A successful day at the office for trainer Willie Mullins culminated in a record 100th Cheltenham Festival winner in the final race on Wednesday’s card, the Champion Bumper.
Mullins had already tasted victory with the novice duo Ballyburn and Fact To File, who took the Grade 1 Gallagher Novices' Hurdle and the Grade 1 Brown Advisory Novices' Chase earlier on the card, and fielded nine of the twenty-one runners in the Champion Bumper. The market predicted Jasmin De Vaux would prove the best of these and the gelding was the choice of son Patrick Mullins, following an emphatic success on rules debut at Naas in late January.
The Paul Nicholls-trained Teeshan set a strong pace up front and it appeared Gordon Elliott could upset the Mullins party as Romeo Coolio began to make eye catching progress on the rail. Jasmin De Vaux had travelled well throughout the two mile contest and hit top gear up the Cheltenham hill, producing a late run to land the spoils ahead of Romeo Coolio, with Jalon D'oudairies back in third.
Willie Mullins said: "I can't put into words what it feels like to train 100 winners here, because nobody ever thought that anybody would train 100 winners. As I've often said, when I started out and had my first win here with Tourist Attraction I thought that was a lifetime achievement, so I'm absolutely stunned that we've come this far.
"We have such a wonderful team at home, with my wife Jackie, Patrick, David Casey, Ruby, Dick (Dowling) and all of my head people. It's such a team effort, and they had all of those horses to saddle there. I didn't go near one saddle!
"Having that team behind me is incredible, and for Patrick to ride it as well, and for one of our biggest owners.
"The team of owners we have too. They all praise each other when they have a winner and console one another when there's disappointment. They are the mainstay of the whole thing. Without owners none of us would be here. It's their sport.
"We are just stunned that we have come this far, but we've had tremendous people behind us, backing us, the whole time.
"I was really pleased Patrick got the ride. I wasn't sure he was on the right one, but he picked it and he was spot on.
"Simon and Isaac had the disappointment with El Fabiolo so for them to own this horse was a little bit of justice.
"I'm just delighted."
Whilst the team may have expected to achieve 100 winners earlier on the card with the short-priced favourite El Fabiolo in the Champion Chase, there was a poignancy that son Patrick Mullins secured the landmark victory.
He said: "It's something you don't even dream of. It's something that wasn't possible before, the enlarged programme has made it possible. I'm very privileged to get the 100 for my father, it's a special moment."
Regarding his decision to ride the winner, he added: "I couldn't ride the fillies at the weight. He was a horse who had nothing going against them, everything else had a minor mark against them. The only thing you could hold against him is how he looks, he's very small, very narrow, very short, he doesn't do anything flashy. But when I had a look under the bonnet in Naas, there was plenty there. I wanted to be wide and out of the ruck as he's not a big horse, so I didn't want to be bashed around. He was probably further back than I wanted, but we went a real good gallop for the first six furlongs. Everytime I needed to make ground, he was able to do it. Even though we were wide, I was able to go where I wanted – I wasn't at the mercy of anyone else. They are called bumpers for a reason!"
Jasmin De Vaux was shortened from 20/1 to 6/1 by Paddy Power for next year's Gallaghers Novices' Hurdle.
