Day four report: After a record-breaking tally of 10 winners in 2006, Ireland's team at this year's Cheltenham festival reached half that figure when the Champion Hurdle-winning jockey Philip Carberry guided Pedrobob to a thrilling success in the concluding Vincent O'Brien County Hurdle.
It saved the visitors from an anti-climactic end to the day and completed a memorable week for Sublimity's rider, who had only three festival rides, and, in between, travelled to France to ride there on Wednesday.
"It's been a great few days and I'm very grateful to Tony Mullins for giving me the ride," Carberry said after he produced Pedrobob with a perfectly timed challenge to beat Ouninpohja in a nerve-tingling blanket finish.
Ironically, one of the few people whose nerves weren't rattling was Mullins, as he felt his chances of a first festival success had disappeared at the second-last when Pedrobob met some interference.
"I thought his chance had gone," he said after emulating his father, Paddy, and his brother Willie, to become a Cheltenham-winning trainer. "I used to be introduced as a Cheltenham virgin so at least that's gone!"
Mullins added: "It's a wonderful moment because I was so disappointed after Aranleigh got beat in the bumper on Wednesday. After him, I thought it would never happen because I think he's a real champion."
Pedrobob - described by Mullins as "the youngest nine-year-old around" - is owned by businessman and amateur rider Barry Connell from Kilteran, in Co Dublin.
Apart from that, it was another frustrating day for the Irish and especially for Whyso Mayo, the heavily-backed favourite to defend his title in the Christies Foxhunters, who became his own worst enemy with a couple of bad mistakes topped by a calamitous error at the fourth-last.
Barely had his followers recovered from that when the Ray Hurley-trained horse actually took up the lead. However, when challenged by the JP McManus-owned Drombeag, the previous errors took their toll and the big Irish hope went down by half a length.
It was a fourth winner of the week for McManus, who had earlier come to the aid of punters, and the otherwise winner-less Tony McCoy, with Wichita Lineman, who justified favouritism in the Brit Insurance Novices Hurdle.
The 11 to 8 market leader had to grind out his victory, but he did look to have taken the measure of Black Harry when Willie Mullins's horse took a fall at the last he was lucky to get up from.
"If you're ever in trouble and not riding a winner, this horse has got the heart of a lion," said McCoy. "He's got a great attitude and you never know when he's had enough - he's a proper racehorse."
Robert "Chocolate" Thornton clinched the leading rider award at the festival when a double brought his total to four winners, one ahead of Ruby Walsh.
Katchit turned what had looked an ultra-competitive JCB Triumph Hurdle into a virtual procession as he powered nine lengths clear of Liberate to earn 10 to 1 quotes for next year's Champion Hurdle.
Lounaos was a heavily-backed Irish favourite but faded to 10th, with jockey Barry Geraghty reporting: "It's a tough race for a filly and they went very quick. She battled but she couldn't sustain that gallop."
It was Paul Nicholls who ironically supplied Thornton with the final bit of ammunition to deny Walsh as he teamed up with Andreas to land the Grand Annual Chase by three lengths from Hasty Prince.
Walsh was on the winner's stable companion, the hot favourite Saintsaire, in fifth, but Nicholls said: "Saintsaire didn't jump well enough. Maybe he wasn't well handicapped after all."
He added: "Andreas was the forgotten horse but the ground came right for him and it was a brilliant ride by Choc. We missed the second last and I always think he never finds much, but he has winged the last and stayed on. This is the icing on the cake!"
Like Thornton, the Grand Annual was a fourth success of the week for the British champion trainer, who reported that a trip to Aintree in four weeks hasn't been ruled out for the Gold Cup winner Kauto Star.
