Tony Mullins

Principal Jockeys: Davy Russell, Emmet Mullins, Danny Mullins

TonyMullinsNotable Wins:

  • Galway Mile (Rock And Roll Kid 2009)
  • Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle (Pedrobob 2007)
  • Winter Festival Juvenile 3-Y-O Hurdle (The Last Stand 2005)
  • Murphys Irish Stout Handicap Hurdle (Calorando 2005)
  • Red Mills Chase (Barrow Drive 2004)
  • Woodlands Park 100 Slaney Novice Hurdle (Mcgruders Cross 2004)
  • Dr. P.J. Moriarty Novice Chase (Barrow Drive 2003)
  • Betfair Open Bumper (The Posh Paddy 2003)
  • Irish Field Novice Chase (Barrow Drive 2002)
  • Connell Warehousing Stayers Novice Hurdle (Barrow Drive 2001)
  • Paddy Power Handicap Hurdle (Lady Daisy 1997)
  • December Hurdle (Kharasar 1995)
  • Smithwicks Beer Handicap Hurdle (Doran’s Town Lad 1992)

60 Seconds With Tony Mullins:

Q: Do you get the same thrill from training a winner as you used to get from riding a winner?
A: When it comes to the big wins, I would have to say I get a bigger thrill from the training, but in terms of day-to-day wins, I would have found the riding more exciting.

Q: If you weren’t a trainer, what would you be?
A: I would definitely be involved in racing, as it’s the game I know best, and I would probably be in the hands-on side of the industry, perhaps a pinhooker.

Q: What has been your most memorable day in racing?
A: Two days stand out for me. Winning the Galway Mile with Rock And Roll Kid during the summer with my son Danny onboard and riding Dawn Run to win the famous match race against Buck House.

Q: Have you ever seen a better Flat horse than Sea The Stars?
A: No, and I was around at the same time as Nijinsky. He’s the best I’ve seen, but it should also be said what fantastic a job John Oxx has done with the horse. He has done the right thing with the horse from the very start of his career to the very end, it has been the best training performance I have ever seen.

Q: What is your horse to follow for the coming National Hunt season?
A: Aranleigh. He was a bit disappointing last year, but he had a similar heart problem to what Denman had and we reckon we have him right now. He has a bit of experience over fences already and I’d hope he’d be a horse to follow in the first part of the season at least.

The Early Days

Son of the legendary trainer, Paddy Mullins, and brother to the successful trainers Willie and Tom Mullins, Tony Mullins was only ever going to be involved in one business. A successful jockey in his younger years, Tony was probably best known for being the regular partner of the greatest National Hunt race mare of all time, Dawn Run, who was trained by his father. Dawn Run was the only racehorse ever to have completed the Champion Hurdle/Cheltenham Gold Cup double. She was one of only two mares who have managed to win the Champion Hurdle and of only four who have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup. She was also the only horse ever to complete the English, Irish and French Champion Hurdle treble. The biggest day of her career came when she won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but Mullins had been dramatically jocked off her for the race in favour of Jonjo O’Neill.

Turning to Training

Having turned his attention to the training ranks in the early 1990’s, Tony Mullins did not wait long to make an impact in his new profession. A notable win in the early stages of his career came with Doran’s Town Lad whom he rode himself to win the Smithwicks Beer Handicap Hurdle at the Listowel Harvest Festival in 1992. The winners continued to steadily flow in the next few seasons and the quality of horse in the care of Tony Mullins began to increase. He trained Padre Mio to win two bumpers and four races over hurdles before he was sold to race for Charlie Brooks for whom he won numerous other races, with the highlight coming in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in 1995.
Mullins enjoyed a significant success himself that year with Kharasar giving him a valuable high-profile win when springing a 10/1 surprise in the Grade 2 December Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting.

Star Performer – Fontaine Lodge

The mid-90’s brought further successes for Tony Mullins with Fontaine Lodge proving a lucrative performer, winning six races over hurdles with the highlight coming in the Sean Graham Handicap Hurdle at Naas in November 1996. That win was bettered by the success of the talented mare, Lady Daisy, in the Grade 2 Paddy Power Handicap Hurdle at the 1997 Punchestown Festival. Other prolific performers during this period were Ros Castle (5 wins), The Crazy Bishop (7 wins) and The Bongo Man (9 wins).

