Willie Mullins got the Christmas racing action off to a 'Flyer' as his 28-1 shot Tornado Flyer pulled off a shock victory in Kempton's King George VI Chase on St Stephen's Day.
The champion trainer watched from Leopardstown, where he landed a hat-trick, as his nephew, Danny Mullins, supplied an unlikely King George success on the outsider.
Only Asterion Forlonge’s final fence fall appeared to rob Mullins of a famous one-two in one of British racing’s biggest prizes.
At the line Tornado Flyer was nine lengths clear of Clan Des Obeaux whose two stable companions, Saint Calvados and Frodon, filled the frame.
“I was totally surprised. I thought he might run a good race but I couldn’t see him in the first four. Danny gave him a very cute ride and he was awesome on him,” said Mullins, who also gave credit to one of the owners.
"John Turner has a share in him and he said to bring him over. He couldn't even go into the racecourse and had to watch from the last furlong in the car park because he had his elderly parents and was afraid to bring them into the crowd with Covid," he added.
Mullins won the King George 20 years previously with Florida Pearl but it was a particularly notable success for the winning jockey.
“I knew we had a squeak and going away for the second circuit I was starting to come alive and halfway down the back was able to take him back and fill him up,” Danny Mullins said.
Rachael Blackmore was out of luck in the King George and pulled up the Gold Cup winner Minella Indo. Tornado Flyer was cut to 14-1 by some firms for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.
With another winner at Limerick, it was business as normal for Willie Mullins who saddled 15 winners over the course of last year’s Christmas festival action.
Ferny Hollow supplied him with victory in Leopardstown’s feature, the Racing Post Novice Chase, the 10-11 favourite getting the better of his market rival, Riviere D’etel.
Fairytale success
However, it was a very different story in Sunday’s other domestic Grade One as the 10-1 Master McShee supplied a fairytale success in Limerick’s Boylesports Faugheen Novice Chase.
One of just two horses trained by Co Waterford-based farmer Paddy Corkery, Master McShee edged out the favourite Farouk D'alene in Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's colours by a short head.
It was a first Grade One for both Corkery and 40-year-old jockey Ian Power, who at one point in his career left racing.
“This is my enjoyment and my wife and kids will tell you it is a passion. I get up in the morning and ride him out every day. I started hunting at the age of 40 and I’m enjoying it and that’s the most important thing,” Corkey said.
Master McShee got a rapturous reception in Limerick which was able to host a capped 5,000 attendance.
However, for the second year running, Leopardstown’s St Stephen’s Day programme wasn’t open to the public, although up to 1,200 people – industry professionals, owners and track members – were there.
That was after the decision on Christmas Eve to put the action behind closed doors as a result of rising Covid-19 rates among staff due to work at Leopardstown.
The track's chief executive, Tim Husbands, said the late call not to allow 5,000 spectators was "unavoidable" as staff numbers had been "decimated" due to positive cases and close contacts
“It was unfortunate it had to be Christmas Eve but that was all we were left with,” he said. “The prospect of the amount of staff available to us and the 5,000 coming, it just didn’t marry together and we had to take a view on public health to make sure we did the right thing.
The rationale
“It was unavoidable. We hope we communicated it as quickly and effectively as we could do. Generally I have to say people understand the rationale as to why we did it,” he added.
Asked if a smaller number of spectators might have been possible, Husbands replied: “No, because at that point, trying to dissect who should come and who shouldn’t come was far too complex and difficult an operation to do. So the safest thing to do, unfortunately, was to only allow the industry in.”
Gordon Elliott matched Mullins's five winners on Sunday with two at both Leopardstown and Down Royal while he also landed the opener at Limerick.
Fil Dor’s impressive victory in the Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown cemented his position at the top of the betting for Cheltenham’s Triumph Hurdle in March.
