Striker Talks About Long Grass Incident And Met
The Michael Roberts-trained See It Again , Piere Strydom up (Candiese Lenferna Photogaphy)
Piere “Striker” Strydom took a nasty fall at the New Year’s Eve meeting at the Vaal, which he blamed on the length and thickness of the grass, but he fortunately came through a scan clear and is confident he will be ready to ride See It Again in the Met.
Striker said, “I have taken rides next Thursday, so am hoping I will be ok. It is probably going to be more about the bruising working its way out. I have bruising on my ankle, my calves, my knees, my neck, my shoulders, but it seems like it is all the one side, so when I fell I think the horse must have run over me on the one side. I think she caught me with her legs, but the biggest problem was a deep cut on the arm, I think the nail of the shoe must have nipped me. It cut quite deep and they had to do internal stitches and then the external ones to make sure it doesn’t split open. The stiches are coming out tomorrow (Friday). I am still quite sore and they say it can be another week or even a month for the bruising to work it’s way completely out, but when you are riding and thus moving the blood flow is up and then it improves quicker, so I am hoping I will become more supple after getting back to riding next Thursday.”
Meanhwile, See It Again had a terrible trip in the L’Ormarins King’s Plate, being caught wide the whole way, and trailed in last.
However, on the bright side Piere said that trainer Michael Roberts had told him See It Again had returned neither blowing nor coughing.
He said, “We’re hoping he just had bad luck and had a bad run.”
Striker blamed the unusually long and thick grass on the day for the fall at the Vaal and explained, “At this time of the year they start leaving the grass longer so that they’ve got some cushion for the winter months. But what happens is when it starts getting longer and the Christmas/New Year period comes they don’t cut it as often because there is less staff. So the grass becomes extremely thick. It is already getting longer and it then gets thick too. So that’s why those other horses fell, that’s why I fell and that is why the Saturday before I fell I had one ride and I got off and said I don’t want to do it. I actually felt Turffontein was worse than the Vaal. At Turffontein that day I won on my only ride but almost fell after the line, my horse stumbled three times in a row and that’s when I said no, I’m off.”
Striker continued, “If they don’t pick their feet up high enough then the grass catches them. It is either because they feel a little bit crippled, so they don’t pick their feet up as much, or they have got a bit tired or they start getting a bit lazy.”
Piere is not sure what happened in his case, in which the filly nosedived a few strides after the start. He said he had been chasing her for two or three strides to get in a position when she suddenly came down.
Piere was flung off and hit the ground in front of the filly very hard.
He said, “I just went straight down, I had no time to think or hope. I landed on my neck and shoulder and that is why I was so worried about a broken neck, that was my biggest concern. I have been through it so many times that I know the procedure.”
However, he spoke of how terrible it was to be lying deadstill hoping there was noithing wrong with you. He said he had kept moving his toes the whole time hoping there were no pins and needles.
Thankfully the CT Scan was clear.
See It Again is the 5/1 joint second favourite for the Met but if finding his best he will be the one to beat as he is the highest rated entrant and both of his Gr 1 wins have been over the 2000m trip.
Piere will also be looking forward to riding Dyce in the Gr 1 Cape Flying Championship, where the Lucky Houdalakis-trained William Longsword gelding will be defending his title. Piere actually believes he he is better over 1200m, but the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth 1000m is the toughest in the country so should suit him again.
Muzi Looks Set To Ride Litigation In Met
Muzi Yeni has just returned from a collar bone injury
Muzi Yeni returned from his layoff for a broken collar bone on January 2 and said he could not expect to be given a top ride for the WSB Met so soon after his comeback from an injury and two months, but said he could be getting the ride on the Sean Tarry-trained Litigation.
He said, “I came back late, so not having been fully into the swing of things, it is hard to secure the best rides … but it looks like I am getting a ride.”
He said that ride might be Litigation, but he added he was still in communication with the connections, who want him to go down and gallop the Greys Inn gelding.
