Willie Mullins has taken the art of training racehorses to another level but even he was overwhelmed by his achievement which evoked memories of Michael Dickinson training the first five home in the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Fighting back the tears the Irish training phenomenon, now the first man in history to train the first three in the National, said: "It was some result. It is lovely to be able to give your son a ride in the National, but to be able to win it is just unbelievable."

Patrick Mullins, an amateur jockey in name only such is his ability, is also making a name for himself as an astute observer as a writer of the sport of kings.

But he too was almost lost for words after denying last year's winner, trained by his dad, I Am Maximus by two and a half lengths.

"I'm too out of breath to say anything. It is incredible," he said.

"I got too good a start and had to take him back all the way but he jumped fantastic.

"It's a dream from when I was a kid. When I was a kid I watched videos so this is very special. He (Nick Rockett) is fine - I need a cold bath myself. He's not big but he is brave as a lion."
'Willie is unbelievable'
There was a heartwarming story attached to owner Stewart Andrew as Nick Rockett was the last horse his wife Sadie watched win, five days before she died in 2022.

"This was my wife's horse and she's the one who wanted a horse with Willie Mullins," Andrew said.

"Willie is unbelievable and told us we're going to win the Thyestes, the Bobbyjo and then have a crack at Aintree. What can you say? Willie is a gentleman."

The third horse across the line in this sun-kissed renewal of the race first staged in 1839 was Grangeclare West (33-1), also trained by Mullins.

The 13-2 favourite Iroko muscled in the Mullins' monopoly to take fourth, ahead of MeetingoftheWaters (Mullins), Senior Chief (Henry de Bromhead) and Mullins' Minella Cocooner.

On drying ground the maximum field of 34 runners jumped off to an immaculate start - ahead of them 30 fences, over four miles and two furlongs, and a place in racing folklore.

Broadway Boy led them a merry dance before hitting the deck jumping the Canal Turn on the second circuit. Another to drop out of contention early on was the well-fancied 2024 Irish National winner Intense Raffles.

Paul Townend gradually creeped I Am Maximus closer to the leading bunch and over the last it was a duel between him and Nick Rockett, who stayed on the stronger up the long straight to the famous finish line where Red Rum, the legendary three-time winner of the National, is buried.

The momentous training feat by Willie Mullins shook up the race for the British jump trainer's title.

At the start of the day Dan Skelton looked nailed on to land it, with a £1 million ($1.28 million) lead over his Irish rival.

But after reaching for his calculator the Briton, son of Olympic equestrian Nick Skelton, will find that gap has now been reduced to just £137,000 with Mullins planning an all-out attack on Britain's remaining top prizes until the last day of the season.

Ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover, Iran’s navy chief boasted that his country’s naval and defense power is stronger than ever, seemingly comparing Iran to the ancient Israelites and warning that enemies would be drowned at sea like Pharaoh’s army.

In an ironic twist, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani drew a parallel between Iran and the ancient Israelites enslaved by Egypt in the Exodus story, positioning Tehran as the modern-day victim of persecution.

In that biblical account, Pharaoh, fearing the growing Israelite population, enslaved them and even ordered the death of newborn boys. However, under God’s power, the Israelites, led by Moses, escaped Egypt. When Pharaoh’s army pursued them, driven by greed and fear, they were ultimately destroyed by the sea.

On Thursday, the Iranian commander praised Tehran’s naval strength and defense capabilities during a meeting with the families of the country’s 86th naval fleet, as tensions grow in the lead-up to nuclear talks with the United States.

“Our maritime power and defensive capabilities are stronger than ever,” Irani was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

“Today, our enemies see the Islamic Republic’s armed forces and strategic navy as a superpower,” Irani continued. “The devil seeks a direct confrontation at sea, but with God’s help, we will defeat and drown it like the people of Pharaoh.” Other translations quoted him as saying Iran’s “enemies” will be defeated “just as Pharaoh was drowned.”

The apparent comparison was striking since Iranian leaders routinely call for Israel’s destruction, often describing the Jewish state as a “cancer” that must be wiped off the map.

Earlier this week, Tehran and Washington announced that diplomats from both countries will meet in Oman on Saturday to begin negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

US and Iranian officials have put out contradictory statements about whether the talks will be direct or indirect, the latter of which would involve Omani mediators passing messages between the sides.

As talks approach, Iran has warned that the country may suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if external military threats persist, following US President Donald Trump’s renewed warnings of military action should Tehran fail to reach a nuclear deal.

“Continued external threats and putting Iran under the conditions of a military attack could lead to deterrent measures like the expulsion of IAEA inspectors and ceasing cooperation with it,” Ali Shamkhani — an adviser to the country’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — wrote in a post on X, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday that Trump wants Iran to know that there will be “all hell to pay” if it does not abandon its nuclear program, which Western countries believe is meant to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran claims its nuclear activities are purely for civilian energy purposes.

The negotiations will reportedly be led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, with Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr Albusaidi, serving as a mediator, as the country has long been a channel for communication between the two adversaries.

In response to the White House’s military threats, Iran issued notices to Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, and Bahrain, warning that any support for a US attack on Iran — including the use of their airspace or territory by American forces — would be considered an act of hostility.

During his first term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 nuclear deal — known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — between Iran and several world powers, which had imposed temporary limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Since then, even though Tehran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon, the IAEA has warned that Iran has “dramatically” accelerated uranium enrichment to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level and enough to build six nuclear bombs.

The post Iran’s Navy Chief Compares Tehran to Israelites Fleeing Pharaoh Ahead of Passover first appeared on Algemeiner.com.