Star Performer – Barrow Drive

It was in 2001 that one of Tony Mullins’ most durable and talented performers made his racecourse debut. While Barrow Drive met with defeat on his racecourse debut, he went on to win two bumpers, a maiden hurdle and the Grade 3 Connell Warehousing Stayers Novice Hurdle on his next four starts. While he failed to win in his final two starts over hurdles as a novice, the following season he went on to reach even greater heights as a novice chaser. Having broken his maiden over the larger obstacles at Kilbeggan in July 2002, he went on to win five starts in novice company, culminating in a 25 lengths win in the Grade 3 Irish Field Novice Chase at Punchestown in November. He met with defeat on his next two starts, but bounced back to form in spectacular fashion in the Grade 1 Dr. P.J. Moriarty Novice Chase. Left clear by the final fence fall of Le Coudray, Barrow Drive galloped on to come home a distance in front of his closest pursuer, giving Mullins his first win at the highest level. While Barrow Drive failed to recapture such an illustrious level of form, he did gain a win at Grade 3 level in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park in 2004.

2003/4 Season

While he had yet to taste victory at the Cheltenham Festival, Tony Mullins got a taste for success at Prestbury Park when he saddled The Posh Paddy to win the listed Betfair Open Bumper at the November meeting at Cheltenham in 2003. Later that season, Mullins saddled his dual bumper winner McGruders Cross to win the Grade 3 Woodlands Park 100 Slaney Novice Hurdle in January 2004. Other notable performers during this period were L’Antarique who won two bumpers for Mullins before being sold to Ferdy Murphy for whom he won the Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2007, as well as The Galway Man who won a bumper and three races over fences.

2005/6 Season

2005/6 saw Mullins unleash a number of very useful sorts onto the racecourse. A useful handicapper on the Flat for Mullins, Calorando did not waste any time making an impact over hurdles. Having broken his maiden over the small obstacles at the second attempt in a maiden hurdle at Clonmel, Mullins took the bold decision to pitch him in against experienced handicappers in the valuable Murphys Irish Stout Handicap Hurdle at Killarney in May 2005. However, that decision was vindicated in no uncertain terms when the six-year-old prevailed by a length under Mark Watts. It was also around this time that Mullins saddled a previously unraced seven-year-old, Pedrobob, to win three bumpers and a maiden hurdle, but it would be the following season that he would well and truly make his mark on the big stage.  

Cheltenham Festival 2007

The Cheltenham Festival is what every National Hunt trainer in Great Britain and Ireland dreams about. It is the one meeting that each and every member of the training ranks wants to have a winner at. Tony Mullins was no different, but he had to be very patient before achieving this long-term goal. Indeed, it was only in March 2007 that Mullins broke his Cheltenham hoodoo after many years of trying. Going into the Festival, Mullins’ best chance at Prestbury Park looked to be Aranleigh in the Champion Bumper, a race his brother Willie has farmed in the last decade. However, following that horses creditable third in the Champion Bumper, it was left to Pedrobob in the very last race of the meeting, the Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle, to fly the Tony Mullins flag. Under strong pressure with three hurdles still to jump, Philip Carberry conjured an almighty run out of the nine-year-old to lead in the final strides. It was undoubtedly a joyous occasion for Mullins and must rank among his finest achievements as a trainer.

Family Glory – Rock and Roll Kid

Perhaps the most notable performer that Mullins has trained in the recent past has been the smart Flat horse Rock And Roll Kid. Owned by his long-term patron Barry Connell, the son of Danehill Dancer did not make much impact in his first three runs, but proved a different proposition in handicaps. He got off the mark in a 7f handicap at the Curragh off a mark of 61 in August 2008, with Tony’s son Danny doing the steering. While the pair failed to land the odds at Bellewstown four days later, they gained compensation when making a winning return to the Curragh the following month. He began the 2009 campaign off a mark of 87 in the Irish Lincoln and ran an eye-catching race to finish fourth. Danny Mullins perhaps set the four-year-old too much to do in his next two starts in valuable events at the Curragh, finishing a never-nearer second on both occasions. However, the promising young pilot made no mistake when it really mattered in the highly-valuable Tote Galway Mile, giving the horse a no-nonsense ride on his way to recording a two lengths success. To saddle such a high-profile winner that was ridden by his son and owned by his main patron was understandably very satisfying for Mullins and indeed, he described the win in the aftermath of the race as the best moment of his racing life. High praise indeed from a man that has achieved as much as Tony Mullins.

The Future

With a view to the future, Mullins has plenty to look forward to with Rock And Roll Kid as he pursues success at stakes level, but he also has a handful of young National Hunt horses to look forward to in the near future, most notably You’ll Be Grand, who is also owned by Barry Connell. The four-year-old son of Millkom won a bumper in great style in the hands of his owner on his debut at Gowran Park in October and looks to be an exciting prospect.