Ballycasey gives Mullins some solace

It is rare to see a Willie Mullins horse go off at 5/1 in a bumper but Ballycasey did and those who took the price were celebrating when Patrick Mullins kept him going to the line to fend off well-backed Our Vinnie by a length-and-a-half.

The grey son of Presenting was easy to back as he drifted from 11/4 in the morning whereas the money ploughed on to Charles Byrnes’s Our Vinnie – 3/1 in the morning, opened 15/8 at the course and went off 6/4 favourite.

It was six lengths back to The Crafty Butcher at 25/1 for Michael Hourigan.

On a dark day for his yard after the demise of stable veteran Golden Silver Willie Mullins said: “I’m delighted to get a winner on a day when we’ve had a lot of disappointment. He’s a staying chaser in the making and will probably go novice hurdling straight away.”

Michael Graham