Willie Mullins sure to be up for hat-trick bid insists son Patrick

Patrick Mullins was left to ponder if his father Willie Mullins could win the UK trainers’ title for a third time after proudly watching him emulate the great Vincent O’Brien at Sandown on Saturday.

The master of Closutton became the first Irish-based handler to claim the UK jumps crown in over 70 years when topping the British table for the first time 12 months ago and he followed in the footsteps of O’Brien by edging out Dan Skelton to lift the trophy for a second year running.

It was Patrick’s emotional Grand National victory aboard his father’s Nick Rockett that proved the catalyst for the Mullins juggernaut invading Britain over the subsequent three weeks to spoil the Skelton party.

And having written his own chapter in the annals of the decorated Mullins dynasty at Aintree, the heir to the Closutton throne was soaking up all the emotion and celebration of another special day for his family at the Esher track.

“To do it last year and exorcise the ghost of losing to Paul Nicholls was great, but to do it again and emulate Vincent is special,” said Patrick Mullins.

“I hope we could maybe go and beat Vincent now, but it won’t be easy as Dan is getting bigger and better every year.

“Willie definitely appreciates what he has achieved. He knows the history of the sport and talking back to Vincent O’Brien and the likes of Tom Dreaper (trainer of Arkle), for him to put his name alongside those is the ultimate.”

Paul Townend also paid tribute to his long-time boss, with the Closutton number one hailing the efforts of the whole operation back in County Carlow and those who put in the hard yards which allow him so many highlight-reel moments on the big stage.

Townend said: “I can’t really say any more about Willie that hasn’t been said before and I’m just one of the lucky ones who gets to be on the team.

“It’s a big team and it’s shown how much the owners back Willie – the second this was on, they backed him. You want to be on the team, not trying to beat it.

“It’s a phenomenal effort from Willie, Jackie (Mullins, wife) and Patrick, down to David Casey and all the team – and a lot of them don’t get the credit they deserve either. When we come over for these glory days, they’re back at home riding out the other horses. It’s a huge team effort.”