Published on March 4th, 2022
With less than a fortnight to go, the Cheltenham Festival is a very hot topic in the sporting world right now.
However, one of the names less likely to pop up on whatever podcast you are listening to or when discussing the fierce race for the prestigious Top Jockey award with your friends, is that of a certain Danny Mullins.
Paul Townend, Rachael Blackmore or even Davy Russell are the riders most likely to be in the running, but we think there is reason to believe that Mullins, the nephew of esteemed Irish trainer Willie Mullins, has the potential to stick his oar in and cause a a stir at this year’s Cheltenham Festival — similar to that of the young Jack Kennedy last year, who surprised many by securing access to the winner’s enclosure four times — including in the sought-after Gold Cup with Minella Indo.
It must also be said that last year’s behind-closed-doors event was a massive Festival for Mullins as well, who will be a month or shy of his 30th birthday by the time the 2022 renewal rolls around. Of course, that’s because the Kilkenny-native rode his first Prestbury Park winner last March — romping home as the surprise victor in the saddle of 12/1 shot Flooring Porter in the prestigious Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, one of St. Patrick’s Day’s two feature races.
What made that maiden victory all the more significant was the fact that Mullins wasn’t actually supposed to be in the saddle of the Gavin Cromwell-trained horse. Indeed, it wasn’t until Jonathan Moore ruled himself out on the morning of the Festival’s third day, having failed to recover from a fall at Naas prior to the meeting, that Mullins was sworn in at the 11th hour. The rest is history.
What the 29-year-old doesn’t have going in his favour this year though, is that he is not a first-choice jockey for one of the big stables — like the aforementioned Townend, Blackmore or Russell. So, we wouldn’t go splashing our Cheltenham best offer on him to win the Top Jockey award at 33/1.
However, he will still have some fantastic rides over the course of the four days, most notably back in the saddle of Flooring Porter in the defence of their Stayers’ Hurdle crown, while he will also take the reins of some of his uncle’s second-string horses — and we use the term ‘second-string’ loosely considering we taking about a yard who have produced almost 80 Festival winners in the last few decades.
Of Mullins’ ‘lesser favoured’ horses, the jockey will likely be booked to be in the saddle of Tornado Flyer, a horse he has already caused an upset with this season in the King George VI Chase, in the Gold Cup — hoping to pull off another shock from 14/1 — Stormy Island, who he won the Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle with a Cheltenham in January, in the Mares’ Hurdle and Minella Cocooner in the Spa Novices’ Hurdle.
Being in contention for the Top Jockey accolade is perhaps too big of an ask, but there is certainly a sense that Mullins is flying under the radar heading into the Festival. In the meantime, his feet seem to firmly be on the ground, claiming: “I just think I’m very, very lucky to be riding all those good horses, and the harder I work, the luckier I get.
“This year, I’ve probably got a few more rides pencilled in. Normally, it would be a case of waiting to see later, which rides I pick up. This year, I’ve got a few that I think I’ll be riding.”
