PATRICK MULLINS DELIVERED top weight Sharjah with perfect timing to win the Galway Hurdle for dad Willie at odds of 12/1.
British raider Leoncavallo and Blazer, another of Mullins’ runners, led the 20-strong handicap field into the home straight, but Mullins and Sharjah loomed large, waiting patiently before pulling clear to win by three lengths.
“It was extraordinary – I couldn’t believe it,” Willie told RTÉ afterwards.
“Patrick was fantastic. I thought he was gone half way up the back, and I thought Blazer had it won going to the last… Patrick just got a run and he flew. He wasn’t waiting around.”
Having lost out in ‘amateur derby’ on Monday, the €177,000 win in the feature race of Festival week will go down as one of the standout moments in Patrick Mullins’ glittering amateur career in the saddle.
It brought up a three-timer on the day for Willie, and took his total for the week to eight, after victories earlier on Thursday for Minella Beau and Calie du Mesnil.
Willie added: “Patrick has huge commitment to be able to do what he’s doing.
“Every morning when he wakes up he’s probably 11st 7lbs, 11st 8lbs, and that’s when he’s minding himself. If he goes away for a weekend on a holiday, he comes back a bit heavier.
“He has such commitment. I wouldn’t live on what he lives on for a day.”
Willie Mullins' Sharjah wins the Galway Hurdle at 12-1, with his son Patrick on board #galwayraces #RTEracing pic.twitter.com/qYmeucYhbP
— RTÉ Racing (@RTEracing) August 2, 2018
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
