BY THE time he was in his very early 20s, Tom Mullins was backing himself when it came to talent spotting. He had been exposed to quality horses his entire life and stood by the side of his legendary late father Paddy, learning from the original master of Doninga.

So one day, throwing his eye at the sales over the usual cast of neophytes being promoted by connections as nascent stars, he resolved on a chesnut son of Redundant. While confident in his own judgement, he was still shy. So he gave Paddy Osborne £500 to do the bidding and take the horse home.