Muzi said about his fitness, “I am fit enough for racing, but like a football player who is returning from injury and has been off for two months I have to build up momentum again.”
It was pointed out to Muzi that the WSB Met is looking a bit more open than expected with clouds hanging over a number of leading lights.
He replied, “Yes, Royal Victory should have been in the race, but it is what it is.”
Royal Victory’s chances would have been bright, although it would have been his first time at the course and first time around a left hand bend and it is never easy travelling down for the Met.
Muzi will be re-associated with the Nathan Kotzen-trained star on Sunday, where he comes out in the Non-Black Type Michael Roberts Stakes over 1750m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.
Donovan Dillon's Flying Start As A Permanent Resident In Australia
Picture: Donovan wins on five-year-old gelding Mellenkamp in just his second meeting as a permanent resident in Australia.
Former KZN champion apprentice Donovan Dillon and his wife Tayla have secured permanent residency in Australia and this has given Donovan the freedom to go freelance.
He said, “It was a huge relief to get our permanent residency. We have only just started riding for other trainers now but we had our first outside win on our fourth ride, so we are hopeful that we can get up and going quickly. It’s been really hard over the past 2,5 years but really the hard work has only just started and I have to get my face out there so hopefully we can get up and going quickly.”
On January 2 at Muswellbrook racecourse, which is about a three hours drive away from the north of Sydney, he had his first win as a permanent resident in Australia on the Allan Boyle-trained five-year-old Impending gelding Mellencamp, who won an Aus$30,000 event over 1500m paying Aus$5.00 on the Tote.
He has four rides on Saturday at Glen Innes racecourse, which is about a seven hour drive away from Sydney and four hours away from Brisbane.
All four of the rides are for different trainers.
Donovan is based at Australia’s world famous stud farm Arrowfield, which is in Scone and is close to the aformentioned Muswellbrook racecourse. Scone also has a raceourse, so that would be Donovan’s local course.
Arrowfield have a small racing yard with the horses being trained by Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich, a partnership which started in September last year, with Paul having been on his own before that. Paul is the son of John Messara, the founder of Arrowfield.
Donavan had eleven winners for the Messara racing operation in his first two-and-a-half years in Australia, but rides were rare and he was also out for a long time with a serious injury when kicked by a horse, tearing the muscle away from the bone on his thigh.
All in all in Australia his 12 wins have come from just 43 rides, so his strike rate is a high 27.9% and his place strike rate is 62.8%.
Considering the calibre of jockey coming out of the world famous South African Jockey Academy coupled with his hunger, Donovan’s career should take off.
Tayla has also been doing well working for a neighboring stud farm called Ridgmont, which is not related in anyway to the South African Ridgemont.
Luna Halo To Keep The Bracelet At Home
Jack Milner (Tab4Racing)
The Lady’s Bracelet has always been one of the popular events on the Fairview calendar and has won by some decent runners.
The Non-Black Type event for fillies and mares is run at weight for age (plus penalties) and is over 1600m on the turf track.
It is a race that has attracted a group of visiting trainers who have a good record with three of the last four having been won by Western Cape raiders.
Candice Bass-Robinson won it with Gold Poker Game last year and Chat Ching in 2022, while Justin Snaith claimed the with in 2021 with Sovereign Secret.
Bass-Robinson has not got a runner this time but Snaith has brought four-year-old filly Among The Clouds.
However, Friday’s race is dominated by Alan Greeff who will saddle four of the 11 runners and they are headed up by very talented Luna Halo who will have Richard Fourie in the irons.
Fourie had a very good time of things last Friday at Fairview, coming away with five winners, and he may have another day full of victories.
He has a very record aboard filly Luna Halo, although the Fire Away filly has been disappointing of late, particularly in her last start where she finished fourth at odds of 5-10.
That was over 1400m and on the Polytrack but the move up to 1600m on turf will suit her. He best performances have been at this trip over which she has raced six times for three wins, a second and a third.
