'It's worth a fortune to the local community - racing is such a big part of Leighlinbridge' - die-hard locals turn out for Grand National heroes

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Welcome to the home of homecomings. On its website, the Lord Bagenal Inn states that "its dedicated team will endeavour to surpass your every expectation". 

Well, Willie Mullins can have no complaints on that front anyway as not even the greatest jumps trainer of them all can quite believe that he's back there again and about to parade around the Carlow village of Leighlinbridge with yet another Grand National winner. He could walk these streets with his eyes shut. Indeed, he probably has some night after a few too many glasses of Armagnac. 

• Watch: I Am Maximus returns home following his Grand National win

It's an annual tradition at this stage. Just as Easter, Halloween and Christmas all fall in the calendar at certain times of the year, so, too, does a good, old Leighlinbridge homecoming. Although it's becoming biannual of late. These days the Gold Cup and Grand National winner are always trained in the same place by the same man.

Five times since 2019 the Gold Cup winner has been a Closutton resident and it's three Grand Nationals in a row now after I Am Maximus regained his crown last Saturday. Digest that for a moment – five Gold Cups and three Grand Nationals in the space of eight years. It's astonishing, yet we take it for granted. 

I Am Maximus with JP McManus, Eliot Ohgren and Willie MullinsCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

One thing you can never take for granted is the Irish weather. A glorious April morning, where temperatures touched a balmy 14 degrees around midday, somehow turned into a hideous evening. A bright orange ice-cream van was positioned right in front of the entrance to the hotel but, alas, it was not the day for 99s. Why are there never any hot whiskey vans?

• Grand National: 'Superstar' I Am Maximus becomes first since Red Rum to regain Aintree title and lands huge gamble 

• I Am Maximus 'perhaps the best National winner of them all' says BHA handicapper - and there's 'every chance' he can emulate Red Rum 

Don't you dare doubt the dedication of the locals, by the way. They were here less than a month ago to welcome home Gaelic Warrior and they're back again, every single one of them it seemed, to salute I Am Maximus. Oh, and Soldier In Milan, too. This was a joint-party with the impressive Irish Grand National winner who is, of course, trained by Willie's nephew, Emmet.

"For I Am Maximus to come back and win it for a second time with top weight was just fantastic," Willie Mullins said, before he went on to acknowledge something we should never forget. "It's worth a fortune to the local community here. Racing is such a big part of Leighlinbridge, be it trainers, studs, or whatever. It's a huge part of the village."

I Am Maximus and Soldier In Milan parade through the streetsCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

This is most definitely racing country and hundreds of people lining the streets and getting soaked on a dirty Thursday evening is ample proof of that. 

It was not all locals, though. The Coleman family made their way up from Gortroe in County Cork. Ger bred Soldier In Milan, while his son Sean backed it and still has the winnings tucked away on the inside pocket of his jacket. "Open it up there and show him," said his mother Fidelma. And, there it was, a wad of crisp fifties. The same Sean has two silver medals tucked away at home from the Special Olympics at Los Angeles in 2015. "He's some swimmer," his mother whispered to me. He might need to be to get home if this rain doesn't relent.

JP McManus turned up, too. 

JP McManus and Willie Mullins join the celebrationsCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"We'll celebrate it for a while," he said of I Am Maximus' famous triumph. "We've had a few great days celebrating since the race and we're not finished yet either!"

"The drinks are on JP tonight, so," laughed Mullins. 

Paul Townend arrived back from a rare luckless afternoon at Limerick to join the celebrations. 

"It's great to be back here again and see all the familiar faces," he said. "There's such a good turnout."

Paul Townend (left) with cousin Davy Condon on ThursdayCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

When it was time for I Am Maximus and Soldier In Milan to parade around the village, both were surprisingly well behaved. They never turned a hair despite the crowds. 

The owner of PJ Doran's came out of the shop with a pocket radio in his hand and handed it to Willie, saying: "You can listen to your next winner on that!"

Speaking of his next winner, that arrived in the bumper at Limerick as he watched Sparkling Wit stay on best of all under son Patrick alongside McManus. There was even a fist pump from Willie as he passed the line. It turns out the winner is a brother to Gaelic Warrior. He's the future. 

That's it from the Lord Bagenal Inn. Same time, same place next year? 

Read these next:

Grand National: 'Superstar' I Am Maximus becomes first since Red Rum to regain Aintree title and lands huge gamble 

No one targets a race like Emmet Mullins and Paul Byrne - which is why Gold Cup quotes for Soldier In Milan miss the point 

'There's no hiding the fact it's been the plan' - audacious plot pays off as Soldier In Milan runs away with Irish Grand National 

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