RACING'S FAMILY VALUES SHINE ON... IN THE TEARS AND THE TROPHIES

WHISPER it, but there are some in National Hunt racing who wonder whether the domination of trainer Willie Mullins is good for the sport.

- BY ANDY DUNN

He is universally popular, for sure, a thoroughly decent guy and truly remarkable at what he does, probably on his way to being acknowledged as the best ever.

To saddle the first three in a Grand National - and have five of his six runners finish in the top sevenis a truly stunning achievement.

History-making stuff.

In any sport, though, there comes a time when the domination of one person can become uninspiring.

But this was NOT that time.

Sure, this Grand National was about another Mullins milestone but, triumphantly, it was about human spirit, about family, about pure emotion.

For Mullins, as they once liked to say at a football club near here, this meant more. In the shape of the eight-year-old Nick Rockett, he had provided his son Patrick with the winner of, arguably, the most famous horse race of all.