She does have to give weight all round but she is nicely drawn in barrier No 4 and it is still worth making her a banker in all bets.
Greeff has very good back up in the form of Official Secret. This Twice Over mare has been very good of late and was a wide margin winner of her penultimate start.
She was also not far behind her rival when they last met over this course and distance.
A race later, Race 6, a MR 86 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1600m, Greeff-trained and Fourie-ridden Catch Your Breath stands out as another banker on the card.
Blinkers have brought out the best in this Canford Cliffs filly and she should have more wins in the tank.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 1 Global Reef, 5 Repetition, 7 Bomber Bay, 3 Kinnikinnik
Race 2: 6 American Matador, 2 Anchor Man, 1 American Pitbull, 4 Always Shining
Race 3: 4 Master Forester, 5 Explosive Speed, 3 Meetatthewindsor, 2 Silver Tycoon
Race 4: 2 Gimme More Time, 9 Makhachev, 10 Mo The Man, 4 Slings And Arrows
Race 5: 1 Luna Halo, 3 Red Sash, 4 Where’s The Party, 7 Among The Clouds
Race 6: 2 Catch Your Breath, 10 State Secret, 6 Protect The Dream, 1 Volare E Mambo
Race 7: 11 Jackson Misissippi, 6 Wordsworth, 2 Cruzador, 8 Seattle Ripper
Race 8: 8 Sharapova, 2 Miss Shaivi, 14 Komesans Passion, 3 Bosnay
BEST BET
Race 2 No 6 American Matador
VALUE BET
Race 7 No 11 Jackson Misissippi
BEST SWINGER
Race 1 1×5
BIPOT
R32
Leg 1: 1, 5
Leg 2: 6
Leg 3: 2, 3, 4, 5
Leg 4: 2, 9
Leg 5: 1
Leg 6: 2, 10
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R12
Leg 1: 6
Leg 2: 3, 4, 5
Leg 3: 2
Leg 4: 1
Leg 5: 2
Leg 6: 2, 6, 8, 11
Leg 7: 8
PICK 6
R900
Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Leg 2: 2, 4, 9, 10
Leg 3: 1
Leg 4: 2, 9, 10
Leg 5: 2, 3, 6, 8, 11
Leg 6: 2, 8, 14
JACKPOT 1
R60
Leg 1: 2, 4, 9, 10
Leg 2: 1
Leg 3: 2, 9, 10
Leg 4: 2, 3, 6, 8, 11
JACKPOT 2
R45
Leg 1: 1
Leg 2: 2, 9, 10
Leg 3: 2, 3, 6, 8, 11
Leg 4: 2, 8, 14
Godolphin Top Breeders In North America Again
In 2024, Godolphin again topped the individual breeders list in North America with $23,205,149 in earnings, according to statistics released today by TJC Innovations. Godolphin, which also topped the list in 2021, 2022, and 2023, bred 229 starters with 226 wins, 169 seconds, and 186 thirds out of 1,161 starts.
Calumet Farm was second for the fourth consecutive year with earnings of $13,923,897 with 371 wins out of 2,778 starts.
Godolphin also led the breeders list that includes partners with $25,912,067 in earnings and 293 wins from 1,640 starts. Calumet Farm was second with $14,181,110 in earnings and 380 wins out of 2,862 starts.
Completing the list of the top 10 breeders including partnerships were WinStar Farm, LLC, $12,206,112 (236 wins / 1,511 starts); Brereton C. Jones, $11,491,759 (251/1,637); Don Alberto Corporation, $9,277,665 (150/946); Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC, $8,029,151 (142/856); Debby M. Oxley, $6,442,567 (11/74); Fred W. Hertrich III, $6,157,549 (134/1,066); Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC, $5,895,174 (55/399); and Machmer Hall, $5,727,524 (152/1,075).
