The moment John Nallen watched his former horse Minella Times win the Grand National today was brilliantly caught on video.
As Tipperary woman Rachael Blackmore steered the gelding to glory at Aintree, Nallen was cheering her on from his home in the Premier County.
Point to point trainer Nallen, who has the Hotel Minella in Clonmel, buys young horses and breaks them in to be future stars on the track.
And among those was Minella Times, who he bought at the Tattersalls Ireland November Sale in 2013 for €31,000, the very same event at which he also purchased Minella Indo for €24,000.
The latter named went into training with Henry de Bromhead and ended up winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup last month.
And Nallen, who ran Minella Times in one point to point before he was bought by JP McManus to be also trained by de Bromhead, could not contain his excitement today as the horse he took in as a youngster won the most famous race of them all at Aintree.
The gelding ran into the lead before the final fence, although Blackmore had to keep the eight-year-old up to his work as the famous Elbow approached.
Blackmore and Minella Times (11-1) were not for stopping, though, and galloped into racing folklore to win in the colours of McManus. Nallen's reaction was captured by Tipperary pub Harney's Final Furlong who posted it on social media.
