The champion jumps trainer landed the Aintree Hurdle with Lossiemouth, after earlier completing a hat-trick of wins, on the opening day of the Grand National Festival
Willie Mullins was proving unbeatable at the Grand National Festival on Thursday. The record-breaking champion jumps trainer of both Ireland and Britain excels on the biggest stage, sending out 10 winners at the most recent Cheltenham Festival.
The three day Grand National meeting at Aintree opened with four Grade 1 races and Mullins horses won all of them. Impaire Et Passe got the Mullins juggernaut up and running by winning the Manifesto Novices’ Chase at 9-4, Murcia (11-4) took the juvenile hurdle, Gaelic Warrior (also 11-4) captured the Bowl and Lossiemouth followed up her Cheltenham Festival success by winning the William Hill Aintree Hurdle.
READ MORE: Grand National horse Willy De Houelle dies as Rachael Blackmore has scary fallREAD MORE: Grand National 2025: The record runners who could make Saturday ‘a grey day’ for bookies
The race provided the head-to-head between 2023 Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill and the champion mare that fans were robbed off at Cheltenham when Lossiemouth was switched to the Mares’ Hurdle which she won.
Constitution Hill, who went to Cheltenham unbeaten over obstacles, fell for the first time in his career and he suffered the same fate at Aintree.
Going to the second last hurdle, Constitution Hill produced a repeat of his Cheltenham exit. He took off too early for jockey Nico de Boinville and came down on the flight, taking a spectacular fall. Thankfully he was able to get back to his feet.
Trainer Nicky Henderson said: “To do it twice, you wouldn’t believe it. He is genuinely the best jumper you’ve ever seen. You’d say this was a one percent chance but he’s done it twice now. How can you iron it out?
“Nico said he’d been fantastic the whole way. He was being short at a couple of hurdles which is what we’ve been trying to get him to do. Nico said he met the second last okay, he just came up too soon.”
Gaelic Warrior and Lossiemouth won for owner Susannah Ricci who earlier saw Willy De Houelle suffer a fatal injury in the second race.
“These are the days that dreams are made of,” said the owner. “I’m very privileged to have two such amazing horses.