The complete lists of the top 100 breeders of 2024 are accessible through equineline.com
Snitzel Colt Smashes Magic Millions Record At A$2.8 Million
Lot 489 – Snitzel (Aus) x Humma Humma (Aus) (Denman {Aus}), colt – A$2,800,000 (Picture: Magic Millions)
by Kristen Manning/Dane McLeod/Thomas Baddock/TTR AusNZ
The top sales prices continued on Thursday as racing’s heavyweights clashed over a cracking son of Snitzel (Aus) from Group 3-winning mare Humma Humma (Aus) (Denman {Aus}), setting a new Magic Millions Yearling Sale record of A$2.8 million.
Just moments into Day 3 on the Gold Coast, the sale ring erupted with excitement for lot 489, the second foal of three-time stakes-winning mare Humma Humma by champion sire Snitzel. The bidding escalated to an astonishing A$2.8 million, before ultimately being knocked down to Ciaron Maher Bloodstock.
Offered by Widden Stud and bred by Widden Bloodstock, Warringah Stud Farm and Frampton Racing the remarkable colt, who hails from the family of G1 Victorian Derby winner Manzoice (Aus) (Almanzor {Fr}) and speedy stakes-winning mare Tycoon Humma (Aus) (Capitalist {Aus}), comfortably became the highest priced yearling in the history of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
“He looks really early and sharp,” Maher said. “He’s from a quality family with a sharp pedigree. Bred on a good farm and hopefully he can get back to a farm in good time.
“The quality, you’ve always got to pay for. The top ones always get stronger. We thought he was one of the colts of the sale.
“It was probably a bit more than expected but the competition is always strong on those big ones.”
After a stellar racing career under the care of John McArdle, which saw Humma Humma claim six wins and over A$650,000 in prize-money, the Denman mare was snapped up by Widden Stud for A$1 million at the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
“A really proud moment for us. It has been an amazing sale for Widden,” owner of Widden Stud Antony Thompson said. “We sold Sunlight here as a record price mare. Having sold Clean Energy, I think she was a record-priced filly, and now to have the highest-priced yearling, it is a big honour.
“With nine or 10 serious players on him and a couple knuckling down over a million-and-a-half, I was always confident he’d sell well but it is hard to know how well.”
Humma Humma’s first foal by Zoustar (Aus), named Price Tag (Aus), was sold for A$600,000 at last year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale to Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock (BAFNZ) and has already proved himself a more than handy racehorse, placing in this season’s G3 Maribyrnong S.
Humma Humma had a colt by I Am Invincible (Aus) this season and has revisited Widden’s champion stallion Zoustar.
The Magic Millions sales ring was again lit up by foreign investment as the A$2.8m record-breaking Snitzel colt was purchased by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock on behalf of English businessman Phil Cunningham.
It is Cunningham’s second venture into Australian racing having teamed with Maher and other stable clients to purchase, for A$825,000 a filly by I Am Invincible at last year’s Magic Millions.
Named Life After Love (Aus) (Cunningham enjoying naming his horses with a musical theme; this one a homage to the Cher song ‘Believe’), she lined up in the Gold Coast Debut in late December, finishing fifth after showing pace.
“Ciaron was trying to get her to the race on Saturday so we planned our trip around that,” Cunningham said, “but she just needs a bit more time.”
Cunningham arrived at the Gold Coast on sale morning, arriving at the complex just 10 minutes before his A$2.8 million purchase from Widden Stud.
He was delighted to secure the son of the G3 Proud Miss S. winner Humma Humma (Denman) who he will race with partners, having asked Maher who he thought the sale’s best colt was.
“We did have to go a bit higher than we thought but you have to go home with the horse you want, there is nothing worse than watching a horse win a big race who you wanted but stopped bidding on,” he said.
The CEO of DCL Insurance, Cunningham has successfully raced horses in the UK since the early 1990s, doing well enough to justify purchasing his own stables; firstly, Albert House Stables and then Sefton Lodge.
Racing as Rebel Racing, he has 50 horses in work at Newmarket with Richard Spencer, also racing in the United States, Ireland and France.
