After Willie Mullins won the UK trainers' championship and emulated the legendary Vincent O'Brien, Ruby Walsh called Mullins "someone people should aspire to be."
A fitting way to cap off a season that saw the Closutton handler win the Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup, and Grand National in the same season thanks to I Am Maximus' exploits at Aintree, as well as his 100th Cheltenham Festival victory in March, was with a double at Sandown via Minella Cocooner and Impaire Et Passe.
Mullins, 67, has become an inspiration to others, according to Walsh, who rode for many of the great moments in his career and currently serves a crucial role in the County Carlow operation behind the scenes.
“It’s huge, and from where he has started, to get to where he has ended up is massive,” said Walsh. “I wasn’t there in the beginning, but it’s huge and when you look at things and people and then say who do I want to be and what do I want to achieve, I think he is somebody people should aspire to be.”
Since Walsh's retirement, Paul Townend has been Closutton's top player. He has won four Gold Cups for his long-time employer and has the best seat in the house for this season's record-breaking performance.
"He has made my career and I went there as an apprentice straight from school and he is a genius of a man," he declared, having just led Impaire Et Passe to success. “Away from being a genius of a trainer, he is a lovely man to work with and very fair. I’m a very small part of a very big operation and very lucky to be where I am.”
Patrick, the son of Mullins, and his wife Jackie attended the Sandown celebrations. Jackie looked like a proud woman as her husband raised the trophy.
She said: “It’s extraordinary what he has achieved and when we started off we didn’t think it would be anything like this. He’s very laid back and he was fast asleep during Patrick’s race at Perth yesterday – I had to wake him up. It’s such a team of horses and owners we have and it’s just an extraordinary time.”
AP McCoy, the 20-time champion and former jockey for McManus, expressed similar thoughts, speculating that Mullins might return for more now that he's had a taste of the UK title.
“It’s some achievement and not only that, he has won a Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup and Grand National in the same season,” said McCoy. “I don’t think anyone will change racing the way Vincent O’Brien did, someone who was flying horses out of Ballydoyle 50 and 60 years ago and he was well ahead of his time. But to do what Willie has done is phenomenal and 70 years is a long time since someone has done it. To beat someone like Paul Nicholls – he’s been a 14-time champion trainer – and Dan Skelton who has had an unbelievable year as well, the worrying thing is once you get a taste it could happen again. He’s had horses in Ireland, France and I don’t think there has ever been a more dominant jumps trainer ever and I think it will probably be another 70 years before you get someone who makes it happen again.”