Willie Mullins is proudly pointing to a contraption on the infield of his circular gallop. The master trainer’s mind is constantly ticking for ways to stay ahead of the game and here, in front of us, is the latest evidence — it is a weather station.
‘Look,’ he says, taking out his phone and, with a smile, he opens up an app. ‘It’s connected to this. I’ve always been convinced we get more rain here, coming in over those hills. So I got myself this to check. It updates by the hour, tells you everything. It was a Christmas present to myself!’
There is no sign of rain, however, on this glorious morning, just an army of high-class National Hunt horses. We are here as the build-up to Cheltenham intensifies and while Mullins is a generous host, providing smoked salmon on soda bread as well as luxury biscuits, he never takes his eye off the ball.
Days such as this can be eventful, particularly where his beloved dogs are concerned; Munch, a Chihuahua, would think nothing about trying to scamper alongside the string, while Lottie, a Rottweiler, simply wants some attention.
But Mullins never loses concentration. He is the master of his craft, a man who has been Ireland’s champion trainer so many times (17, soon to be 18) that some of the trophies have had to be homed on a window ledge in the downstairs bathroom of his house.
Legendary trainer Willie Mullins (above) has had 94 winners at the Cheltenham Festival
Everywhere you look there is silverware and you can be sure it will be added to next week. There are 28 Festival races and Mullins will supply 14 favourites — it is inevitable that he will take his tally for Cheltenham winners, currently a staggering 94, beyond a century.
‘He’ll keep you on your toes, all right,’ says Adam Connolly, who has worked at Mullins’ Closutton base for six years and looks after reigning Gold Cup holder Galopin Des Champs. ‘But I’d say the man’s a genius.’
Plenty would agree. Standing next to him on the gallops, it is fascinating to see how his mind works. Everything runs with military precision and all instructions are clear.
‘If you’re happy, I’m happy,’ Mullins, whose first Festival success was with Tourist Attraction in the 1995 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, tells one work rider after she reports back from a mile gallop.
‘Turn her around,’ he quickly orders another. ‘I don’t want her to do any more.’
There is a reason. To get to the point where we are standing, we must cross the gallop. There is a subtle incline but it is the surface you notice. It feels like walking up a sand dune in a pair of metal-toed boots with weights strapped to your legs, totally different to gallops elsewhere. It is just short of a mile in circumference and as one horse follows another, you appreciate why — when it comes to the races that matter — you usually see a Mullins horse galloping on relentlessly.
‘You keep (the surface) deeper for grip but, also, I’ve got no hill,’ Mullins explains.
‘I’m fascinated about it. Michael Bowen (Welsh trainer), Peter Bowen’s son, worked here for eight weeks. I asked him what he thought and he said he was fascinated as he’d never ridden on a flat gallop.
Star chaser Galopin Des Champs is seeking to win back-to-back Gold Cups at the Festival
‘All the trainers in England seem to have uphill gallops, so we have to make it testing. If it wasn’t, they would be going around and around all morning. The more miles they do, the tougher it is. It’s a bit like being on a treadmill, I suppose, when you keep upping the incline.’
Now 67, the days when Mullins would have been on a saddle are gone, but Connolly, an important part of the team, provides an insight into what it is actually like to be on board as the string hurtles around. ‘It’s terrifying on a wet day!’ he says. ‘It’s the heaviest gallop I’ve ever been on! You look at it and wonder, “How will they get through it?” but it works. It’s just pure, raw fitness. You need to have a good grip of their heads and you have to hold on tight.’
Galopin Des Champs, he adds, floats across it before returning to devour three bowls of 14 per cent protein horse feed.
‘With this lad,’ Connolly says, looking ahead to his attempt to win a second Gold Cup, ‘the petrol tank is never empty.’
Back at base, debriefs are taken. Mullins talks excitedly about Majborough, who is second favourite for the Triumph Hurdle.
Much has been said this winter about whether his numerical might is a good thing for the sport — he won all eight Grade One races at the Dublin Racing Festival last month — but it is clear to see this is not simply a case of throwing as many darts as possible and hoping one hits.
‘He will spot things that people wouldn’t see with binoculars,’ Connolly says. ‘He’ll come past you one day and say, “What about that?” and you’re thinking to yourself, “Jeez! How’s he seen it?” If I have one little thing out of place in any of the barns, he will see it.
‘He’ll text me that night or mention it the next morning. But that’s good to have, isn’t it? It means you have to do it right, that you can’t cut a corner. Every day you are here is a learning day. I’d say you’d need to shadow him for 20 years to try and have a grasp of what he knows.
The 67-year-old won all eight Grade One races at the Dublin Racing Festival last month
‘He’ll look at a horse on the gallops and tell you to make little adjustments to the bridle or take something off. Next thing, the horse is moving better than ever and you’re saying to yourself, “How has he thought of that?” Nothing gets past him.’
This is it. Whatever the sport, the ones who rise to the top are those who look for the marginal gains, the tiny percentages always make the difference. Yes, it helps that Mullins has the backing of wealthy, powerful owners who can buy blue-blooded stock but money alone guarantees nothing.
Mullins said: ‘We run the horses for individual owners, not as a team. We get them ready for those races. Pressure? It’s just part of the job. It’s like a team going into the knockout stage of a tournament, they have to perform. I never turn up expecting winners.’
You can guarantee, however, he will have them. Space will need to be found on those window ledges.