McLoughlin lived the dream on the double at Fairyhouse

In a sport where the superpowers of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott conquer almost everything, the idea of winning Ireland's richest jumps race two years in a row sounds ludicrous, but that's exactly what Dermot McLoughlin had managed to do.

McLoughlin has the Midas touch when it comes to training Irish Grand National winners and he was the king of Fairyhouse on Easter Monday in 2021 and again in 2022 when sending out Freewheelin Dylan and Lord Lariat to win back-to-back runnings of jump racing's marquee race.

"They were two magic days," McLoughlin said of those famous triumphs. "There was no crowd at Fairyhouse the year Freewheelin Dylan won it because of Covid, but to come back the following year and win it again with Lord Lariat was incredible. You couldn't write it. That was so special because everyone was there and we could enjoy it properly. Boy did we party!

"Fairyhouse is my local track, just a mile or two down the road, and the Irish Grand National is a race I grew up loving. I never dreamt that I would win it once, never mind twice, so those are days I will never forgot."

McLoughlin's stable is based in Bodeen, just outside Ratoath, and he is widely regarded as one of the shrewdest operators in the game. He is the ultimate gentleman to go along with it.As well as the pair of Irish Grand Nationals, he won a Grade 2 bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival in 2019 with Santa Rossa and sent out Captain CJ to win the Grade 2 Ten Up Novice Chase at Navan in 2020.

Indeed, with a bit more luck he might have won the Grand National at Aintree, too. The legendary Vics Canvas was brought to a standstill at Bechers on the first circuit, but was still upsides the leaders at the last in the 2016 running. In the end, he had to settle for third behind Rule The World, but what might have been had that early incident not happened, eh?

When asked for his racing idol, McLoughlin didn't hesitate and said: "Oh, Jim Dreaper. I spent 15 years working for him and learnt everything from him.

"I got to sit on Carvill's Hill once. He was a big monster. He was some horse, especially on soft ground. He could gallop everything into the ground."

Looking forward to the current jumps season, McLoughlin said: "We've a team of about 40 and some nice young horses. I have a mare called Amal Angel who will be running in a bumper in the next fortnight or so. I like her."

This article is brought to you by Navan Racecourse and Fairyhouse.