John Cullen has been established in the weighing room as one of the most solid exponents of his art for the better part of a decade. A teak-tough individual, while he hasn’t always had much high-class ammunition, he has ridden more than his share of Grade 1 winners over the years.
Principal Trainers: Shark Hanlon, Tom Hogan, Oliver Brady
Notable Wins:
- Dial-A-Bet 1800 721 821 European Breeders Fund Novice Hurdle (Mount Helicon 2010, Premier Victory 2009)
- Prix Anjou-Loire Challenge (Another Jewel 2010)
- MCR Hurdle (Puyol 2010)
- Limestone Lad Hurdle (Ebadiyan 2010)
- EBF Hamptons Furnishings Mares Novice Hurdle (Premier Victory 2009)
- Punchestown Juvenile Hurdle (Ebadiyan 2009)
- Durkan New Homes Novice Chase (Follow The Plan 2009)
- Newlands Chase (Maralan 2008)
- Kevin McManus Flyingbolt Novice Chase (Maralan 2008)
- Volkswagen Craddockstown Novice Chase (Escrea 2007)
- Fortria Chase (French Accordion 2007)
- O'Dwyer Steel Like-A-Butterfly Novice Chase (French Accordion 2007)
- Swordlestown Cup (Say Again 2004 and Accordian Etoile 2006)
- Wilf Dooly Chase (Kymandjen 2006)
- Paddy Power Handicap Chase (Black Apalachi 2005)
- Drinmore Novice Chase (Kill Devil Hill 2005)
- Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial Novice Hurdle (Travino 2005)
- Independent Newspaper Novices Chase at Cheltenham (Accordion Etoile 2005)
- BETDAQ.com Hurdle (Accordion Etoile 2005 + 2004)
- Johnstown Novice Hurdle (Black Apalachi 2005)
- Durkan New Homes Novice Chase (Mariah Rollins 2004)
- Greatwood Hurdle (Accordion Etoile 2004)
- Galway Hurdle (Cloone River 2004, Say Again 2002)
- Poplar Square Chase (Colnel Rayburn 2004)
- For Auction Novice Hurdle (Accordion Etoile 2003)
- Red Mills Trial Chase (Bob Treacy 2001)
- Thyestes Chase (Bob Treacy 2001)
Early Days
John Cullen took his first ride on the racecourse in the 1994/5 season, but he had to be patient in his pursuit of his first winner, eventually getting off the mark on a horse called Colonel John in a handicap hurdle at Leopardstown on May 19th 1999. As the saying goes, it never rains, it pours, and that proved to be the case with Cullen, as he proceeded to ride the same horse to win a similar event at Wexford nine days later and the very next day rode a horse called Barcley Toller to win a bumper at Naas.
However, things didn’t really take off for Cullen until the 1999/2000 season when he begun what would prove to be a successful and durable partnership with the Paul Nolan stable. He rode a total of eight winners for the yard during that first season with him, with the highlights coming with two wide-margin wins in bumpers on One Fine Day, including a notable success at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting. However, it was Michael Hickey that gave Cullen his first big-race win when giving him the leg up on Bob Treacy, who comfortably won the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park in 2001. The following month, the same horse provided Cullen with another valuable success at the Kilkenny track when winning the Red Mills Trial Chase. The following year, Nolan did indeed provide Cullen with a big-race winner when Say Again won the Galway Hurdle and two years later, the Nolan-trained Cloone River gave Cullen his second win in that showpiece of the summer season. That latter win signalled the beginning of a strong run of big-race form for Cullen, winning the Grade 1 Durkan New Homes Novice Chase on the Pat Fahy-trained Mariah Rollins and the Greatwood Hurdle at the Cheltenham November meeting on the Nolan-trained Accordion Etoile.
Healthier And Happier
John was the subject of the T.V. programme, “The Health Squad” in 2005 and as a result his whole diet and lifestyle was altered, with new regime allowing him to ride at around 10st 5lb. Under his new healthy regime, Cullen continued his strong run of form into the 2005/6 season, winning such races as the Grade 1 Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial Novice Hurdle at Navan on the Mags Mullins-trained Travino, the Grade 1 Drinmore Novice Chase on the Paul Nolan-trained Kill Devil Hill, the Paddy Power Handicap Chase on the Philip Rothwell-trained Black Apalachi and the Grade 1 Swordlestown Cup on his old friend Say Again. 2006/7 was not as successful a campaign for Cullen with regard to big-race wins, with Paul Nolan having a quiet season by his standards on that front, but he still maintained a respectable strike rate.
With Paul Nolan back to form in 2007/8, Cullen duly returned to big-race winning form, with the Nolan-trained French Accordion being his most lucrative partner, winning the Grade 3 O'Dwyer Steel Like-A-Butterfly Novice Chase at Tipperary and the Grade 2 Fortria Chase at Navan. He also formed a notable partnership with the Oliver Brady-trained Maralan, gaining somewhat fortunate Grade 2 wins in both the Kevin McManus Flyingbolt Novice Chase at Navan and the Newlands Chase at Naas. Nolan provided him with another valuable win when the pair teamed up with Escrea to win the Grade 2 Volkswagen Craddockstown Novice Chase at Punchestown.
Continued Big-Race Success
Cullen continued his run of Graded success in 2008/9, riding the Oliver McKiernan-trained Follow The Plan to success in the Grade 1 Durkan New Homes Novice Chase at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival, with him being universally praised for the strength he showed in the saddle. A few weeks later, he rode the Oliver Brady-trained Ebadiyan to win the Grade 3 Punchestown Juvenile Hurdle. While Cullen failed to ride a Grade 1 winner in 2009/10, he continued to enjoy success at Graded level, riding the Tom Hogan-trained Premier Victory to success in two Grade 3 contests in November. He gained an even more valuable success on the John Mulhern-trained Puyol in the MCR Hurdle at Leopardstown in January.
The 2010/11 season started off in positive fashion for Cullen, with him adding another feather to his cap by riding the Denis Murphy-trained Another Jewel to win what is thought to be the longest race in the world, the Prix Anjou-Loire Challenge at Le Lion d'Angers in May. A cross-country race over 4m 4½f, the pairing ran out the 2½ lengths winner of the €112,000 contest. In October, Cullen rode a Tom Hogan-trained winner of the Grade 3 Dial-A-Bet 1800 721 821 European Breeders Fund Novice Hurdle at Cork for the second year in succession, guiding Mount Helicon home in front on this occasion.
With him currently riding as well as ever, John Cullen is likely to remain in strong demand for many seasons to come.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011
