Patrick Mullins interview: 'What sets Willie apart? He doesn't take no for an answer'
Patrick Mullins with Embassy Gardens on the gallops ahead of the Cheltenham Festival: 'He definitely ticks all the boxes'. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
There exists a possibility that Willie Mullins could train his 100th Cheltenham Festival winner in the 100th edition of the Gold Cup.
Of course there also exists the possibility, the probability even, that Mullins will get the six winners he needs to hit that astonishing landmark before Galopin Des Champs lines up to defend his crown in the Festival highlight.
So what would breaking through the century barrier mean to Ireland’s perennial champion trainer? Who better to ask than his son and assistant Patrick.
“It (getting to 100 winners) definitely matters, Willie would always have a keen sense of history and what's been done before and 100 winners, it wasn't an aim, it was never thought possible until very recently so it would be very special.”
When Mullins won all eight Grade One contests up for grabs at the Dublin Racing Festival last month, it prompted legitimate questions as to whether one trainer having such an embarrassment of riches was a good thing for the overall health of the sport. The man himself says he never envisaged his yard getting so big. Nor did he want it too. “But the opposition kept putting up the number of horses so, to stay relevant, I had to get as big as the opposition,” he said.
Echoing those sentiments, Patrick adds: “What he’s done, the size he’s got it at, I think he’s changed the game but he’s had to do that because Gordon (Elliott) expanded his size as well. It’s just grown and grown.”
Given the extent of his current dominance, it’s easy to forget that there have been setbacks along the way, significant ones too, not least when Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud removed their horses from Closutton after Mullins raised his training fees in 2016.
The way he responded to that body blow is a measure of the man, Patrick argues.
“What sets Willie apart? What always stands out to me is when Gigginstown left. Willie would have been in his early 60s, had been champion trainer however many times, had lost 60 horses. At the time that would have been about a third of the yard, maybe a quarter of the yard and to lose the biggest owner in racing at the time – Willie could have just consolidated and been happy with his lot and finished second or third in the championship while training good horses. But instead he went out, he got more owners, more horses, more staff, more problems, built more stables and we’re bigger from it. That’s his mindset. He doesn’t take no for an answer, he’ll never be told he can’t do something, he’ll always try. He does think outside the box.”
Mullins Sr will be 68 next September but Patrick, while keen to one day take over, doesn’t expect a retirement announcement any time in the near future.
“I’d love to take over but in England trainers seem to retire whereas in Ireland they seem to die. My grandfather trained until his late 80s and I’d say Willie would be looking at someone like Mark Johnston and thinking: ‘Why would you retire?’ Willie loves it, it’s his life so I don’t think he’ll retire anytime soon. I’d like to ride to my early 40s so it might tie in nicely but I’m not bursting to take over. I won’t be able to ride forever, I can train as long as I like. I want to make the most of riding while I can.
“I'm 16 or 17 years in so you're counting the Cheltenhams you have left on your fingers and trying to make the most of everything but just hoping the wave we're on at the moment keeps going for another few years. Willie stopped riding at 40 when he won the bumper at Cheltenham in 1996 so I'll have to keep going until 41 anyway!”
Maureen Mullins, mother of Willie and grandmother of Patrick, died last month at the age of 94 and the National Hunt Chase that concludes the action on day one of the Festival will be run in her honour. A third consecutive National Hunt Chase win would be a poignant success for son and grandson and Patrick believes Embassy Gardens is made for the marathon test.
“He definitely ticks all the boxes. Going back you'd have wanted a horse with more experience — he only has two runs over fences — but since they brought in the new rules in 2018 the field is much smaller and it's not as much of a handicap feel to it now.
“He disappointed last year in the Albert Bartlett but the Albert Bartlett start is a real rush because it's downhill to the first hurdle, everyone is trying to get a position and I think it just blew his head a bit whereas in the National Hunt Chase there's not as much of a rush and I'll hopefully be able to get him settled. On prices he's my best chance of a winner for the week.” Patrick has three Champion Bumper wins on his CV but admits there’s no obvious standout contender this year.
“The Bumper is very murky, there's three, four or five after putting their hand up recently but there's no standout. Jasmin De Vaux put in the most visually impressive performance but the second horse (His Nibs) is well exposed. We thought Cantico would win at Christmas. He didn't but he won in Navan. Champagne Fever did the same, he got beat on St Stephen's Day and came out and won in Fairyhouse before winning at Cheltenham.
“With bumper horses it's so difficult because they have one or two runs, they're improving at different rates so it is going to be a bit of a lucky pick maybe.” At his media day, Mullins Sr indicated that Monkfish is likely to take on Galopin Des Champs rather than run in the Stayers’ Hurdle and Patrick believes he deserves a crack at the biggest prize of all.
“We thought he was a Gold Cup horse all along. It would be a huge ask, the Stayers' Hurdle would probably be the safer route but we always thought he was a Gold Cup horse and if we get him there in one we'll let him take his chance. Obviously, Galopin is our number one but Monkfish does have the ability. Keeping his chassis in one piece is the main thing. He's 10 now so do you roll the dice? The Gold Cup is the race you want to win.”
Patrick rode Fact To File to finish second in last year’s Champion Bumper and believes the seven-year-old is a Gold Cup horse in the making.
“He (Fact To File) can go as high as he wants. A Dream To Share beat him twice last year but A Dream To Share is a Flat-bred horse and my lad is a big, strong chasing, National Hunt type. For him to get as close to A Dream To Share as he did was a testament to his ability. He settles, jumps, he's flawless as a ride. You're hoping he's a Gold Cup horse.”
