IT was no mean feat in such a competitive Irish sporting arena that at last year’s Irish Sports People of the Year Awards, Willie Mullins took the RTÉ Sport Manager of the Year award.
Now he is on the brink of grabbing a second British trainers’ title and has the resources, on the weekend between Fairyhouse and the Irish highlight meeting of the spring at Punchestown, to send a fleet of 21 horses to the end of season finale in Sandown. In one sense it’s an amazing achievement, on the other, can it be for the good of racing?
Last week’s column noted the spread of owners to whom Grade 1 wins have come this season and two more were added to the list at Fairyhouse in Spindleberry and Aurora Vega. It meant that 18 different horses, owned by 14 different owners have amassed a total of 24 Grade 1 wins for Closutton this season.
Timeform ratings this week highlighted the strength in depth at Willie Mullins’ disposal and just how difficult a task Dan Skelton faced in trying to wrest the title from the champion.
After the retirement of Langer Dan, Skelton was left with seven horses with a Timeform rating of 145 or higher, the benchmark for smart form over jumps.
Mullins has an incredible 58 horses rated 145 or higher.
While the B team take care of things across the water, Fact To File, Galopin Des Champs, Lossiemouth, State Man, Majborough, Ballyburn, Kopek Des Bordes and Jasmin Des Vaux are on show at Punchestown.
Is it good for the game? It might be a debate for another time, but two titles in a week is enough to celebrate for now.
SO how did you feel being there to watch Haiti Couleurs win the Boylesports Irish Grand National? In a word…old! Fairyhouse offers a different ‘festival’ racing product consumed by a different crowd than you find at any of the other big Irish festivals, flat or jumping. The average age was definitely in the teens and I’m not sure that the Final Fence bar area might have been the best place to venture to late in the day, entertainment there lasting until 8.30pm.
The corridor to the grandstand toilets had more prospect of carnage even by 2.30pm, than having 50 runners heading to the first in the National!
Speaking of which, they started the big race with the band still on the track and we were not prepared for Richard Pugh going up against the rousing finale of Seo libh, canaídh Amhrán na bhFiann as the runners headed to the third fence.
An award too should be given to any young lady, and there seemed to be many, who walked the walk from outside of Ratoath to the racetrack in high heels. That took more stamina than the National, and many looked up to the task, whatever about the return home!
The simple idea to get the National riders to take off their helmets for the pre-race parade-ring entry and photos was a good one. Racing needs to see faces.
The comments around the parade ring through the day as racegoers looked to pick winners might have given you a good insight on the type of crowd in attendance...and these were not all from younger racegoers!
“Oscar’s Brother – you have to back that one, you’re Oscar’s cousin!”
”Oh, there’s a girl riding in this race.” (Who’d have thought!)
“I’ll back which ever one winks at me.”
“Feels Like A Dancer – that’s a nice name too.” (She winked!)
“That horse is wearing a mask, I don’t like that.” (A hood is always bad!).
“Malina Girl – after Melania Trump” (lady on RTE Racing)
START them younger, they said, that’s what jump racing needs. Ban those old 13-year-olds from the Grand National, they are a danger, they are just what we don’t need.
It may be bad publicity when it goes wrong. But what about all the times it goes right?
One of the most heartening features of the Fairyhouse three days was the fine performance of the 13-year-old Any Second Now in still running to his form and beating a host of younger rivals when taking second for the second time in the Boylesports Irish Grand National. Trainers know their horses and what they are capable of and Ted Walsh’s old hero did him proud.
The ‘old lads’ had another star on Tuesday when Harry Rogers’ Lord Erskine picked up another big feature handicap at 12 years of age.
At the same time, the 11-year-old Winged Leader has notched up his 32nd point-to-point success and closing in on a 60-year-old record.
It could be noted that in the big handicap on Tuesday, down the field was one of the most expensive young horses through a sales ring last year in Zillow, who raced on the flat in France but cost €300,000 and has won the sum of €1,950 this season and might need all the Mullins mastery to approach Lord Erskine’s €360,000 earned in his career to date, for the purchase price by his trainer of 5,500gns in 2016.
Speaking to his trainer earlier this year he said of his stable star, “He just goes the one gallop, he doesn’t like being in front too soon.”
Not a bad way for any of us to stay the pace in your senior years!
THE Netflix racing series, Racing for the Crown, came on screen this week and made an impressive start.
The first thought was, yes, it’s American, well removed from the Champions Full Gallop series. It’s all colour, all characters, Michael Iavarone, Mike Repole, John Stewart, Frankie Dettori, and the back drop of the Triple Crown races and much use of jockey cams and close up access. I thought it terrific.
If sport is all about entertaining an audience, however much you may care or not for the players, it gets attention.
Seeing very wealthy men spending huge sums of money may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it was still fascinating looking at the engagement by these guys in owning a racehorse.
Indeed, with so many of the European owners of our flat stars largely absent from public consciousness, this was a great watch.
Sarah Lynam@Lynam_S
The most powerful National Hunt trainers have each had around 300 individual runners this season. Rebecca Curtis has had 24, Ted Walsh had 12. What an exhibition of training ability by both of them in the Irish National with horses at different stages of their racing careers.
Bradley Weisbord
@BradWeisbord
Have been calling for our industry to get this done since my short stint on the [Breeders Cup] board in 2014. Got a chance to watch the first 2 episodes last night. The producers did a super job picking some of our most influential and interesting characters. Just like @netflix Drive to Survive, to get the public’s attention it should first be about the people, NOT the horses.
Repole Stable@RepoleStable
Congrats @netflix and Race For The Crown. In 24 hours, it is on today’s top 10 Netflix shows. People in the industry tell me that for a new show to break into the Top 10 like this is more than you can ask for. WOW. Incredible results!!! I would bet that over 90% of these viewers are new to horse racing. I’ve gotten tremendous feedback from so many people outside the industry that love are loving this show and can’t get enough.
Peter Roe@PeterRoe1
I cannot thank my team @Fairyhouse enough along with all our guests, sponsors & sub contractors who helped make Easter 2025 a very special one for me in my last year as GM. It certainly will live long in my memory as it was character building & certainly not boring.