He has always had a liking for Australian bloodlines, racing the G2 Coventry S. winner Rajasinghe (Ire); the English National Stud resident who he still owns and who is a son of Choisir (Aus).
Cunningham is excited to be part of the Australian racing scene though he intends to stay small.
“I am going for quality over quantity here,” he said. “I have runners nearly every day in England and I like to see them in action. It’s just not practical to keep getting up in the middle of the night to watch horses race in Australia!
“It makes sense to have less horses in Australia but to have the right ones.”
Cunningham was introduced to Ciaron Maher by his friend Peter Trainor who races with the stable the dual Group-winning import Future History (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) who contested the 2023 G1 Melbourne Cup. During this trip to Australia, he has spent time with Maher, visiting the Bong Bong complex by which he was most impressed.
At A Glance
- The all-time Magic Millions Gold Coast record price was broken on Day 3 with lot 489, a Snitzel colt purchased by Ciaron Maher for A$2.8 million, who was one of two seven-figure lots for the day. This was down from five on Day 3 in 2024, bringing the total for the sale in 2025 to 11.
- The average of A$277,351 is below the 2024 average at the same point of A$289,810, and the same is true for the median at A$200,000 compared to A$220,000 at the same stage.
- The current gross is A$144,500,000 at the close of play on Day 3 with 521 lots sold so far. The clearance rate of 79.66% is down on last year’s 85.21% at the end of Day 3.
- Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing with Kestrel Thoroughbreds continues to lead the buying bench, having signed for 18 yearlings outright for a total gross of A$6,895,000 thus far, plus several more in partnership. Ciaron Maher Bloodstock sits in second, thanks to the sale-topper, with 12 yearlings purchased for A$5,460,000.
- Newgate Farm continues to lead the leading vendor standings with 35 of their 37 lots so far sold for A$13.6 million at an average of A$389,143, while in second is Segenhoe Stud who have sold 21 of their 22 lots so far for A$10.7 million at an impressive average of A$511,905.
- Arrowfield Stud’s four-time champion sire Snitzel jumped to the top of the sire standings by gross with A$17 million for his 22 yearlings at an impressive average of A$777,045, while in second is I Am Invincible with 25 sold for an average of A$616,000 and a gross of A$15.4 million.
- Home Affairs (Aus) continues to be the leading first-season sire by gross with 31 yearlings sold for A$10.5 million at an average of A$340,000, which is also the leading average for a first-season sire at the end of Day 3. Stay Inside (Aus) remains in second with 21 yearlings sold for an average of A$312,619 and a gross over A$6.5 million.
Lot 505 – Written Tycoon (Aus) x In Her Time (Aus) (Time Thief {Aus}), colt – A$1,800,000
Anticipation was high for lot 505, a colt by champion sire Written Tycoon (Aus) and out of the exceptional dual Group 1-winning mare In Her Time (Aus) (Time Thief {Aus}). He certainly met expectations, selling for a remarkable A$1.8 million to Coolmore’s Tom Magnier, marking his third seven-figure purchase for the week.
This colt, bred by Yulong Investments, is the third foal of In Her Time, who was acquired for A$2.2 million at the 2022 Inglis Chairman’s Sale. The mare’s first two foals, a colt by I Am Invincible and a full-brother to this colt, fetched A$800,000 and A$750,000, respectively. The latter was also purchased by Magnier and is currently in training with Chris Waller, where he is reportedly demonstrating significant potential.
“We’re very happy to get this horse,” Magnier said. “Obviously, we got the brother last year for the syndicate as well, again we’re very lucky to have the people we have in this syndicate and everybody was very keen on the horse.
“Everybody liked him and you could see again from the bidding the good judges were on this horse. I think Chris has an opinion of the brother, which probably gave us the confidence to come back this year.”
Over the past several years, Yulong has sought-after and established a top-tier broodmare lineup, with over 60 individual Group 1 winners or producers now belonging to the stud. Magnier see’s it as an opportunity not to be missed.
