Just over a month after Willie Mullins secured a highly coveted first Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Irish champion trainer made his breakthrough in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National.

Burrows Saint was the horse to deliver it, sent off the 6/1 favourite, he was ridden beautifully by Ruby Walsh and always looked to be travelling supremely well.

Just like it transpired in the Gold Cup, Mullins’ hopes were dented early in the race when two of his horses – Pairofbrowneyes and C’est Jersey – fell. However, as the field made its way out on the second circuit of the three-mile-five-furlong contest, it became more and more evident that the Carlow trainer would finally break his duck. Jessica Harrington’s Whisperinthebreeze shot off in front but he was closed on by a battalion of Mullins-trained horses before the straight.

Burrows Saint always caught the eye, with Walsh sitting still until just before the last. From there though he had to fight because last year’s runner-up and stablemate Isleofhopendreams really dug in again for Danny Mullins, but the Susannah Ricci-owned gelding found more and was probably idling a bit when he hit the front. Acapella Bourgeois finished third, giving Mullins a one-two-three in the race, with local trainer Liam Cusack’s Snugsborough Benny doing his connections proud by staying on for fourth.

INCREDIBLE

Mullins reflected: “When we lost Pairofbrowneyes and C’est Jersey early on I was afraid things weren’t going our way, but at the fourth last we had four of the first five so I was hoping one of them would get home in front and for them to then do what they did in finishing first, second and third was incredible.”

“I thought that maybe Ruby would have gone for one of ours with more experience but I suppose this horse gave him a very good feel when he won on him the last day.”

Walsh added: “The race got off to a messy start and he was a bit novicey at one of the early fences but when Any Second Now fell he opened up a lovely position for my horse and he did everything right from there on. I knew that he would idle a bit in front but when he felt the second coming at him late on he found more.”

It was a brilliant Easter Festival for both Walsh and Mullins as they combined to win the Ryanair Gold Cup, the Grade 1 feature race on Sunday, with Voix Du Reve.

The seven-year-old had unseated and fallen on his previous two starts but he was much better in the jumping department on Sunday and was too good for his stablemate Real Steel in second. Voix Du Reve was a much welcomed winner for his owners Andrea and Graham Wylie, who have had rotten luck with their horses this year.

In the other Grade 1 on Sunday, Henry de Bromhead’s Honeysuckle showed her class to win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice Hurdle Championship Final.

Ridden by Rachael Blackmore, the five-year-old scooted clear of her rivals in the straight and looks a real classy mare. She unfortunately picked up a setback which forced her to miss Cheltenham but has now provided her connections with a very good consolation prize.