Even by the standards of the mighty Willie Mullins, the 2025 Grand National will take some topping. The Closutton powerhouse had won this great race twice before, with Hedgehunter (2005) and I Am Maximus (2024), but the victory for Nick Rockett raised the bar to new levels, crossing the line as he did with Mullins’ son, Patrick, in the saddle. The elder Mullins is typically unmoved by big-race success, an oasis of calm and reason in the face of never-ending glory, always seemingly with an eye fixed on the next target. At Aintree, Willie Mullins melted in front of a worldwide television audience, the sheer scale of what had just unfolded ensuring his calm demeanour was betrayed as the world […]