“It’s a very good page, Mr Zhang and their team have gone out and bought some lovely mares, as we have, and the progeny of that stock is coming through,” Magnier said.
“It’s a very good pedigree, he’s a nice individual and Chris really liked the horse, as did all the team, so we’ll know our fate this time next year but just delighted we got him.”
In Her Time foaled a filly by Diatonic (Jpn) in September and also visited Pierata (Aus) this season.
Lot 695 – Extreme Choice (Aus) x Mrs Ramona G (Kantharos), colt – A$925,000
After an intense bidding battle, China Horse Club in partnership with Newgate Bloodstock & Partners, claimed victory by acquiring lot 685, a son of their statistically freakish sire Extreme Choice (Aus), for A$925,000.
Striking at just under 12% stakes winners to runners, it’s no surprise to see that the progeny of Extreme Choice are averaging just over A$500,000 on the first three days at the Gold Coast.
Bred by S F Bloodstock and Henry Field Bloodstock, the eye-catching grey colt is the third foal from the stakes-performed American mare Mrs Ramona G (Kantharos), who recorded four wins from 1200 metres to a mile.
Michael Smith, the Australasian representative for China Horse Club, stated that this colt was an obvious selection due to his impressive physical traits.
“We know how good Extreme Choice is and we thought this was an excellent physical by the stallion out of a fast American mare,” Smith said. “I think they’re [US Mares] usually very tough, quick horses with great constitutions, and it just works [with Extreme Choice].
“This colt was a really lovely moving, athletic horse with plenty of strength. Probably more strength than is typical for an Extreme Choice.”
After a fruitful partnership with Newgate Farm which has spanned over several years and produced some of the most prominent sires in the country, Smith is hopeful this colt is the next to rise to prominence carrying the famous red-and-yellow silks.
“Horses like Russian Revolutions (Aus), Wild Ruler (Aus), In The Congo (Aus), Captivant (Aus), Artorius (Aus), Stay Inside (Aus), we’ve raced a lot of good colts in partnerships and hopefully this can be the next one,” Smith said.
Mrs Ramona G foaled another colt by Extreme Choice this season.
Lot 586 – Wootton Basset (GB) x Lady Piaf (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}), filly, A$875,000
A stunning black filly and the first foal of I Am Invincible mare Lady Piaf (Aus) continued an outstanding sale for the exciting first-season sire Wootton Bassett (GB), selling for A$875,000 to Clarry Conners’ Victory Lodge.
Lot 586 represented the fifth offspring of Wootton Bassett (GB) of 14 presented to date, to achieve a sale price exceeding $500,000 at the auction.
“The Wootton Bassetts have been going great, and we think they are 2-year-olds so we were naturally interested,” Conners said. “My client was interested. We picked out two or three and we liked her a lot. She reminded me very much of Belle Du Jour. Light legged, light on her feet. Nice filly. Not over big, just racy.”
Bred by Cobra Bloodstock Australia and offered by Coolmore Stud, the filly boasts a deep pedigree page, stemming from blue hen and G1 Blue Diamond winner Lady Jakeo (Aus) (Last Tycoon {Ire}), who produced four stakes performers as well as the dam of Group 1 Oakleigh Plate winner Mrs Onassis (Aus) (General Nediym {Aus}).
“It is a good family and as long as we win races with her, I’ll be happy,” Conners said.
Lady Piaf was offered in foal to Wootton Bassett at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale but, fortunately for connections, failed to meet her reserve of A$225,000, with resulting foal being this beautiful filly.
Lady Piaf had a filly by St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) in September and visited the French stallion again this season.
Lot 650 – Snitzel (Aus) x Medovina (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), colt – A$850,000
James Harron partnered with Aquis Farm’s Tony Fung to acquire his seventh purchase of the sale when securing a Snitzel colt from Medovina (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), a winning half-sister to Group 3 winner Brave Mead (Aus) (Brave Smash {Jpn}) and listed winner Solemn (Aus) (Bernardini), for A$850,000.
