Willie Mullins seals historic 100th Cheltenham Festival win
- Published
Willie Mullins doffed his hat to mark his 100th winner
Cheltenham Festival 2024 |
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Dates: 12-15 March Venue: Cheltenham Racecourse Races: 13:30-17:30 GMT Main races: 15:30 |
Coverage: Commentaries on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, with feature races on BBC Radio 5 Live. Racecards, live text, results & reports on the BBC Sport website and app. |
Trainer Willie Mullins claimed a historic 100th Cheltenham Festival victory as his son Patrick won the Champion Bumper on Jasmin De Vaux.
It sealed a treble on Wednesday for the Irishman, who is the first person to post a century of wins at the Festival.
Patrick was greeted by a huge roar as he returned on the 9-2 winner.
"Whoever dreamt any trainer, never mind me, could do it," said a delighted Mullins after securing his sixth victory of the 2024 Festival.
He had been denied the landmark in the Queen Mother Champion Chase when favourite El Fabiolo was pulled up in a race won by Captain Guinness.
Mullins had earlier reached 99 victories via Ballyburn and Fact To File.
The 67-year-old is out on his own for Festival victories, with Nicky Henderson his nearest challenger on 73 wins.
His first big Cheltenham triumph came with Tourist Attraction in 1995, and he is almost certain to be the week's leading trainer for the 11th time in the last 14 years.
'Extraordinary stuff' - the Mullins milestone
The Cheltenham big screens marked Mullins' achievement
Two trebles on the meeting's opening two days brought Mullins to the milestone.
While top cricketers might give an extravagant wave of the bat to the pavilion on reaching a century, Mullins marked his historic ton by holding his trilby aloft with a wide smile.
The son of trainer Paddy Mullins, who guided the brilliant mare Dawn Run to an unprecedented Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup double in the 1980s, Willie has reached new levels of success.
His gentle charm and ability to recruit leading owners and top bloodstock agents, willingness to experiment and the top team in the background have all contributed to his achievements.
Patrick is a key part of the set-up, with Willie's wife Jackie running things behind the scenes and leading former jockeys Ruby Walsh and David Cary among advisors.
"It's huge for them. I think they are probably going to enjoy it more than I will. It's extraordinary stuff," he said.
His remarkable tally can be put into perspective when you consider it is more than double the number of victories achieved by Paul Nicholls, who is third on the all-time Cheltenham list.
A 13th victory in the Bumper was a fitting triumph as he has always targeted this race for younger horses.
"His willingness to expand always amazed me," said Walsh.
"It's only ever going in one direction with Willie, even to this day he will start his entries with the bumper horses. That's not because he loves bumpers, it's because he is always looking to the future."
'Outside the box thinking'
Willie Mullins celebrates Faugheen's Champion Hurdle success in 2015
Major Mullins winners over the years read like a who's who of racing stars - Florida Pearl, Hedgehunter, Hurricane Fly, Quevega, Faugheen, Vautour, Douvan, Annie Power... the list goes on.
Even when Mullins lost a major backer five years ago, he regrouped and went on to even greater success.
The withdrawal of horses owned by Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud in a row over training fees could have been damaging long term.
Mullins lost around 60 horses - a third of his yard's occupants. He did not stand still.
"In his early 60s instead of consolidating, he went out and got more horses and more owners," said Patrick.
"Then there's the calibre of staff here and the owners he has built. He has made the very most of everything he has been able to."
Mullins senior has his own way of doing things - a Christmas present to himself was a bespoke mini weather station for his Closutton yard in County Carlow using a special app on his phone.
Asked what it was like working with him, Patrick said: "Several headaches. He could say something one day and then give out the next day for doing it.
"He is always chopping and changing. He can't be told no. He has outside the box thinking, at times it can be like man from the moon, but enough times it works.
"He is a funny man in that the more you try to tell him to do something, the more he will try to do the opposite."
Is Mullins too dominant?
Mullins' stranglehold was illustrated by Ballyburn leading home a 1-2-3-4-5 for him in the Gallagher Novices' Hurdle.
That is in stark contrast to the fortunes of British trainer Henderson, who has withdrawn several runners this week with his stable badly out of form.
Any sports needs proper competition, and Mullins appears to appreciate the bigger picture.
"We're good pals and we like the competition, and it's just awful for people," said Mullins.
"You save it all up for the whole year - your energy, everything, put it all into this and then the horses are taken out because of some mystery, whatever's going through the yard. It's tough, really tough.
"It's not good for the racing - we like competition. We have to have it."