Woe for jockey Danny Mullins as injury ends campaign
The Irish jockey fractured his kneecap in a fall from Dicosimo at the fourth flight in the Betfair Handicap Hurdle on Saturday. He will have an operation today which will keep him out of action for about 12 weeks.
After his fall, Mullins was taken to hospital for a precautionary X-ray, before he flew back to Ireland and went to see leading sports surgeon Dr Tadhg O’Sullivan yesterday.
O’Sullivan will perform the operation at Whitfield Clinic in Waterford.
“He’s having an operation on his kneecap tomorrow morning and will be out for 12 weeks. It’s bad news,” said Mullins’ agent, Ken Whelan.
“He saw the specialist who told him there was only one solution to it — he’d have to have an operation.
“It’s 10 weeks to the Punchestown Festival, so it means he’s going to miss the rest of the season.”
Mullins had been looking forward to returning for the Cheltenham Festival after enjoying a successful campaign that included a Grade One victory on Footpad at Leopardstown just a week before having an untimely tumble.
Meanwhile, Willie Mullins is to step Blazer up in trip after the well-backed favourite cut no ice in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday.
The five-year-old, owned by JP McManus, was sent off a warm order at 3-1 for one of the most competitive handicaps in the jumps calendar after landing an impressive victory at Leopardstown a week earlier.
However, he was unable to land a blow and finished a well-beaten ninth behind Agrapart.
“We had to take a gamble,” Mullins said. “We were in with bottom weight, but, to me, looking at him in the race he’s a two-and-a-half-mile horse.”
Mullins saddled five horses in the big race, but the best he could manage was sixth with Kalkir.
“My horses at Newbury ran like hairy goats!,” Mullins said.
“Dicosimo fell but is fine. Buiseness Sivola also had a really tough fall.
“Kalkir ran well and Ivan Grozny was disappointing.”
