'I can't put it into words' - Willie Mullins gets his festival 100 up as Jasmin De Vaux lands Champion Bumper

Willie Mullins praised the "team effort" at Closutton after saddling his 100th winner at the Cheltenham Festival when Jasmin De Vaux took the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.

The trainer's extraordinary landmark success was, fittingly, ridden by his son Patrick, who produced the 9-2 shot to lead inside the final furlong, the pair pulling one and three-quarter lengths clear of Romeo Coolio trained by Gordon Elliott, who also had the third, 3-1 favourite Jalon D'Oudairies.

Mullins looked set to notch his 100th winner in the feature race of the day, the Champion Chase, when El Fabiolo was sent off the 2-9 favourite, but he was pulled up and stablemate Gentleman De Mee finished second.

Jasmin De Vaux, who was following up a 15-length victory at Naas in January on his rules debut, was running in the same colours as El Fabiolo and provided owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede with some timely compensation.

Reflecting on his achievement, Mullins said:  “I can't put into words what it feels like to train 100 winners here, because nobody ever thought anybody would do it.

"As I've often said, when I started out and had my first win here with Tourist Attraction [in 1995] I thought that was a lifetime achievement, so I'm absolutely stunned that we've come this far.

“We have such a wonderful team at home, with my wife Jackie, Patrick, David Casey, Ruby, Dick [Dowling] and all of my head people. It's such a team effort and they had all of those horses to saddle there. I didn't go near one saddle!

Jasmin De Vaux (left): wins the Champion Bumper under Patrick MullinsCredit: GROSSICK RACING

"Having that team behind me is incredible – and for Patrick to ride Jasmin De Vaux as well, and for one of our biggest owners.

“The team of owners we have praise each other when they have a winner and console one another when there's disappointment. They're the mainstay of the whole thing. Without owners none of us would be here. It's their sport.

“We're just stunned that we've come this far, but we've had tremendous people behind us, backing us, the whole time.

“I was really pleased Patrick got the ride. I wasn't sure he was on the right one, but he picked it and he was spot on. Simon and Isaac had the disappointment with El Fabiolo so for them to own this horse was a little bit of justice."

Patrick Mullins was five when his father trained his first festival winner, and told Racing TV: "It's something that wasn't possible before and the enlarged programme made it possible. To get the 100 for my father is a special moment."

Explaining his decision to choose Jasmin De Vaux over Mullins' seven other runners in the race, Patrick added: "He was the horse that had nothing going against him. Everything else had a minor mark against them. The only thing you could hold against him is how he looks. He's very small, very narrow, very short, he doesn't do anything flashy but when I had a look under the bonnet at Naas, there was plenty there."

Jasmin De Vaux was cut to 6-1 (from 20) by Paddy Power for next year's Gallagher Novices' Hurdle.

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