A trip to Willie Mullins’ stables in Closutton is always a little chaotic.
Over 4,000 winners have been sent to the races from his remote Carlow base but first impressions are often along the lines of “this place is not what I was expecting”.
There are hyperactive dogs milling around. A flock of ducks waddle their way around the staff. While there are cars parked – or more accurately abandoned – everywhere around the yard.
Mullins has built and built his premises from humble beginnings so the layout of the place can often seem deceptively scattergun.
Horses suddenly appear from nowhere and there’s a five-minute walk across a road and through another yard to get to the gallops.
But as they used to say on MTV Cribs, this is where the magic happens.
Mullins is calmness personified as dozens of the country’s best jump horses speed past him at nanosecond intervals. He can appear to be laid back but he’s taking it all in and plotting his next moves. It’s a rare opportunity to witness a sporting genius at work.
With three weeks to go to Cheltenham, the 66-year-old stands on the brink of a unique feat.
Mullins’ record ten winners last season took his Festival haul to 88 all-time wins and although most think he’ll need to wait until 2024, the chances of hitting 12 winners this year looks a very real possibility.
Half of the 28 races have a Mullins-trained horse at the head of the market and he can very often pick off a race with a big-priced winner like The Nice Guy last year.
This year his team of novice hurdlers look particularly strong.
In the Supreme Facile Vega, Ill Etait Temps and Impaire Et Passe hold three out of the top four positions in the market while Tekao is favourite for the Boodles’ Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.
Lossiemouth and Blood Destiny look to have the Triumph Hurdle between them while Gaelic Warrior and Naas Grade 1 winner Champ Kiely are prominent in the Ballymore betting.
In the Albert Bartlett Hurdle, Embassy Garden is currently the favourite.
Novice chasers look solid too.
El Fabiolo is a strong Arkle jolly, with a supporting cast of Dysart Dynamo and Appreciate It.
Sir Gerhard could go Turners’, Ramillies to the Brown Advisory, while Gaillard Du Mesnil looks like be Patrick’s ride in the National Hunt Chase, a race they’ve won three times.
The Championship races are well within his grasp too.
State Man has Constitution Hill to beat and he’s fancied by a few to do it.
Energumene had a blip in January but he’s the reigning Champion chaser and is more than capable of reversing the form with Edwardstone on the big day.
In the Stayers’ Hurdle Mullins will hope Klassical Dream can make it in time. And if he does he has a proper chance having won the Supreme in 2019.
Galopin Des Champs (right) is a warm order for the Gold Cup following his smart win at the DRF while Stattler is a decent second string in a race that’s not as deep as in other years.
Mullins’ monopoly on the mares’ races looks in trouble this year with Luccia and Marie’s Rock two strong Nicky Henderson runners but Closutton can still boast Brandy Love in the Mares’ Hurdle and Allegorie De Vassy in the Mares’ Chase while Ashroe Diamond and Lot Of Joy are strong Mares’ Novice contenders.
Mullins has won 12 editions of the Champion Bumper and this year It’s For Me and Fun Fun Fun are first and second in the betting.
It’s a frightening thought for his rivals and you can be sure in races like the County Hurdle, Martin Pipe, Pertemps and Coral Cup there will be Mullins runners attracting market support.
It has been an astonishing run that began in 1995 with Tourist Attractions’ Supreme win.
It was far from an overnight success though and incredibly 60 of those 88 wins have come in the last 10 years alone.
Mullins’ domination has attracted plenty of criticism but he has taken the training game to incredible levels and this year alone he’s operating with a 30 percent strike in Ireland.
Since Christmas alone he’s trained more winners than Noel Meade trained in one of the years he was champion trainer in Ireland.
One interesting line came from our visit to Cloustton on Monday.
Mullins admitted he didn’t ever wish to become this big or this vast – with 200 horses in his care – but the emergence of rivals like Gordon Elliott and Henry De Bromhead had pushed him into it.
“I don’t particularly want a yard this big but when the opposition goes with them you have to stay with them and that’s how it’s grown.”
It’s hard to think that Mullins could hit that century of Cheltenham Festival winners in three weeks’ time.
For so long Edward O’Grady’s haul of 18 winners was the best any Irish trainer still living could boast but Mullins has nearly five times more.
Little did we know in 1995 when Mark Dwyer booted Tourist Attraction up that hill to win the opening Supreme Novices’ what was coming.
