Danny staying cool in the heat of battle
Mullins swears by cryotherapy in his search for an edge
ALL jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival need ice in their veins which gives Danny Mullins a head start on many of his rivals.
In search of any advantage for the white heat of battle, Mullins is a big believer in the benefits of cryotherapy – the chilly dip experience is not to everyone’s fancy.
‘I do it every week in Roche’s Injury Clinic in Kilkenny. The water temperature is four degrees, and it’s for three minutes, three sessions a week.
‘The Newpark Hotel have a plunge pool which I used to think was cold when I started doing the cryo, but this is colder,’ he said breezily.
And the pluses? ‘The endorphins release from it is longer than any other source of dopamine, three or four times the length of that. You feel great,’ he said.
‘To take the falls and be durable during the season you need to be in good shape, one of the small factors in being one per cent better each day.’
Mullins, 31, is riding on top of his game and appears set fair to improve on his return of two Festival wins, both of which came on Flooring Porter in the Stayers’ Hurdle of 2021 and 2022.
On reflection, getting off the mark at Cheltenham at the 35th attempt took longer than expected.
‘There was a naive belief in me that it was always going to happen, so I didn’t panic,’ he said.
‘The form book says there was no horse I was beaten on that should have won. That gave me a lot of encouragement.
‘If I’d looked at a handicap where I got beat on a graded horse I’d think “Jeez, that one got away”. Of the ones that got beat, I got the best out of them on the day.’
Prior to Flooring Porter, he came closest on Milsean for his uncle Willie, only to be chinned by Martello Tower, trained by his mother Mags, in the 2015 Albert Bartlett Hurdle.
‘That was my mother’s first Cheltenham winner. While I was gutted to get beat, I was proud of her for getting off the mark,’ he recalled.
The long-awaited breakthrough in the Stayers’ Hurdle six years later was a chance ride, which reflects the ups and downs of jump racing.
‘Johnny Moore got injured coming up to the Festival. It came at the 11th hour. He was a horse I probably didn’t think could win it, doing all the previews and looking at the race.
‘On the day, Johnny gave me all the info about him. Gavin (Cromwell) gave me pretty much a free rein. “It’s Flooring Porter. If something happens, react,” he said. We’d a basic plan and it came off well.’
It was the year without crowds at Cheltenham but victory was as sweet as any for Mullins.
‘That feeling crossing the line at Cheltenham, your first winner, in a Championship race, was one of the best feelings I’ve had in my life.
‘It was fantastic, the way the horse went through the race. Had his little look around coming up the straight, galloped to the line. That was a special day.’
And 12 months later he got to do it all again with another masterful ride from the front.
‘Probably more pressure on that day as nearly everybody thought he couldn’t win with the crowds.
‘From the moment he won at Cheltenham the year before everything that could go wrong had gone wrong in various ways, but I remember chatting to the owners in the parade ring and I said “I’m on the best horse. If the ball bounces our way, we’ll win.”
‘The lads were a bit shocked by that but I had huge confidence in what Gavin was telling me about the horse. I’d a great feeling going out, which is nice to have that, on a fancied one in a Grade One at Cheltenham.’
Mullins will have a fistful of plum rides this week. Expect him to lie handy as he’s a master at judging pace from the front.
‘I think it’s the easiest place to manipulate a race. I’ve no problem riding a horse from behind. I won the King George from being well in. There’s a lot more I can do in a race from the front.
‘It just gives me free rein on what I want to achieve in each race so that’s probably why I end up doing it the most.
‘Paul Townend doesn’t have a name for being a front runner but he’s a very good judge of pace. If he’s on the front end, I want to be beside him, controlling what’s happening.’
With two tracks in use at Cheltenham, it calls for a different set of tactics on the third and fourth days at the Festival, compared to the first and second, when the Old Course is in use.
‘I would say the Old Course probably suits a front runner better with a shorter home straight where the New Course can be quite difficult, especially in the handicaps.
‘When you land on back of thirdlast, you’re nearly seven furlongs from home. A lot of people get excited off the hill and it can be difficult to control a race,’ observed Mullins.
As No 1 jockey to the Willie Mullins stable, Townend will have first call but Mullins knows there are rich pickings riding the second or third string, such is the depth of equine talent.
‘With so many good rides hopefully Paul will get it wrong somewhere and I’ll pick up a few good ones. The Dublin Racing Festival was better for me as Paul hadn’t got to see the full deck of cards.
‘Once the screw has been tightened closer to Cheltenham he tends to get it right. Hopefully, we’ll find some loopholes in there.’
Mullins won the Spring Juvenile Hurdle on Kargese and hopes to keep the ride for the Triumph Hurdle on Friday — she runs in the same blue and white silks as Festival heroine Honeysuckle.
‘Hopefully, given how tricky she can be, Paul might think some of the others might be more solid on the day. I’d love to ride her again. She’s golden in my eyes. I have to find a way of blurring Paul’s vision around her.’
Ahead of battle, Mullins is ready.
‘I love riding under pressure whether that’s in a country track midweek in a 0-95 rated race going for a gamble and delivering, or riding a Grade One winner.
‘For me I get the buzz delivering under pressure. The bigger the race, the better it is.’
There is no greater pressure cooker than Cheltenham. It’s an arena for chilled customers, not hot-heads, and cool hand Danny is determined to deliver.
TG4 will screen its annual Cheltenham Festival preview, presented by Denis Kirwan, tomorrow night at 11.30pm.
‘KARGESE IS GOLDEN IN MY EYES... I’D LOVE TO RIDE HER AGAIN’