Willie Mullins: I never expected to win the Gold Cup

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.

The Carlow man is the most successful trainer in Cheltenham Festival history but the race his father Paddy had famously won with legendary mare Dawn Run in 1986 had eluded him. He had come close, agonisingly close, finishing second on no less than six occasions. He finally cracked it today, Al Boum Photo, ridden by Midleton-born jockey Paul Townend, landing the spoils at odds of 12-1 before a crowd of 71,816.