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Closutton Muine Beag Carlow
There isn@rsquo;t a Jump racing fan alive who doesn@rsquo;t know the name Willie Mullins, as the master trainer is the dominant force on both sides of the Irish Sea.
He has become almost impossible to stop and his nearest rival, Gordon Elliott, is beginning to fall further behind.
Born in County Kilkenny, Mullins trains at Closutton in County Carlow. He began his racing career as an amateur jockey and was very successful in that field, being crowned champion amateur jockey six times during his riding career.
Mullins took out his license in 1988 and had previously worked as assistant to his father Paddy Mullins and the great Flat trainer of trainers Jim Bolger, who also helped to develop the career of Ireland@rsquo;s other outstanding trainer Aidan O@rsquo;Brien.
Willie@rsquo;s brother Tony Mullins is also a trainer, but he is perhaps better known as Dawn Run@rsquo;s jockey, before he was controversially replaced by Jonjo O@rsquo;Neill ahead of her Cheltenham Gold Cup bid in 1982.
His father Paddy Mullins was a well-known trainer in his own right and will always be remembered as Dawn Run@rsquo;s trainer. The super mare remains the only horse to have completed the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup double at Cheltenham.
In the 2023-24 season, Mullins became the first Ireland-based jumps trainer to win the British Trainers@rsquo; Championship since the great Vincent O@rsquo;Brien in 1954. He repeated the feat last season and will be well fancied to make it three in a row.
The achievement he is most proud of is his 2025 Grand National victory with Nick Rockett.
His son Patrick was on board and that day will forever be remembered by the Mullins family.
The Cheltenham Festival used to be the pinnacle of competitive and quality racing, but with each year it further becomes the Willie Mullins show. He passed the 100 Festival winner mark in 2024 when Jasmin De Vaux won the Champion Bumper.
Mullins trained a record 10 winners at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival and currently sits on a grand total of 113 winners at the meeting. He adds significantly to that total every year and it would be a massive surprise if anyone eclipses the total he will reach before retiring.
Mullins has over 300 Grade 1 wins in Ireland and even has a Classic to his name, after Wicklow Brave@rsquo;s victory in the 2016 Irish St. Leger.
He has also won four Gold Cups, five Champion Hurdles, three Grand Nationals and a host of other big races in Britain.
The master trainer has over 4000 winners over jumps in Ireland and he has had more success at Fairyhouse than anywhere else, with 424 course victories.
Having won the Gold Cup four times with two different horses, Galopin Des Champs and Al Boum Photo, is a good place to start. The latter won Cheltenham@rsquo;s showpiece in consecutive years between 2019 and 2020, while the former was successful in both 2023 and 2024.
Quevega became the first horse to win at the Cheltenham Festival six times in a row between 2009 and 2014, beating the record previously set by Golden Miller@rsquo;s five Gold Cups. She made the Mares@rsquo; Hurdle her own and is fondly remembered by the crowds.
Hurricane Fly won the Champion Hurdle twice and it probably would have been more if not for injuries.
The son of Montjeu won five Irish Champion Hurdles and four Punchestown Champion Hurdles.
