Paul Townend took the top rider title for the first time after Al Boum Photo’s successful defence of the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup gave him a fifth winner of the week.

Immortality doesn’t come easily and, ultimately, Paul Townend’s mount had his head in front where it matters, writes Darren Norris.

After a sluggish start to the Festival, Willie Mullins’ team found stride late on Wednesday, upped the pace with a double on Thursday, and when Monkfish edged out compatriots Latest Exhibition and Fury Road in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, it was a third on the day and a sixth in total for the Closutton maestro.

The Willie Mullins-trained Burning Victory ran out a fortuitous winner of the JCB Triumph Hurdle, the opening race of the final day of the Cheltenham Festival, after 5-2 favourite Goshen dramatically unseated rider Jamie Moore when miles clear at the final flight.

Well, it has finally come: Gold Cup day. The biggest day of the season. Well, I always felt it was. This year’s race, with a small field, looks to be quite open, writes Ruby Walsh

The was a sense of foreboding around Cheltenham ahead of the opening race on day three of the Festival, those present waiting on news as to whether there would by a day four, writes Darren Norris

He had to wait four years but Min finally got the Cheltenham Festival he so richly deserved when getting the better of Saint Calvados and A Plus Tard in the Ryanair Chase.

As so often in the past, the Weatherby’s Champion Bumper was kind to Willie Mullins, and this one was as welcome as any of the previous nine, writes Tommy Lyons

All that glitters is not gold, a talented writer called William Shakespeare (you may have heard of him) once wrote. He was right.

When Paul Townend and Rachael Blackmore left the tarmac on the Dublin to Birmingham flight last night, both did so feeling very differently to how they felt taking off on the corresponding flight 12 months earlier.

Willie Mullins has had many great days in racing but, as he debriefed the media in a packed winner’s enclosure, it was hard to escape the sense that few meant quite as much to Ireland’s champion trainer as Faugheen’s epic victory in the Flogas Novice Chase on day two of the Dublin Racing Festival.

Delta Work, Kemboy and Presenting Percy remain on course to renew rivalry at Leopardstown on Sunday, after all three stood their ground for the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup.

Yes, indeed, Footpad again buried punters — many of them — one more time when failing to deliver in a Grade 2 chase at Thurles last Sunday.

With three of the five runners in the Grade 2 Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase, trainer Willie Mullins was a long odds-on chance to land the spoils, and duly saddled the first three home, headed by Real Steel.

Yesterday bookmakers were going 5-1 the field for the Cheltenham Gold Cup and that indicates they’re just as confused as us mere punters.

Cheltenham Gold Cup victor Al Boum Photo oozed class in making a winning reappearance in the Savills New Year’s Day Chase at Tramore.

With the Christmas festival blitz in the rearview mirror, the focus now turns to a new decade and 2020 promises plenty. Here Darren Norris highlights 10 dates not to be missed

Driven clear on the run-in by Patrick Mullins, Sharjah completed back-to-back wins in the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Dual Champion Hurdle runner-up Melon opened his account over fences with a battling display at Leopardstown.

A Plus Tard inflicted a surprise defeat on Chacun Pour Soi in the Paddy’s Rewards Club “Loyalty’s Dead, Live For Rewards” Chase at Leopardstown.

It’s been another stunning year for the Townends, with Paul reaching Gold Cup nirvana and Jody battling back bravely to the winner’s enclosure after overcoming a broken back. Though little sister won’t easily let big brother forget he missed her big moment in Galway

The most famous story about George Best — at least off the field — is one probably everybody has heard.

Last season was a frustrating one for many trainers as they struggled to get their horses to the races due to the quick ground.

Douvan defied a 569-day absence to win the Clonmel Oil Chase on his long-awaited return to action for Willie Mullins.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s the philosophy Willie Mullins plans to adopt as he plots Al Boum Photo’s Cheltenham Gold Cup defence.

Whatever about horses going from one stable to another, for jockeys racing can be one big merry-go-round, and that was never more in evidence than it is right now.

LAST weekend offered another illustration of the wealth of young talent inhabiting Irish weigh rooms at the moment.

Darragh O’Keeffe may not yet be a familiar face to National Hunt fans but the teenager from Mallow is a rapidly rising star in the sport, and potentially on his way to setting records in what is just his second season riding over jumps.

Leading trainer for the fourth successive year in Galway, champion trainer Willie Mullins continued in sparkling form with a double in Cork yesterday, highlighted by the easy win of odds-on favourite Pravalaguna in the featured Joe Walsh Memorial Hurdle.

Only five went to post for the Colm Quinn BMW Listed Novice Hurdle which opened the card on day two of the Galway Festival, and yet only a quarter of a point separated the first three in the betting.

The National Hunt season that has just finished was a very strange one. At times it felt like the season would never get going as we waited and waited for the skies to open. For us in racing, they never really did, but hopefully for the flat season ahead they won’t open now.

Un de Sceaux has upset the odds to claim the feature race on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival - the BoyleSportsChampion Chase.

AP McCoy shares his thoughts on the psychology of success.

For the third time in seven runnings, trainer Willie Mullins took the Suir Valley Chase at Clonmel, and on this occasion it was the Paul Townend-ridden Acapella Bourgeois who prevailed, leading home stable-companions Yorkhill and Polidam.

Al Boum Photo was given a hero’s welcome as the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup winner paraded through the village of Leighlinbridge on Monday evening.

You won't want to miss it.

My ducks, as Nicky English might have said, are drowning. The first three days have gone depressingly badly. I’ve had one or two placed horses here and there but not a single winner, not even anything that ran sufficiently well to lose by a nose or a short head. I cannot hit the woodwork, never mind put the ball over the bar.

One of the principle reasons that National Hunt racing is more popular than the flat is that you build relationships with horses that can sustain for years and this was proved again and again this week.

Forget about it. Erase it from your memory entirely. No need to ever mention it again. The monkey is off his back forever. After all the near-misses and the talk of the glaring omission from his CV, Willie Mullins has now won the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup. Al Boum Photo and Paul Townend ensured so with an authoritative display in the feature on the final day of the 2019 Festival.

Funny sort of week. Great week for Willie and a brilliant week for Paul Townend, but it was a funny week for me.

There were scenes of unbridled joy in the winner’s enclosure at Cheltenham today as Willie Mullins finally got his hands on the Gold Cup.

Al Boum Photo has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup after the 12/1 shot stormed home after an impressive ride by Paul Townend