There were 15 races at the Dublin Racing Festival held at Leopardstown last weekend. Willie Mullins trained nine winners, Gordon Elliott had one, owner J.P. McManus won three of the big handicaps, and of course there was Irish Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle – owned by a man who ran Coral and Ladbrokes bookmakers for 13 years.

That leaves one race out of 15 which went to a small trainer and it is a story worth telling.

Paul Hennessy is better known as a greyhound trainer. Based close to Gowran Park in Co Kilkenny, he keeps just a couple of racehorses as a hobby and one of them, named Heaven Help Us, won the €100,000 Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday.

There were 23 runners. Willie Mullins had six of them, Gordon Elliott had three, but none of them could get past Heaven Help Us, who held on bravely to win by a neck.

The winner carries the colours of Paul’s close friend John Turner and it was a first winner since October for her jockey Richie Condon from Cork, so it really was a great result for connections.

Crazy

Hennessy, who also bred Heaven Help Us, said afterwards: “It’s crazy for someone like us to come and win here, with only two horses in training. And for her, she has just been so special for us - she won at Cheltenham and she was second here in a Grade 1 – she has just been great sport.”

There was added significance when Hennessy revealed that he was very close to the late Paddy Mullins, after whom the race was named.

“When I was a young fella, Paddy Mullins brought me everywhere, whenever there was room in the car.”

Hennessy and Heaven Help Us had previously made headlines in October 2019 when the mare won a relatively small race at Cheltenham. It was only a maiden hurdle but Hennessy was almost overcome with emotion on that occasion.

Back then, he told Racing TV: “Paddy Mullins and my father were neighbours. I spent more time at the Mullins’ than I did at home! We all grew up together, and I suppose that is where the interest in the horses came – because then George, Tom, Tony, Willie and Sandra were all into them. I picked up on that from there.”

Since that Cheltenham win, Heaven Help Us had only won one race before last Sunday, a modest chase at Fairyhouse, and she had been struggling to compete in her most recent four starts, all over fences.

“She would do anything for you but she is not mad about fences and I just decided to switch her back to hurdles today and it worked out well. Danny Mullins [her usual jockey] had to ride for [his uncle] Willie today so Richie came in to give me a hand and I told him he could have the ride.”

Hennessy also gave credit to Niall Prendergast who has been put in a lot of work behind the scenes on Heaven Help Us.

She is now quite a valuable broodmare and her success at such a prestigious meeting will hopefully encourage other small and would-be owner-breeders.