Harron has a phenomenal reputation for sourcing future stallions, namely purchasing and racing Group 1-winning sires King’s Legacy (Aus) and Capitalist (Aus) from the Gold Coast sale. On Thursday, Harron added a fourth colt to his purchases from Magic Millions 2025, lot 650.
“He’s a lovely colt,” Harron said. “From the start of the week to the end of the week I loved the way he progressed through the sale and really went about his work well.
“He’s a lovely shape of a horse and you have a lot of confidence buying off a farm like Vinery. They produce good horse’s year-in-year-out. We were very happy to get him and we’ll all came together on him.
“I looked at him a few times and he didn’t put a foot wrong. He looked like a real racehorse.”
Bred by Hybrook Pastoral Co, the striking bay colt certainly has a stallion’s pedigree, hailing from the family of G1 Australasian Oaks winner La Volta (Aus) (Laranto {Aus}) and G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Mighty Boss (Aus) (Not a Single Doubt {Aus}).
Medovina foaled a filly by Vinery’s All Too Hard (Aus) this season before she was once again covered by champion sire Snitzel.
On The Gallops With Willie Mullins - Watching The Master Trainer At Work
Willie Mullins at his yard in Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow. (Image: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy)
Willie Mullins is the greatest trainer in the history of National Hunt but what is the secret to his success? We visited him at his Carlow home to find out.
ByGarry Doyle
08:00, 30 NOV 2024
November is Willie Mullins’ favourite month. Shortened days, foggy weather, mist in the air, horses on the gallops.
He surrounds himself with champions and with hope. Galopin Des Champs trots past, seventh in a line of 21 horses, ridden by Paul Townend, one of the world’s best.
One by one, the jockeys ahead of Townend say the name of their rides to Mullins and let him know how much work they’ve put in that day.
First is Energumene. “One big,” his jockey says, which, in everyday language, means he has cantered one lap at full pace around Mullins’ mile-long gallop. It’s For Me comes next, a novice chaser, the name also announced by his jockey to Mullins. “Two big,” he says.
Mullins nods, registering the detail in his head, awaiting the next jockey and the next horse. This one is called Impaire Et Passe, another that did not go novice chasing last year but which Mullins thinks can become a superb two-miler. “Himself, Ballyburn, It’s For Me, as the season goes ahead we’ll let them pick the distance themselves. They’ll go to Aintree or Fairyhouse later,” Mullins says.
And then after Jasmin De Vaux and High Class Hero comes Galopin Des Champs, a two-times Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, a gelding that needs no introduction. And yet Townend acts as MC and treats the most famous horse in National Hunt the same as the novices in front of him.
Listening in and watching on is the most successful trainer in the National Hunt game. Willie Mullins is 68 now, three years older than his father, Paddy, was when he first became champion trainer back in the 1980s.
So much of his father, a Kilkenny man, lives on in his eldest son.
“Working with my dad,” he once said, “you learned to get on with the job, that was the thing about him. When I think of what we trained on before we had the all-weather gallops – we just picked out the best field we could find and that was it. It never worried him. You did what you had to do. If he thought he had a horse good enough, he wasn’t afraid to take on the best.
“A lot of people who have a good horse are afraid to get beaten. Not my father.”
Nor his son. Last weekend Galopin Des Champs lost out to Fact To File, another horse in the Mullins yard. Yet his trainer isn’t worried. It’s November, after all and a trainer knows that panicking about a horse’s form in November is a bit like Father Christmas getting neurotic about the colour of Rudolph’s nose in September.
And Willie Mullins isn’t just a good trainer, but the best, something his father, Paddy, predicted as far back as 1990 when he spoke to The Sunday Tribune’s David Walsh.
Willie was 34 at the time, just three years into training, still waiting for his first winner at Cheltenham.
He has 103 to his name now as well as two English Grand Nationals, two King George VIs, and among many other things, an 18-time Irish National Hunt Champion trainer.
