JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)

NIKE might have coined the slogan ‘Impossible is nothing’, but it would probably be a more fitting tagline for W.P. Mullins Racing after a staggering result in the JCB Triumph Hurdle with unconsidered 100/1 shot Poniros.

It raised the eyebrows of many to see the Festival’s most successful trainer declaring a soccer team-sized squad of 11 runners for the Friday opener, and he described the Tony Bloom-owned winner beforehand as “a nice dual purpose type who should do well next season”. If he can make an impact like this now, it could be frightening to think of what fun lies ahead with Poniros in 2025/’26.

At his triple-figure odds, the 200,000gns flat recruit - bought by Harold Kirk out of Ralph Beckett’s yard at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale - became the longest-priced winner ever of the Triumph, as well as the joint-longest priced horse to score at the Festival in the modern era alongside fellow 100-1 chances Norton’s Coin (1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup) and Hipparchus (1954 Grand Annual Handicap Chase).

It’s difficult to imagine another hurdling debutant winning the Triumph in the modern era either, but Mullins managed to do just that. After a prolonged tussle, it looked as though Lulamba had won the battle with 5/4 favourite East India Dock but Jonjo O’Neill Jr, having his fifth ride for Mullins, came with an excellently-timed effort to ride his second winner of the week.

“I didn’t expect that - did Tony Bloom back him?” Mullins said of his 91-rated flat performer.

“If he did, it wasn’t on my advice! We were hoping he would run well and be a nice horse for next year, so he’s ahead of schedule. “We bought him in October, schooled him and gave him a break. We said we’d better drag him in from the field and get him ready for Cheltenham, and that’s what we did. But I didn’t expect any more than a nice run. We had a lot of horses in the race and they all came here with the same plan. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him flying through the middle of them. I just couldn’t believe it.

“I imagine he’ll go to Punchestown, and then we’ll find something at Royal Ascot, perhaps. He was bought as a dual-purpose horse, and I am hoping in time he might turn into a Melbourne Cup horse - that would be the long-term plan.”

O’Neill Jr added: “It’s a funny old game. I was supposed to be at Doncaster today. After declarations, Alain Cawley, my agent, said that Willie was looking for a jockey. He actually said I should stay in Doncaster, but I said that the way this week is going, I’d much rather be riding one of Willie’s. Anything of Willie’s has a chance. It’s unbelievable. That’s his first ever appearance over hurdles in public. What a place! He was actually very good and his stamina kicked in.”

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Lulamba (second)

“As Nico [de Boinville] said, the winner has come so late that he couldn’t see him and therefore couldn’t respond to him. Our horse is only a baby. It is certainly not out of the question to switch him to fences next season. Rather like we did with Sir Gino this season, it was let’s see where Constitution Hill is and how everybody is going. He is going to be very special.”

James Owen, trainer of East India Dock (third)

“He ran a cracker and he has done nothing wrong. I thought he had won jumping the last. I think we will mix and match between the jumps and the flat as he has an attractive handicap mark.”