Patrick Mullins chases his just deserts on UK tour as the amateur jockey reveals which course he wants to tick off before Cheltenham
The latest stage of Patrick Mullins’ quest to conquer British racing comes in Kelso on Saturday but already he is plotting ahead to a summer with sticky toffee pudding.
Mullins is the amateur jockey with the professional’s panache, a key cog in ensuring the County Carlow training base of his father, Willie, has become the dominant yard in National Hunt racing. He has ridden 800 winners, nine coming at the Cheltenham Festival.
His place in the record books has long since been assured, not least because he was on board when Jasmin De Vaux became his Dad’s 100th Cheltenham Festival winner, but he has had it in mind for a while now that he would like to carve a niche for himself.
Visits to the UK have become increasingly frequent for Mullins in the last 12 months, especially so towards the end of last season when he covered more than 1,000 miles in five days and notched victories in Wales (Ffos Las), Shropshire (Ludlow) and Scotland (Perth).
It left him determined to try to have one winner at each of the 42 courses that stage jump racing; he has mastered 15 venues and that could become 16 at Kelso, the picturesque Borders venue, where he partners Chart Topper in the bet365 Premier Novices’ Hurdle (2.55).
Amateur jockey Patrick Mullins pictured in action at Carlisle Racecourse on February 3
Mullins is eyeing a trip to another Cumbrian venue, Cartmel, home of the sticky toffee pudding
‘Maybe this is a bit like Don Quixote or chasing windmills what I’m trying to do,’ Mullins tells Mail Sport. ‘I’ve 27 to go, so I’ll have to get a move on, but it’s something I’ve had in my mind. I’ve ridden in Ireland for 20 years and know the tracks like the back of my hand.
‘The UK tracks are so different and every time you come over and get a winner, it feels like you go up a bonus level on a PlayStation. It means early starts and late finishes but it’s exciting. I’m limited to riding in 21 races against professionals in Ireland, so I have to be selective.
‘Coming over gives me more opportunity. I might be at Plumpton the day before the Festival starts, but I really want to tick Cartmel off, simply because if you win a race you get presented with sticky toffee pudding!’
Many wonder why Mullins, 35, never turned professional but there is no sense of him feeling he has missed out. How could there be when he has a c.v. for which many of his peers would pay a king’s ransom?
‘I’m 11-and-a-half stone each morning, so I’m too heavy to be a professional,’ he explains. ‘There was never any question of me being a professional. I’m looking forward to Kelso. We’ve always liked Chart Topper but we’ll see how good he is.’
