TO be involved with a family for almost 50 years, half a century, is quite something. To have bred almost all of the good winners in it makes it even more special, and when the only Grade 1 winner appears and you did not actually breed it, what could be better than to have your son train it?

Maureen Mullins and her husband Paddy took ownership of a mare called Tongue Twister (Twilight Alley) in the early 1970s. Bred by Ribblesdale Stud, she was put in training with Peter Walwyn. Hopes must have been high that she would become a winner when, on her debut at three, she was runner-up in a 10-furlong maiden at Salisbury. She was the only runner with no previous racecourse experience.