THOSE who followed events at the Punchestown Festival this week could be forgiven for thinking there are only two trainers in Ireland.

In fairness, the Elliott-Mullins battle has dominated the season and, for the most part, it has been massively entertaining rather than monotonous.

However, let’s not forget some of the other great stories thrown up this season. Here we recall a handful of fairytale successes from the past year which made headlines.

YOUCANTCALLHErTHAT

Unable to win a bumper or hurdle in 10 attempts last season, Denis Hogan’s mare has absolutely thrived over fences. She won her beginners’ chase at Cork in November and then won a mares’ handicap at Fairyhouse in December off a mark of 118.

Owned by a syndicate, the daughter of Brian Boru nicked some minor blacktype in January before reeling off three wins at Thurles, Limerick and Fairyhouse.

Now rated 143, she wasn’t disgraced in the controversial Grade 1 novice chase at Punchestown last Tuesday. Denis Hogan said: “This mare couldn’t win a hurdle last year and we almost sold her for small money. It’s great she is repaying the boys now.”

PRESENTING PERCY

In this era of domination by ‘super-trainers’, how did Co Galway handler Pat Kelly win a Cheltenham Festival race three years running? The first two came in handicaps but this year Presenting Percy ran out a clear winner of the Grade 1 RSA Chase. Winning jockey Davy Russell quipped: “I have to stop underestimating this horse. He seemed unimpressive to me, but what a horse – after three miles, he’s barely out of breath.”

Presenting Percy is now ante-post favourite for the 2019 Gold Cup, a prospect which will keep true jump racing fans dreaming during the summer months.

EDWULF

Okay, J.P. McManus is not exactly a small owner but, considering his huge investment in racing, top-level wins have been thin on the ground for the green and gold in recent seasons. Very few expected Edwulf to win the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February. The horse had collapsed at Cheltenham 11 months earlier and had been pulled up on his comeback run at Christmas. In hindsight 33/1 was actually a pretty mean price, up against nine others including Djakadam, Our Duke and Killultagh Vic.

Given a very patient ride by Derek O’Connor, Joseph O’Brien’s runner came through late to beat Outlander by a neck. “We just wanted to save him for a happy retirement,” McManus said. “That day at Cheltenham was about saving the horse’s life and it was a huge team effort. It wasn’t about coming back and winning Grade 1 races, so I’m lost for words.”

ELLIE MAC

You don’t expect a 50/1 winner to get a big reception at a meeting as prestigious as the Leopardstown Christmas Festival. But what a story we had when Ellie Mac won the first race there on St Stephen’s Day. Owned by friends and family of Niccolai Schuster, one of six people who died in the Berkeley balcony tragedy in California in 2015, Ellie Mac was making her debut in the Leopardstown race and her supporters could hardly have dreamed she would win first time out.

The celebrations in the winner’s enclosure were unforgettable. Niccolai’s father John said: “My son was a great racing fan and we decided at a party to put a racing club together – there was no shortage of neighbours, friends and we had support from all over the world. This is the greatest day of our lives since the tragedy.”

KILLAHARA CASTLE

On the Sunday before Christmas brothers John and Martin Burke from Holycross, Thurles, pulled off a miracle 200/1 win with Killahara Castle at Thurles. In winning the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Boreen Belle Mares Novice Hurdle, the mare outbattled the 8/13 favourite True Self, who this week went on to win a big handicap hurdle at Punchestown.

Attempting to explain the Thurles result, winning jockey Martin Burke said: “We were just hoping for a bit of blacktype and stuck her in hoping it would break up a bit better than what it did, but once she was in, we said we might as well run her.” Killahara Castle was the first horse to win at 200/1 in Ireland this century.