ENGLISH TEXTS
like Absurde ³ for instance. Horses with tremendous stamina. They could reach those goals.( Editor’ s note: We had barely written these lines when Willie Mullins won a monument of Flat racing— the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf in California with Ethical Diamond. This five-year-old gelding is by Awtaad, a stallion whose stud fee was € 7,500 in 2025. A perfect example of the points made earlier in this interview by the Irish master. Ethical Diamond, 4 th in the Cheltenham Handicap Hurdle in March just behind Absurde, had previously won his maiden over hurdles at Punchestown in February)
G. You will soon reach W. M. the symbolic milestone of 70 years old— does that make you want to change your life? No, I have no other dreams than horses! I must say that all my business trips over the past decades have put me off flying! So what would I enjoy besides horses? Maybe a tour of the Bordeaux vineyards!
G. The future of the Mullins yard seems ensured anyway!
W. M. I believe so! My grandfather Willie trained point-to-pointers. My father was a great trainer. My son— also named Patrick, or Paddy— is by my side at Closutton and his daughter was born on the evening of the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe. Horses run in the Mullins blood!
¹ Dawn Run( 1978, Deep Run), trained by Willie Mullins’ father, is the only horse in history to have completed the Champion Hurdle( 1984) – Cheltenham Gold Cup( 1986) Group 1 double. She also won the Irish Champion Hurdle
and the Grande Course de Haies d’ Auteuil( Gr. 1) in 1984. She was fatally injured at Auteuil during the 1986 Grande Course de Haies. Dawn Run is commemorated with a statue at Cheltenham.
² The British Champion Trainer title is awarded to the trainer who earns the most prize money in races under the British Horseracing Authority( BHA) jurisdiction across England, Scotland, and Wales. The season runs from April to April and ends at the Sandown Park meeting.
³ Absurde( 2018, Fastnet Rock) began his career with Carlos Laffon-Parias for Wertheimer & Frère. Since 2023, he has successfully alternated between Flat and Jump races under Willie Mullins’ care.
IN THE MULLINS FAMILY, LET’ S MEET JACKIE
BY KATHERINE FORD
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Discreet but essential, Jackie Mullins is the caring shadow behind Willie Mullins. Having fallen in love with both the man and the sport, she has helped build alongside him one of the most successful racing yards in Ireland, a cornerstone of an exceptional family success story.
It is probably politically incorrect to say so today, but the expression“ behind every great man, there is a woman” is undoubtedly true for Willie Mullins, who can count on unwavering support and plenty of wise advice from his wife Jackie. She is typically seen slightly in the background, discreet yet attentive, cheerful yet focused on the details. Today, Jackie Mullins doesn’ t have an official job title within the Mullins operation, but she remains one of the keys to its success, in a world she discovered later in life.“ I caught the racing bug when I met Willie! I grew up in England, where both my parents were doctors. They would go to Cheltenham, and like all English people, we would watch the King George on television every December 26, but that was it. I was one of three sisters, and we were all passionate about our ponies, eventing, hunting … My mother was Irish and, after finishing my law degree in London, I wanted to continue eventing. So I went to Ireland, to stay with my uncle, who happened to be the doctor of Willie’ s father, Paddy Mullins.” The start of a double love story for racehorses and for Willie Mullins. The couple married in 1986, the year Dawn Run won the Gold Cup,“ a very special time”, and Jackie quickly threw herself into the family passion.“ I started riding in races late, at 29 years old, but I had a great time and I became champion in 1993 and 1994. I would have loved to take part in NH Pointto-Points, but I was already old enough to know better. I even rode against Willie. He says he doesn’ t quite remember if I ever beat him, but I’ m certain I did!”
Modest beginnings Far from the powerhouse that Closutton is today, Willie Mullins’ early days as a trainer were all about resourcefulness.“ After we got married, we moved into a farm with a few boxes, and Willie applied for his trainer’ s licence. To get the licence ap-
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