Huge crowd turns out in Rathangan to give Grand National winning Our Duke a hero's welcome

Rathangan was a busy place yesterday evening as Grand National winning horse Our Duke visited the town less than three weeks after his greatest ever win.

There is a great Kildare connection with the seven-year-old as he is owned by the Cooper syndicate, which is led by Rathangan resident Billy Cooper, and he is trained by Moone-based handler Jessica Harrington.

Our Duke arrived in the west Kildare town, led by an ecstatic Cooper and Harrington, at around 7pm yesterday evening and was paraded outside Fullam's pub in the centre of the town.

A huge crowd turned out to greet the horse and his entourage, and he will enjoy a summer off from racing after helping Harrington to enjoy her finest ever season as a trainer where she won the Leopardstown, Cheltenham and Punchestown Gold Cups as well as the Irish Grand National.