Willie Mullins has enjoyed more Cheltenham Festival success than any trainer in the history of the meeting.
In 2024, Mullins brought up 100 Cheltenham Festival winners courtesy of Jasmin De Vaux in the Champion Bumper, appropriately the Festival race he has currently won more than any other.
Age: 68 |
Cheltenham wins: 103 |
Total Cheltenham winnings: £14,884,692 |
Net worth: £20,000,000 (estimated) |
Willie Mullins comes from an Irish racing dynasty, son of the late Paddy and Maureen Mullins, the latter known as Irish racing's great matriarch before she passed away in February 2024, aged 94.
He took out his license in 1988 and has gone on to be champion Jumps trainer in Ireland 18 times, as well as winning over 100 races at the Cheltenham Festival.
He has won five Champion Hurdles, two Queen Mother Champion Chases and two Stayers' Hurdles.
For a long time the Cheltenham Gold Cup eluded him but, since 2019, Mullins has won the Blue Riband four times courtesy of Al Boum Photo (2019, 2020) and Galopin Des Champs (2023, 2024).
The Closutton maestro first tasted Cheltenham Festival glory with Tourist Attraction in the 1995 Supreme Novices' Hurdle, a contest he has now won seven times, while the Champion Bumper (13 wins) has given him more success than any race in the Cotswolds.
He has been leading trainer at the Cheltenham Festival 11 times and has trained the most Cheltenham winners of all-time.
Born on September 15th, 1956 in Goresbridge, Co Kilkenny, Mullins is aged 68.
An exact figure is difficult to assess given the nature of horse racing, with fees, associated costs and prize money cuts to be defined, but Mullins is estimated to be worth over £20,000,000.
Throughout his esteemed career Mullins has turned out many horses that will hold a special resonance for him.
Silver Bachelor at Thurles in February 1988 was his first winner as a trainer and he rode the horse to victory, while Tourist Attraction in 1995 was his first Cheltenham Festival scorer.
Jasmin De Vaux provided him with a century of Festival winners at Cheltenham in 2024, with son Patrick doing the steering.
Hurricane Fly in the 2011 Champion Hurdle was his first Championship-race win in the Cotswolds while Nichols Canyon (2017) landed a first Stayers' Hurdle and Energumene (2022) completed the set by landing the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The Gold Cup is the most coveted race of all in jumps circles and, after lots of near misses, Al Boum Photo (2019) finally handed Mullins the Blue Riband.
Bronn became his 4,000th winner under Rules in January 2023, while Florida Pearl won four Irish Gold Cups from 1999-2004 as well as a King George and both Hedgehunter (2005) and I Am Maximus (2024) have won the Grand National at Aintree.
Mullins has won just about every jumps race of substance there is to win in Britain or Ireland and plenty more further afield on the Flat and over jumps, including at the likes of Royal Ascot.
He has two Grand Nationals at Aintree as well as an Irish Grand National and a Scottish version.
He has been crowned Ireland's champion trainer over jumps 18 times and leading trainer at the Cheltenham Festival 11 times.
In essence, Mullins and his operation at Closutton has redefined the boundaries of what is deemed possible in jumps racing.
Currently, Paul Townend is the top rider at Closutton. The Cork native has won all four of Mullins' Cheltenham Gold Cups to date.
Danny Mullins (nephew) and Patrick Mullins (son) are also key riders, with the latter starring on the yard's bumper horses, while Brian Hayes, Sean O'Keefe and Jodie Townend are also key team members at the Co Carlow operation.
Previously, Ruby Walsh was number one jockey at Mullins' yard for much of his career. Walsh is the all-time most successful rider in Cheltenham Festival history, with 59 winners, many of them in conjunction with Mullins. He is now part of the team at Closutton behind the scenes since retiring in 2019.