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Nick Rockett was the hero at Aintree for father-son combo Willie and Patrick Mullins after the horse produced a brilliant Grand National win.

The horse was the first finisher in an incredible 1-2-3 for Mullins Sr, beating last year’s winner I Am Maximus with Grangeclare West coming in third.

The trainer has had a bumper week at Aintree, with seven winners coming from his yard including four grade one race winners on the first day of the festival.

Likewise, Patrick was in good form coming into the feature race. He won the Aintree bowl on Thursday and was the first Amateur jockey to complete such a feat.

The jockey becomes the latest in the stream of Mullins Grand National winners with his cousins David and Emmet having won the race, the former in 2016 as a jockey and the later in 2022 as an owner.

Mullins Jr said: “It’s everything I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, I know it’s a cliche but when I was five or six years old, reading books about the National and watching black and white videos of Red Rum. To put my name there is very special.”

The race was classically dramatic. No one could tell the winner as the leaders jumped the last two hurdles.

I Am Maximus was the favourite of the two among many, including the bookies, but instead the 33-1 Nick Rockett galloped away to win after an exceptional run.

It was an emotional moment for the horse’s owner Stewart Andrew, whose wife Sadie passed away from cancer less than a week after Nick Rockett’s first race and is still listed as the horse’s co-owner.

Winning owner Andrew said: "From a personal point of view, I can't tell you... Sadie would have loved today - she was up there, she'll have had a tenner each-way, I guarantee you.

"What a ride from Patrick, what a ride. I knew if we got to the front jumping the last, this horse is tough.”

Likewise, Willie Mullins was clearly emotional after the race and said: “That was some result. It’s lovely to be able to give your son a ride in the National, but to win it, it’s unbelievable.”

The victory further cements the Mullins family as a dominating horse racing dynasty, after a hugely successful Cheltenham festival earlier this year.