GORDON ELLIOTT let out a sigh of relief as Teahupoo muscled to Stayers’ Hurdle glory.
It had been a frustrating couple of days for the County Meath man, with several of his horses filling the places behind his great rival Willie Mullins.
But new star stayer Teahupoo and his jockey Jack Kennedy repaid the unwavering faith big Elliott had in his horse.
He said: “I’m nearly in tears here.
“It’s just great to get a winner — we’ve hit the crossbar all week and it can be a long few days if you’re going close but not winning.
“I’m delighted for the owners, the jockey and I’m delighted for me!”
And, in truth, it was one of those races where the result looked inevitable from the moment the flag dropped.
The horse jumped and travelled well throughout and when the two-time winner Flooring Porter tried to slip the field on the long run for home he was the only one who could go with him.
The well-backed 5-4 favourite flew the last and cleared away up the hill, with Kennedy and Elliott both letting out huge roars of emotion as he crossed the line.
It was redemption for the horse, who was a beaten favourite in the race 12 months ago, and a huge boost for his trainer.
Elliott said: “The horses are running well and there are no excuses and no hard-luck stories either, but to win the Stayers’ Hurdle is just unbelievable — for the whole team and for Jack.
“It’s been a long couple of days, but at least we haven’t had any horses didn’t win that should have won.
“It was always the plan to come here fresh with Teahupoo, he runs well after a break and he has won that impressively. He is a smashing horse and Jack gave him a great ride.
“I see Willie every day of the week — you only see him a couple of times a year — so you can imagine what it feels like watching him have all these winners!
“But he’s a gentleman and to be training in the same era as him is unbelievable.”
Chuffed Kennedy was glad to be back on the big stage after he missed last year’s Festival with a broken leg.
He had to watch on last season as Teahupoo failed late on in the same race.
Kennedy said: “He’s an amazing horse, he makes my job very easy.
“We missed the second last, but other than that it was all straightforward.
“He’s an honest horse and he came up the hill very well.
“The horses have been running well, but it started getting a little bit annoying on Wednesday evening, so it’s brilliant to get off the mark and we have more to come.”