Principal Trainer: Willie Mullins
Notable Wins:
- Slaney Novice Hurdle (Gagewell Flyer 2011)
- Martinstown Opportunity Series Final Handicap Hurdle (Sivota 2010)
- Dorans Pride Novice Hurdle (Enterprise Park 2009)
- Madra Dog Food Novice Hurdle (The Midnight Club 2009)
- Rockview INH Flat Race (Uimhiraceathair 2008)
- Goffs Land Rover Bumper (Quiscover Fontaine 2008)
- Kevin McManus Bookmaker Champion (Pro/Am) INH Flat Race (Galant Ferns 2008)
- Bewleys Hotels & ITBA Fillies Bonus INH Flat Race (According To Noel 2007)
Emmet Mullins is yet another talented member of the Mullins racing dynasty. A grandson of the great Paddy Mullins, his father is George Mullins, the well-known horse transport operator, his uncles are the trainers Willie, Tom and Tony Mullins and his first cousins Patrick and Danny Mullins are promising young jockeys. With a pedigree like that, Emmet was only going to be involved in one business and despite his young age, he has already made an impact as a National Hunt jockey.
Early Days
Mullins had his first ride on the racecourse as a 16-year-old on the Willie Mullins-trained Man On The Nile in a Flat race at Leopardstown in June 2006 and it was the same trainer that provided him with his first winner just five rides later, with Arbor Supreme winning a bumper at Leopardstown the following January. Remarkably, Mullins’ next ride came over the infamous Aintree Grand National fences on the Willie Mullins-trained Alphazar in the Fox Hunters Chase the following April and while the pair failed to make a serious impact, they did complete the course. After that race, Mullins soon became much busier on the racecourse and from the following August onwards, the winners began to flow.
Two wins over on the Tom Mullins-trained Mustangsallyrally got the ball rolling, but it was in bumpers that Mullins really came to attention. A win on the Robert Tyner-trained According To Noel in the Bewleys Hotels & ITBA Fillies Bonus INH Flat Race at Punchestown in December got people talking, but much better would come in April. The Liam Kenny-trained Galant Ferms delivered his first lucrative success of the month in the Kevin McManus Bookmaker Champion (Pro/Am) INH Flat Race at Limerick, but he gained an even more lucrative success on the Willie Mullins-trained Quiscover Fontaine in the Land Rover Bumper at the Punchestown Festival. A very successful first full campaign for Mullins was wrapped up by a win on the Willie Mullins-trained Uimhiraceathair in the Rockview INH Flat Race at the Curragh in May and that win was enough to see him finish second to his cousin Patrick Mullins in the Rockview Series.
Professional Life
After making a strong start to the 2008/9 campaign, Mullins took the decision to turn professional. As Sod’s Law dictates, it took Mullins a while to get off the mark as a pro, finally doing so on his old friend Mustangsallyrally in a handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse in December 2008. That win opened the proverbial floodgates, with eight more wins following in the next eight weeks. Three of those wins came on the Willie Mullins-trained Quiscover Fontaine, but it was his partnership with that horses’ stable mate The Midnight Club that proved to be the highlight of his campaign. Emmet rode the son of Flemensfirth to a total of three successes, including in the valuable Madra Dog Food Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, as well as finishing third in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Another highlight of the campaign was his first ride in the Aintree Grand National, for all that he got no further than the third fence on the Tom Mullins-trained Chelsea Harbour. He secured a total of 20 winners that campaign and it was a very satisfying term for Mullins.
While 2009/10 was not as successful a campaign as the one that came before it, it was a term that had a number of notable highlights. The pick of his 13 wins was his success on the Willie Mullins-trained Enterprise Park in the Grade 3 Dorans Pride Novice Hurdle at Limerick, his first success at Graded level. Unfortunately, just as he was hitting top form, Mullins was forced to miss the Cheltenham Festival after suffering two fractured ribs in a fall at Naas the week before the meeting. However, he did return in time to ride the Willie Mullins-trained Sivota to success in the valuable Martinstown Opportunity Series Final Handicap Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.
Mullins made up for lost time right from the beginning of the 2010/11 campaign, operating at an average monthly strike rate of 17% for the first four months of the campaign. Unfortunately, he was stopped in his tracks by a broken collarbone at the Listowel Harvest Festival 2010 which saw him ruled out for a month, but he was back in the groove by December. Indeed, that month saw him gain his biggest win of his career, riding the Willie Mullins-trained Gagewell Flyer to success in the Grade 2 Slaney Novice Hurdle at Naas.
Having regained his 3 lb claim in mid-December due to a change in the thresholds by the Turf Club, Mullins now just has one winner to go before he loses his claim for the second time. With his riding improving all the time, it will only be a matter of time before he is a fully-fledged jockey once again and he looks sure to carve out a solid career for himself in the weighing room.
Updated April 2011
