Vintage glory for veteran Mullins

Veteran trainer Paddy Mullins weaved his magic with ex-invalid Vintage Tipple, the filly who panics when she leaves home, to land a memorable Darley Irish Oaks at the Curragh yesterday.

Mullins, 84, is already assured of a place in racing history as the handler of the wonderful jumps mare Dawn Run, but he is no stranger to success on the Flat, too.

And there was no doubting the immense satisfaction this success gave the Co Kilkenny-based trainer, who first took out a licence in 1952.

Owned by retired businessman Pat O’Donovan, Vintage Tipple (12-1) was brought with a devastating late charge by Frankie Dettori to catch front-runner L’Ancresse and win going away by a length. Vodafone Oaks heroine Casual Look was just behind in third.

Dettori was gaining his first Classic win of the season in unlikely circumstances, with his Godolphin paymasters not having a representative in the race.

“I loved the instructions Paddy gave me – nothing,” he beamed.

“It’s a great reception but it’s not for me, it’s all for the trainer.

“I am delighted for the connections. The further she went, the stronger she got.”

Mullins’ only previous Group One victory came in 1973 when Hurry Harriet - third to Dahlia in this race – beat Allez France in the Newmarket Champion Stakes.

And this filly – the best he has trained on the Flat since – defied a serious injury to provide the second.

A hairline fracture of a hind cannon-bone sustained at the start of May had kept Vintage Tipple off the racecourse since and she had stood in her stable for three weeks as she recovered.

“She is a great filly to win after that preparation,” Mullins said.

“She really delivered today. If she stays lucky then the sky is the limit.

“She just had one hiccup, that’s all. She came back after she ran here and took a lame step.

“We took some X-rays and they showed a fracture, so we rested her straight away. But she has come through it all well.”

Mullins’ son and assistant, Tom, added: “We brought her here to work last week over seven furlongs and the same the week before, and we thought we had got her as fit as we could.

“She can be a very difficult filly to travel with. We put her in the box and take her all over the place to try and get her used to it.

“We have tried everything – putting people and other horses in with her – but as soon as we turn left at the traffic lights at Kilcullen she goes into a panic.

“That may have been how she got injured – we just don’t know.”

Vintage Tipple’s dislike of long journeys may restrict future opportunities.

An intended trip to Paris for last year’s Prix Marcel Boussac had to be aborted at the 11th hour.

“We’ll see how she goes,” said Mullins junior. “She is better than she used to be but the Champion Stakes would have to be a possibility as Leopardstown is not far for us to go.”

Connections blamed the drying ground for the performance of the favourite Yesterday, who finished fourth.

“She didn’t come down the hill well on that ground,” Michael Kinane reported.

“With hindsight, I probably had her too far back off the pace, but she stayed on all the way to the line.”

The Yorkshire Oaks may be the next target for Casual Look.

“She might have wanted a little more cut,” said trainer Andrew Balding.

“Martin (Dwyer) said that she was hanging and that she changed her legs when he asked her to quicken.

“The Yorkshire Oaks is the obvious target, although we will look at the Nassau Stakes too.”

Kieren Fallon reported that Hanami swallowed her tongue and made a noise during the race.

If there was a future star on display during the afternoon, it was most likely One Cool Cat, who impressed in landing the Dubai Duty Free Anglesey Stakes.

The son of Storm Cat, a winner at York on his previous start, was backed down to 1-3 and Kinane only had to shake the reins inside the final furlong to account for Leicester Square easily by one and a half lengths.

Aidan O’Brien clearly holds One Cool Cat in substantial regard, describing his charge as “a stunner”.

“From the first day he went racing he has been exciting, a beautiful horse,” he said.

“Any trip would be all right for him. He could go anywhere. We might look at coming back for the Heinz 57 Stakes next month, but there are plenty of options.

“He has a surge in the middle of his races which makes him very unusual. He goes straight from first gear to third gear in a couple of strides.”

The British raiders were out of luck in the Emirates Airline Minstrel Stakes as both Suggestive and Millennium Force faded out of the frame in the final furlong.

Instead it was improving gelding Avorado, who landed a gamble at the track a fortnight ago on Derby day, who took the Group Three prize for Jim Bolger.

The 7-2 chance rewarded the decision of connections to supplement him for the race at a cost of €8,000 as he carried off the €52,000 first prize.