The sight of Willie Mullins struggling to fit all of his trophies into the boot of his car tells you all you need to know about his Christmas.
Mullins, 64, masterminded a domination of the festive meetings at Leopardstown and Limerick.
But even a man of Mullins' achievements got anxious when his first first two runners - favourites El Barra and Micro Manage - were soundly beaten on St. Stephen's Day.
"I was wondering if the horses were sick after the first two races on Friday," he admitted.
He had little to fear though as odds-on shot Shadow River's win at Limerick kicked off a remarkable run of form for the Closutton stable.
All in all six Grade 1 victories were bagged and over €560,000 was banked by his runners.
The Numbers
16 winners from 49 runners.
Shadow Rider (2/5), Dysart Diamond (16/1), Franco De Port (8/1), Colreevy (5/1), Chacun Pour Soi (4/7), Appreciate It (7/4), Castleblawn West (13/2), Ciel De Neige (1/8), Gaillard Du Mesnil (11/8), Dandy Mag (16/1), The Big Getaway (4/5), Ramilies (15/8), Stattler (13/8), Concertista (4/5), Monkfish (1/2), Sharjah (11/2).
6 Grade 1 winners.
€562,120 won in prize-money.
It has seen Mullins (€2,101,015) leapfrog Gordon Elliott (€2,088,445) in the Irish Trainers Championship with the pair well clear of third-placed Henry de Bromhead (€1,259,645).
It could have been even better for Mulllins too, with hotpot Asterion Forlonge falling in the Matchbook Exchange Faugheen Novice Steeplechase, albeit he still trained the winner with Colreevy, while Reality Cheque slipped up and suffered a fatal injury with Sunday's concluding bumper at his mercy.
Looking forward and of all the Grade 1 races at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, Mullins currently has the bookies favourite in six of them in the form of Appreciate It, Concertista, Monkfish, Chacun Pour Soi, Min and Al Boum Photo.
And the last named two-time Gold Cup winner will be running on Tramore on New Year's Day as the Mullins machine keeps on churning.
