Mullins family success in feature

One a week that not much has gone right so far for Willie Mullins, the champion trainer turned a big corner by landing the most valuable race of the Christmas period with Rockyaboya in the €190,000 Paddy Power Chase.

The victory was made all the more sweet as the champion trainer’s son Patrick owns the well-backed 7/1 chance, and both Mullins’ sported big smiles as they greeted the winner back in the wind and rain.

Willie Mullins said, “He was lucky to get into the race as I had to upset another one of my owners (wife Jackie) by taking out Popcorn! That’s my first Paddy Power and it’s great to get that one as a lot of things have not gone well this week.

“It was a fair performance from a horse with very little experience to do that. Also it’s not often that Ruby gets down to 10st3lb, and that was a tip in itself.”

Patrick Mullins added, “I was a lot more nervous standing on the ground watching. A lot of credit must go to a good friend of mine Paul Byrne who recommended the horse. He was bought for small money, and I couldn’t sell him as he had different injuries.”

While four winners in two days at Leopardstown and Limerick can hardly be called a barren spell, a number of the Closutton big guns have failed to hit the target with eight beaten favourites over the two days.

The result was only confirmed after a rousing finish in front of 13,031 racegoers, with Walsh’s mount just holding off the late challenge of 6/1 favourite Cause Of Causes by a short-head. Ipsos Du Berlais was a length and three quarters back in third, while fellow 20/1 chance Victrix Gale completed the placings in fourth.