Horse racing-Mullins celebrates 100th Cheltenham Festival win

(Reuters) -Willie Mullins became the first trainer to celebrate 100 Cheltenham Festival wins on Wednesday when his son Patrick rode 9-2 shot Jasmin De Vaux to victory in the Champion Bumper.

The 67-year-old Irishman won three races on the second of the four days to take his tally for the 2024 Festival to six wins.

The 99th victory was chalked up in the Novices’ Chase by Fact to File, after Ballyburn had triumphed in the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.

Another Mullins horse, 2-9 favourite El Fabiolo, had earlier caused a major shock after being pulled up in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, with Rachael Blackmore riding surprise winner Captain Guinness for Henry De Bromhead.

Mullins had his first winner at Cheltenham in 1995 and he has trained the winner of the Champion Bumper 13 times including victory as a jockey in 1996 with Whither or Which.

“I can’t put into words what it feels like, because nobody ever thought that anybody would train 100 winners here,” said the Irishman.

“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.”

Mullins’ success came as Nicky Henderson, the next most successful Cheltenham Festival trainer with 73 winners, pulled several runners including Gold Cup hope Shishkin and Champion Chase contender Jonbon out of the Festival due to health concerns.

Five of the trainer’s six runners had failed to finish races on Tuesday.

Henderson said it was not possible for Shishkin to race on Friday.

“I’m afraid we have had to make some very tough decisions following the very disappointing performances of all bar one of our horses yesterday,” he said in a statement released on social media.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)