Mullins records 100th victory at Cheltenham and saves bookmakers millions as favorite emerges

Hats off to Willie Mullins as the trainer punched the air in triumph after becoming the festival’s historic king.

Ballyburn, Fact To File and Jasmin De Vaux gave him a treble on day two, making him the first trainer to celebrate breaking the 100 winners mark at Cheltenham.

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And to complete the most emotional afternoon for the best handler jump race ever, the last one was ridden by his own son Patrick.

His only blunder came when he saved the bookmakers millions when his 2-9 favorite El Fabiolo was drawn in the Champion Chase.

And for once, even the mighty Mullins was almost stunned by his success. . . but not completely.

He admitted: “I can’t put it into words.

“No one could even dream that they would be able to train 100 winners, and that Patrick would ride them too. It’s just fantastic.

“When I first trained here at Tourist Attraction (in 1995) I said it was a lifetime achievement, so I’m just absolutely amazed that we’ve gotten this far.

“I have such a great team, led by my wife Jackie, Patrick, David Casey and all my key people. The whole operation is just incredible.”

Patrick added: “It’s incredible, something I could never have dreamed of. I am so privileged to be able to ride the 100th for my father… it is a very special moment.”

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But despite becoming king of the festival, Mullins lost the battle when the Queen of Cheltenham met the Queen of England – as Rachael Blackmore played in the Champion Chase.

Brilliant Blackmore sent Captain Guinness home while big favorite El Fabiolo shook up his line.

Nine-year-old Henry De Bromhead was the bridesmaid in these big races for a long time, but eventually he crossed the line.

But it is fair to say that he was very lucky when El Fabiolo retired.

In a rare blemish for Mullins’ team, the long odds-on shot made a hair-raising error and almost fell at the fifth hurdle, with Paul Townend pulling it up sharply.

That threw the race wide open and after Alan King’s Edwardstone suffered a tired fall with two outs, Captain Guinness had to walk up the hill.

It was undoubtedly a disappointing renewal of the race, with Jonbon also ruled out due to illness.

Blackmore didn’t care, however, and she said: “He’s such a tough horse – and he really deserved to win a race like this.

“He has traveled beautifully for me, if you could bottle up this feeling you would make a lot of money. It was great to see Camilla.”

Paddy Power spokesman Paul Binfield said: “El Fabiolo’s unfortunate mistake was the crucial moment of the day for the bookmakers and was absolutely huge, saving us a seven-figure payout.

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