SOLDIER In Milan earned his place in the record books as one of the easiest winners in the Irish Grand National’s 156-year history - posting a truly dominant 16-length rout that raised the roof at a boisterous Fairyhouse.

Available to back at 14/1 after Wednesday’s confirmation stage for the €500,000 prize, the seven-year-old, who hadn’t even made his racecourse debut this time last year, rewarded consistent support as a well-backed 6/1 favourite in the €500,000 feature.

As Ruby Walsh summed it up on the RTÉ Racing broadcast: "With the roar that was here, I think half the crowd backed Soldier In Milan." That attendance came in at 18,753 (up 12% from the 16,577 last year) on a weekend that saw 34,949 pass through the gates.

It capped a special few days for jockey Donagh Meyler, notching his fifth winner of the Easter Festival, and demonstrated both a daring and unorthodox route to the BoyleSports-backed prize for trainer Emmet Mullins and owner Paul Byrne. Theatcombination has already earned a reputation as one of the most capable in Irish racing when hatching a plan like this one. This might have been their finest hour yet.

After meeting the four bare runs required to run in this race with an effort that exactly didn’t set off any fireworks at Thurles last time, he was a completely different proposition under an always positive ride here.

It would have been an interesting finish if Kiss Will hadn’t come to grief at the third last under Paul Townend, but Soldier In Milan’s final margin of victory was even bigger than the 14 lengths that Our Duke won by in 2017, and the 12 lengths of Desert Orchid in 1990 and Hear The Echo in 2008. He was in a different league to these off a rating of 142.

“I was pinching myself jumping the last with a lap to go, he was jumping and travelling and everything was going very smoothly,” said Mullins, now a Grand National-winning trainer at Aintree and Fairyhouse.

“The biggest worry was bypassing the fourth last and hitting the front. I had warned Donagh that if everything is going right to wait as long as he can. He executed everything brilliantly, it was a brilliant ride. Leaving out a hurdle campaign was a risk, I suppose. We always hoped he had the class to overcome the inexperience.

“He was smart out the gate and into gear. Fingers cross we think he could be a classy individual. Funnily enough, I know he went off favourite, but I told Paul ‘everything is good, he’s happy, he’s healthy, he’s fit but I’ve seen him in better order’. I was only 95 percent. I was 100 percent happy last year going for the bumper at Punchestown and that proved to be very strong form, beating [Cheltenham Festival winner] King Rasko Grey. Fingers crossed we can get him back 100 percent again some other day!

"A well-backed favourite winning an Irish National is something special and he was greatly received here today. It’s an honour and a privilege. It’s been the plan, there’s no hiding that fact, since the start of the season when we decided we were going over fences. We decided to keep low mileage and get the four runs he needed to qualify. It was well executed, I suppose. There are lots of plans that go awry but that was magic. We thought we had a classy individual and thankfully he’s proved it.”

The headline to the early part of Meyler’s season was a Galway Hurdle disqualification in the stewards’ room with Helvic Dream, but that will only be a footnote to the campaign after how he has turned his fortunes around.

While clearly an unfortunate episode, that summer afternoon in the west of Ireland was a day that showed the sort of resolve the Kilmacow, Co Kilkenny native has in spades. Immediately after the inquiry drama, he stepped up to deliver a peach of a winning ride on Ross O’Sullivan’s Strong Link. Again, that mentality was evidenced here on Easter Sunday when, after two final-obstacle falls while in prime position, he picked himself up to get back in the winner’s enclosure in a €50,000 listed handicap chase later on the same card.

In the last half dozen seasons, Meyler had finished 35th, 18th, 31st, 18th, 20th and 15th in the end-of-season table, but he is having a career-best campaign in fourth right now, closing in on the 50-winner mark in Ireland.

"Obviously there was no hiding it, I had a lot of ups and down this season with horses not winning and getting beat on horses and getting beat in stewards rooms," Meyler said.

"Look it, this makes up for it all. We're up there numbers wise, it’s our best season and this is just unbelievable.

"The horse travelled everywhere; he travelled too well, he jumped too sweet throughout and I landed in front five out. I could just hear Emmet chawing the ear off me in my own mind. He’s a class horse, he’s got a class trainer, class owner. I’m just so lucky to be involved."

Emerging with plenty of credit from his effort was the in-form runner-up Showurappreciation (Jonathan Sweeney/Mark Walsh) at 10/1, while 28/1 outsider The Enabler secured €50,000 in prize money for Gordon Elliott and Danny Gilligan in third.