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David Mullins who was born in 1996 is part of the famous Irish jumps racing family. His father and grandfather have been involved in the sport but his uncle is the most successful. That man is Willie Mullins who is a multiple champion trainer in Ireland and the trainer of many races at the Cheltenham Festival. Mullins and Aidan O’Brien on the Flat employ family members as jockeys. This is not based on nepotism but getting the best rider for the horse. David Mullins has not let his uncle down and has won on some of his best horses. The biggest win of his career to date is on Rule The World in the 2016 Grand National, his first ride in the race.
David Mullins Career
David Mullins has ridden 11 Grade 1 winners in Ireland but none in Britain. Most of his successes at the highest level in the country of his birth have been for Willie Mullins. He was on board Al Boum Photo when that horse won the Ryanair Gold Cup in 2018. The Mullins trained runner won the Cheltenham Gold Cup the following year but Mullins was not the jockey. On ratings Faugheen is the best horse Mullins has ridden. He was the jockey when the horse won the Champion Stayers’ Hurdle in 2018. Mullins won the Savills Chase in the same year on Kemboy. He is a leading contender for the 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup but is not a Grand National horse at this stage of his career.
David Mullins has been riding in jumps races in Ireland for the past six seasons. At the time of writing, he has ridden 185 winners from 1498 rides which represents a strike rate of 12.35%. The 2016-17 season was his best to date numerically. He had 44 winners from 369 rides. In terms of prize money, the following season was the most successful. Mullins started the current season well with 11 winners from his first 84 rides, which equates to a win record of over 13%. He is currently producing a better strike rate than his career average. He is winning the average races but will get opportunities in graded races at the major festivals over Christmas and in the spring.
David Mullins Trivia
Mullins was involved in racing from the age of 15 and had some success as a conditional jockey with a three pounds claim before the age of 20. He has been trusted with the best horses from the Willie Mullins stable. However, Mullins has won graded races for other trainers but his most notable win was the grand National un 2016. He rode Rule The World for Mouse Morris. It was his first ride in the race and he is the second youngest jockey to win the Grand National. Rule The World is owned by Gigginstown Stud who show no sentiment when employing jockeys for their horses.
David Mullins’s Record in the Grand National
David Mullins has ridden in the Grand National four times and only failed to complete one of those races. He won the National on Rule The World in 2016, the first year in which he had a ride. He pulled up Stellar Notion 12 months later. The Henry de Bromhead trained horse was sent off at 50/1 but did not get beyond the 13th fence. Mullins rode Pleasant Company into second place in 2018 for Willie Mullins. The horse made up a lot of ground on Tiger Roll on the run-in but was just beaten. Mullins finished 11th in the race in 2019, riding Livelovelaugh, again for his uncle.