Standing in his kitchen, in a homely, old-fashioned farmhouse, Mullins leans against the range and gestures with his eyes to a plate of smoked salmon sandwiches. “Tea or coffee?” his logistics expert, Grainne, asks.
A bowl of chocolates is passed around. Yet this is no ordinary bowl. It is the trophy Mullins won last year when he became Britain’s champion trainer. By this stage of his life, he hasn’t just eclipsed his father – who won a Gold Cup, a Champion Hurdle, a Champion Stakes and four Irish Grand Nationals – but everyone.
In training terms, he is racing’s equivalent of Alex Ferguson, hungry and talented at the start, the builder of a brilliant team, then capable of reenergising himself on an annual basis and improving as he got older.
“For me a champion trainer, when I was growing up, was always older, always in the second half of their life whereas in England they were always looking to make someone a champion trainer at 32 or 33. You know I only got my license at 30 and therefore you are only going to be better at your job later in life.
“And I think it is a huge thing if you have the appetite to keep at it because of all the knowledge you have learned over the years. Experience is huge in this game and it is huge in riders but unfortunately in riders, from the time they get to 36, 37, they tend to be married with kids and their focus is there and they are just not the same.
“I love riders with experience.”
His father was the same. Paddy Mullins never tired of horses nor of life, understanding the little things that turned a prospect into a winner.
“Dad was a patient man,” Mullins says. “I didn’t think I learned that from him.
“When he made certain decisions, like any young lad, I thought, ‘why are we doing that?’
“But then, as I got older, I surprised myself with the patience we had with horses. I probably frustrated a lot of owners (earlier in his career) and that is why I am so lucky with the owners I have now that they buy into the patience and wait. That is a huge thing in a horse’s life for someone to wait for the horse to come along rather than forcing the horse.”
As he speaks, his two dogs, Harriet and Munch, mooch around, looking for discarded scraps from the sandwiches.
Patrick, his son, then comes into the kitchen.
“That man still talking,” he says endearingly, smiling at his father.
Like Willie, Patrick was named after his grandfather. Like Willie, he is uncommonly tall for a jockey. And it is not just his height he inherited from his father. That love of racing is in the blood.
“The reason we still do this is because we have to earn a living,” Mullins senior says. “That is number one. And the other thing is that the maintenance of this place costs a huge amount of money, so you have got to actually win to pay for the upkeep.
“But on top of all that, I am also very competitive. You set out to be the best that you can be. And okay, now we are there. But this place does not have private backers. It is me and Jackie (his wife) and Patrick and that’s it; the place has got to earn its keep.
“I still have a desire to train good horses.
“Everyone assumes we are going to have 10 or 12 grade one horses as well but we don’t know. I have named horses that could be top notch but how many of them will be? I don’t know.
“When I look at the likes of Al Boum Photo and when you see Fact De File coming through, you are always afraid that if one or two of (your star horses) go down then where are the next ones going to come from?
“That is my worry. I am still competitive.”
Sometimes soft, sometimes tough.
“It depends on who you are talking to,” he says. “My nephew Danny is well used to me and it rubs off him like water off a duck. I find that people know when something goes wrong; so you don’t need to say it.”
The results have done the talking for him.
Today's Question
How did the twice Eclipe Award-winning filly Covfefe get her name?
Picture: Covfefe (credit. Bloodhorse.com)
FIELDS, Thursday, 9 January
Fairview Turf
Today’s Question Answer
Today’s Question Answer
Covfefe was named after an infamous typo made by Donald Trump in a tweet that went viral. Six minutes after midnight on May 31, 2017, Trump tweeted “Despite the constant negative press covfefe”. He deleted the tweet six hours later. Most media outlets presumed that he had meant to type “coverage”. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated, “I think the President and a small group of people know exactly what he meant.”
Covfefe (foaled February 22, 2016) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who won two Eclipse Awards in 2019 as the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly and American Champion Female Sprint Horse. She won five of six starts that year including the Test Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. She also broke the Pimlico track record for six furlongs by over a second in the Miss Preakness.
