Once in a lifetime are the words Willie Mullins conjures to describe this historic week and his son, Patrick, sees no reason to disagree.
There will come a point when they can reflect on it all but, for now, Patrick’s head is spinning. Just recounting the logistics of the attempt to wrestle Britain’s Champion Trainer title from Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls is enough to leave you breathless and you will soon see why.
In the last seven days, Patrick — an integral part of his father’s all-conquering operation — has taken seven flights, one train journey, covered more than 1,000 miles on the road, sat through a nerve-shredding penalty shootout and had the favourite for the Scottish National refuse to race.
‘Good fun, though, isn’t it?’ he says, chirpily, when we talk at Ludlow races on Wednesday and he’s got a point. How could this pursuit of greatness, the chance to gloss a season in which almost every arrow launched from their yard in County Carlow has hit the bullseye, not be fun?
It’s certainly much more fun than sitting through the torture of the FA Cup semi-final for this Manchester United devotee and there is a wry smile when he recalls his feelings about seeing a 3-0 lead disintegrate against Coventry. It was a reminder of what can happen in sport.
Patrick Mullins has pulled out all the stops to help his dad Willie in his historic quest
The 34-year-old jockey is an integral part of his father’s all-conquering operation
Yes, it is unpredictable — an hour before we speak, Patrick receives a call to tell him that he has to go to Perth on Friday — and every morning, between 9am and 10am, Mullins Snr, along with another trusted lieutenant David Casey, have decided which horses should be sent to which part of Britain.
The stable blew the race for the Championship apart two weeks ago when I Am Maximus careered away with the Randox Grand National at Aintree, and rammed home their advantage at Ayr last Saturday with a spectacular four-timer, but the days since have all been about counting pennies.
Mullins has sent runners to Ffos Las and Perth, as well as Ludlow to try to establish enough of a buffer to deliver what would be a quite incredible achievement. Many talk about the strength in depth at his Closutton yard but there is nothing certain in racing and that point must be stressed.
As Patrick gallops Daddy Long Legs out to the start, up on the big screen Dr Eggman, one of his stablemates, is being beaten out of sight in Scotland, one of four favourites on the card that fails to oblige. Thankfully, the journey to Shropshire is less dramatic.
Daddy Long Legs starts at prohibitive odds of 1-7 but that doesn’t stop one punter in a vibrant crowd of more than 4,000 from having £430 on with Martyn bookmakers; another has £180 and neither of these hardy souls has a moment’s worry.
Patrick’s hardest job is pulling the exuberant chestnut up after he charges past the winning post, adding another £4,356 to a balance that is now at £3.1million. What makes this haul so astonishing is that on January 1, the stable had only had one winner from 12 runners in Britain. ‘I’m loving this,’ Patrick enthuses. ‘I usually only see these places on the TV, so here I am riding against new jockeys at different tracks. It’s like unlocking a new level on the PlayStation! Believe me, it’s just so cool! It’s nice riding odds-on shots but we’ve had our luck.
‘We got the better of two photo finishes at Ayr last week, the bounce of the ball has favoured us. If I Am Maximus had got brought down or fallen at Aintree, we wouldn’t have had a horse in the first five of the Grand National — what difference would that have made?’
Clearly, they wouldn’t have been in this position but the stars have aligned over the past three months and if all goes to plan at Sandown today, where 10 runners will be saddled including stars such as Impaire Et Passe and El Fabiolo, we will witness something genuinely extraordinary.
The legendary Irish handler is set to be crowned Champion Trainer at Sandown on Saturday
To put it another way, Willie Mullins hadn’t been born when Vincent O’Brien — a man whose name spans generations — became the last (and only) Irish-based trainer to annexe the trophy in 1954. As a young man who thinks deeply about the sport, none of this is lost on Patrick.
‘I grew up reading about Vincent O’Brien, about Tom Dreaper and other figures,’ he says. ‘I watched Martin Pipe dominate, I saw Paul Nicholls with all those great horses such as Kauto Star and Denman and Big Buck’s. For us to match them and surpass them? Jesus, it’s unbelievable.
‘When you are in it, you maybe don’t appreciate it, but the buzz in the yard is incredible. People seem to appreciate us coming over. It’s something new, something rare, isn’t it?’ It certainly is. Now to clear the final hurdle. Then the party can really start.
