THE afternoon was not all plain sailing for the Mullins team, as an hour earlier they had been mourning the loss of the dual Irish Grand National runner-up, Isleofhopendreams, after a sickening incident in the Grade 2 Prix des Drags.

The 12-year-old did not jump with much fluency through the first half of this two-and-three-quarter-mile chase and sadly suffered a fatal injury when losing his hind legs on landing over the big water jump in front of the grandstand with a circuit to run.