RACING

Ryan McElligott

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A superb National Hunt season drew to a close at Punchestown last week and the five-day meeting once again produced a host of top-class action but not for the first time there was one figure who towered above all others.

Willie Mullins stole the show at Punchestown where he broke all his previous personal bests to send out 16 winners. Ten of those wins came at Grade 1 level and, over the course of the week, there were just two top-level prizes that eluded his grasp and he supplied the runner-up in both of those.

The likes of Faugheen and Douvan were among those to star for Mullins, who captured his ninth champion trainer title at the end of the week. Rather than dwelling on last week’s accomplishments and performances, there are several Mullins-related statistics from the season just gone which make for impressive reading.

He recorded a total of 30 Grade 1 wins during the season, which is a new world record for a trainer. His horses operated at a remarkable 31% strike rate and, incredibly, if you placed a €1 stake on every one of his Irish National Hunt runners in the last 12 months that would have returned a profit of €41.45.

Caught the eye

With regard to next season, there were several displays at Punchestown which really caught the eye. The first of these was Don Cossack’s Gold Cup triumph.

Gordon Elliott’s charge has really come into his own this season and produced his best effort to date in defeating the Cheltenham Gold Cup second and third, Djakadam and Road To Riches.

Don Cossack must head into next season as a leading Gold Cup hope.

Elsewhere, Jezki bested Hurricane Fly for the first time this season when the pair clashed over three miles in the Ladbrokes World Series Hurdle. This new trip was no problem for Jezki and, looking ahead to next year, there is every chance that he could become the first Champion Hurdle winner to claim the World Hurdle.