how he rides, that gave me some hope. I knew that he was going to have to bridge the gap to the two leaders, Native River and Might Bite, and I was wondering when he might do that, but I was happy that he was travelling well.” It wasn’t until the final fence, when Al Boum Photo was a length or so clear that he started to let himself believe. “I thought, this could be it,” recalls Willie. “I was looking at him, and looking at the winning line, and looking at the horses who were chasing him, and thinking, he might get there now. We could win the Gold Cup!” And that was it. Al Boum Photo and Paul Townend had come home in front. The horrors of Punchestown 12 months before were erased, and the 20 years of waiting had ended. “I was thrilled for Paul, to win the Gold Cup, especially after what happened at Punchestown last year. And I was thrilled for owners Joe and Marie Donnelly who have supported the yard for many years. Their faith was rewarded.” “And then I started thinking about (former Irish trainer) Mick O’Toole. He was instrumental in all this. It was Micko who introduced me to Joe Donnelly. He was always saying to me, you know you have never won the Gold Cup. Buy this man a good horse and go and win the Gold Cup. They were my riding instructions from Micko! And I was thinking, the man who put it all together is not here to see it. He would have loved to have been there, in the Winners’ Enclosure. He was missed.” The place erupted, much like it did back in 1986, when the knowledgeable Cheltenham crowd appreciated what had been done. They were there to see the greatest of their generation train his first Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. Having watched the race from his usual spot in the stand, the walk back into the Parade Ring seemed long as he waited for
Dawn Run returns to the Winners’ Enclosure after winning the 1984 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
the game now and knowing the game then and the sort of horses my father had to train, he must have been some sort of genius to get winners out of those horses. The type of horses that he would have had would most probably not even be in our yard nowadays. He got more than the best out of his horses. We had no all-weather gallops or anything at the time. It was stubble fields and a ploughed gallop in the summer, and when you put that all in perspective, there is only one winner in the competition for the best Mullins.” Willie did not know that he was about to etch his name further into the history books as the decades of waiting and willing for it to of the Mullins runners were fancied but the race wasn’t without its ups and downs. The well-fancied Kemboy, ridden by his nephew, David, fell at the first. Willie’s heart sank. One of the favourites, Bellshill the chosen ride of Cheltenham legend, Ruby Walsh, was never travelling or jumping well, and Invitation Only, who had been at the head of affairs under Willie’s son, Patrick, had taken a fall at the ninth. Three of Willie’s four runners were out of the race after the first circuit, and at that point no one would have blamed anyone for saying, it’s not this year for Team Mullins. Al Boum Photo appeared to be travelling comfortably throughout the race. “Paul always looked happy. And, knowing Paul, and knowing happen in his own name ended on Friday 15 March 2019, courtesy of Paul Townend and Al Boum Photo. As the tapes went up, all four
Paul to return aboard the newly created legend, Al Boum Photo. The media frenzy, the Roar from the crowd, all in appreciation for what they had seen. All jockeys up after their
“I had kind of resigned myself to the fact that we weren’t going to win it”
falls, and a shout of “Well done Willie” from his son
Patrick as he headed out to ride in the next race while Willie was interviewed live on television. The celebrations continued long into the night, and the days after as Al Boum Photo returned home victorious to Leighlinbridge where they were greeted by hundreds of people for the famous homecoming. The party had only just begun. All the years before it had been a state of imbalance: the great Willie Mullins without a Bulmers Cheltenham Gold Cup win. It wasn’t as it should be. Al Boum Photo’s win was the racing universe correcting itself, and it felt like everything was right.
74 Kalendar
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