LAST Saturday at Punchestown, when accepting his trophy as champion National Hunt trainer in Ireland for the 16th time, Willie Mullins brought the main players in his yard up to the podium with him including Culcavy bloodstock agent Harold Kirk who had plenty of successes to tweet about during the Festival.

Anna Ross of the Newtownabbey-based agency Kevin Ross Bloodstock was also busy on Twitter this week while Caledon trainer Andy Oliver too used social media to alert followers to the fact that he sent out the first two winners at Sligo on Sunday – his own four-year-old Bated Breath filly Count To Five, who landed the opening six-furlong fillies’ maiden in the hands of Gary Carroll, and J.P. Ledwidge’s three-year-old Gutaifan colt Band Width who justified favouritism under Declan McDonogh in the auction maiden over a similar trip.