Irish racing mourns loss of Mullins matriarch
IRISH racing has lost one of its most popular and knowledgeable figures with the passing of Maureen Mullins aged 94.
Married to the late Paddy, the 10-time Irish champion trainer, Mullins was the matriarch of a racing dynasty and also a highly successful owner-breeder.
Her five children, Sandra, Willie, Tony, George and Tom, all rode winners on the track, as have her grandchildren Patrick, Danny, David, Charlie, Fiona and Emmet.
Four of her children became successful trainers, spearheaded by 17-time Irish champion Willie.
Her silks were carried to victory in the 1979 Irish Cambridgeshire (I’m Ready) and the 1984 Irish Lincoln (Girl In Blue).
She also co-owned Grabel, ridden to victory by son Willie in the 1988 December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown, while she bred Kilcruit, a grade one winner at the Punchestown Festival in 2021.
Mullins was recognised as a driving force behind the success of her husband, who trained Dawn Run to win the 1984 Champion Hurdle and 1986 Gold Cup.
Son Tony revealed his mother’s last bet was €20 on her grandson Charlie to win the bumper on Coco Masterpiece at Thurles on Tuesday — it was a winner too, trained by son Willie.
Meanwhile, Craig Kieswetter has paid tribute to the training prowess of Willie Mullins, as the former England cricketer begins to dream of Cheltenham Festival glory with Leopardstown scorer Il Etait Temps.
Having lowered the colours of Facile Vega over hurdles 12 months ago, Il Etait Temps was back to cause another upset in the Irish capital, this time the beneficiary of Marine Nationale’s Irish Arkle no show, as he battled past Found A Fifty in the hands of Danny Mullins for his second Grade One success.
The South Africa-born Kieswetter played 71 times for England in white-ball internationals and is also a scratch golfer, having competed on both the PGA EuroPro Tour and MENA Golf Tour since his retirement from cricket.
As such, he is well qualified to judge sporting excellence and has always spoken in glowing terms of Il Etait Temps’ trainer, the master of Closutton.
‘He’s probably along the lines of a Messi or Ronaldo or a Schumacher — he’s a champion,’ said Kieswetter when explaining what makes Mullins so prolific.
‘He’s going to go down as one of the all-time greats, but there is still plenty of life in the old dog yet. He certainly isn’t ready to hand over the reins yet and you can see how passionate and energetic and driven he is.’