I don’t think I knew Willie Mullins and Paul Townend shared a birthday until today. Maybe I did.
It’s the trainer’s 70th, a landmark occasion for a man who has spent the last decade or so re-writing the National Hunt record books. And Townend has been by his side throughout.
Never before has a team had such dominance or momentum, neither of which happen by accident. When Ruby Walsh jumped off Kemboy and retired on the spot following his win in the Punchestown Gold Cup of 2019 there was a sense of shock – and then celebration of what had gone before.
A bemused Mullins said on the day: “It will be strange without him. He was just a natural. I just shook his hand. It was totally out of the blue.”
Ruby Walsh with Willie Mullins after his final ride
