year when they tied on four winners apiece by dint of having one more runner-up.
McManus’s handicap clean-sweep
There is a potential and unthinkable piece of festival history as owner JP McManus has won all the handicap hurdles so far in his super seven successes at this year’s meeting.
If McManus, who has also took the Champion Hurdle with Epatante, wins the concluding Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle it would be a statistic to rival Michael Dickinson training the first five home in the Gold Cup in 1983.
Although no-one is likely to have combined his army of runners in an accumulator, bookmakers will be expecting the worst as McManus has two of the field, the favourite Front View and Ilikedwayurthinkin, the second-favourite.
McManus handicap roll of honour
Coral Cup Dame De Compagnie
Boodles Juvenile Aramax
Pertemps Sire Du Berlais
County Hurdle Saint Roi
They think it’s all over – it is now
Goshen’s defeat in the Triumph looked to have ended Britain’s chances in the Paddy Power Prestbury Cup and after the Albert Bartlett it was job done for Ireland, who had an unassailable 15-9 lead.
Mullins denied a five-timer as 66-1 shot It Came To Pass lands Foxhunter Chase
Willie Mullins‘ dominance on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival took a blow when 66-1 outsider It Came To Pass took the St James’s Place Foxhunters Chase.
The ten-year-old is trained by Eugene O’Sullivan and was ridden by his daughter Maxime. Although he had been pulled-up in a point-to-point last time, It Came To Pass was always travelling smoothly and breezed into the lead on the turn for home before being pushed out to deny Mullins challenger Billaway for a convincing win.
The trainer, who won this race in 1991 with Lovely Citizen, said: “It’s fantastic and I’m overwhelmed. We came to the race last year but lost it on the rails.
“We won this 29 years ago when my brother rode him [Lovely Citizen] and my dad and my mam were here. Sadly my father isn’t with us anymore but I’m sure he’s looking down on us today.”
fonte : RacingPost
