WILLIE MULLINS looked emotional when one of his owners was left close to tears after his late wife's horse won an £80,000 race. Nick Rockett ran out a brilliant winner of the hugely popular Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park in Ireland on Thursday. The 18-runner handicap is one of the biggest races in the calendar and always attracts a strong field.
![[Close-up of horse trainer Willie Mullins.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/trainer-willie-mullins-winning-goffs-966050860_15baab.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
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![[Jockey Paul Townend and trainer Willie Mullins at a racecourse.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/jockey-paul-townend-trainer-willie-966050848.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
SIGN UP NOW. 18+ Ts and Cs apply. First month membership £1, then £3 per month unless you cancel at least 7 days before your next billing date. For more information contact help@thesun.co.uk. But none of the horses yesterday had a story attached to them as heartbreaking as that of Nick Rockett.
Still running in the name of Stewart and Sadie Andrew, Sadie sadly died in 2022. She got to see Nick Rockett run his first race a few days before she passed away. He then won his next three contests - including a Grade 2 over hurdles - before establishing himself as an up-and-coming stayer to watch.
But that potential was never truly realised until he scooped the £50,000 first-place prize under jockey Paul Townend yesterday. There were emotional scenes in the winner's enclosure, as Stewart spoke so passionately about what the victory meant to him - and would have meant to his late wife.
