TWO days ago, nobody in the US had a clue who Willie Mullins was. Well, now they all know.
If, for some bizarre reason, further proof were needed the man can walk on water, or turn said water into wine, Ethical Diamond’s stunning Breeders’ Cup win was it.
Here was a horse who was stuffed in the Scottish Champion Hurdle in April finishing like a bat out of hell up the Del Mar straight to mow down Minnie Hauk and Rebel’s Romance.
Only Willie could mastermind a result like this, and even he was open-mouthed and giddy with shock as he was welcomed to the winners’ circle after landing the £3.6 million Turf.
We aren’t used to seeing him like this. At Cheltenham or Leopardstown or Aintree, he barely has time to crack a smile, such is the expectation that the Closutton machine will churn out winner after winner.
Those victories only bring him momentary relief; this one brought him sheer joy.
Mullins, nursing the second of likely many bourbons, said: “There was no pressure coming here. My only pressure was that we wouldn’t be tailed off and make a holy show of ourselves.
“Certainly the first furlong or two, I said jeez, is this going to happen? But then I could see Dylan, he just wasn’t panicking and I love it when jockeys don’t panic.
“He passed one, he passed two, and I said, he still hasn’t budged on this horse. He had to come wide and I thought, oh, God, is he going to use up his petrol?
“When he got into the straight, I could see the minute they straightened up, the speed he was going compared to the frontrunners, and I thought, this is on.
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“When he hit the front, I very rarely celebrate before the line, but I think I was celebrating a furlong out, which is unlike me. But then, it’s pretty unlike me to have a winner in the Breeders’ Cup!”
Willie didn’t have long to celebrate as he was due to catch a flight to Melbourne from Los Angeles around 10 hours after Ethical Diamond crossed the line under a brilliant Dylan Browne McMonagle ride.
“I hope they have a nice wine list on the plane,” he said.
While this felt like an out of body experience for Willie, Charlie Appleby has toasted plenty of Breeders’ Cup winners over the years and Notable Speech emphatically bagged him another in the Mile.
There looked like being a three-way battle between last year’s 2,000 Guineas winner, The Lion In Winter and Formidable Man 150 yards out, but he quickly put daylight between himself and the rest with an electric change of gear.
Appleby said: “I think it’s a race that everyone is probably well aware now that we enjoy winning and always try to. You’ve got to pick a horse, the right horse, and pick it far enough out realistically.
“Some of these races kind of sometimes been — not far from saying they’re a last chance saloon for a few of them, but I like to think we plan far enough out that we bring the right horse and prep it right to hopefully turn up and run to his full ability. And no doubt, he has”
And there was joy for Japan in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, as the brilliant globetrotter Forever Young held off Sierra Leone and Fierceness up the Del Mar stretch.
