33/1 shot Edwulf won the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown on Sunday. The victory was notable for more than the length of the odds.
At Cheltenham last year, trainer Joseph O'Brien thought that he had lost the horse when he collapsed during the National Hunt Challenge Cup.
"Basically, I thought that he was gone," O'Brien told At The Races following Sunday's win for the now termed 'miracle horse'.
The vets on the course at Cheltenham did such an unbelievable job with him. They gave him time and they said he was going to come back and he did. It's been a long road.
In an epic finish at Leopardstown, Edwulf, with amateur jockey Derek O'Connor aboard, beat Outlander by a head in the big event of the Dublin Racing Festival.
The word 'unbelievable' is horribly overused. Not this time. Edwulf collapsed at Cheltenham, went into a fit, was dragged off the course on a mat, took 70 minutes to get into an ambulance and then appeared to be suffering from blindness. Now look at him. pic.twitter.com/SxGgYcRpgm
— Lee Mottershead (@leemottershead) February 4, 2018
We didn't think he'd make it back to a racecourse after last year's Cheltenham experience - Edwulf is now an Irish Gold Cup winner! @LeopardstownRC pic.twitter.com/1fJc1ReF2P
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) February 4, 2018
Owner JP McManus hailed the effort of those who had worked behind the scenes at Cheltenham to save his horse.
"What can I say?" - owner JP McManus pays tribute to the invaluable effort of those behind the scenes that have helped revive Edwulf, the remarkable winner of the Irish Gold Cup: pic.twitter.com/m20VWr3YOq
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) February 4, 2018
