Mullins drafted in to ride Burrows Saints
ONE man’s loss can be another’s gain – and that is certainly true in the case of Patrick Mullins, who has come in for the plum spare ride on Burrows Saint in the Randox Grand National.
Mullins replaces Irish champion jockey Paul Townend, who picked up a foot injury at Fairyhouse last weekend which also saw him miss Monday’s Irish Grand National.
Instead, the champion trainer has called on his son – who has ridden more winners as an amateur in Ireland than anyone else and if not for his battle with the scales would surely be a professional.
Looking forward to tomorrow, Mullins said: “It’s fantastic to pick up the spin on him. Obviously Paul hasn’t recovered from the fall he had in Fairyhouse.
“The weight [10st 13lb] is quite light for me, but it’s just enough. He’s in great form at home. I got a sit on him in Haydock this [yesterday] morning – and he ticks a lot of the boxes.
“He’s the right age as an eight-year-old; he has the right kind of weight and he’s progressive, with only nine runs over fences. I’m really excited to be sitting on him.”
With the doubt over Townend and his weight issue, it was a case of Burrows Saint or nothing for Mullins – but he was never counting his chickens, especially after amateurs were ruled out of last month’s Cheltenham Festival because of coronavirus restrictions.
“I’ve lived with Willie long enough to know not to ask any questions and to just wait until declarations,” he said.
“It was in the back of my head that I might get the ride. I saw the weight was doable, and I was watching it from then and got confirmation this morning.
“I did not expect to be able to ride a horse with a live chance in the Grand National. Ever since I was seven or eight and I read a book on the history of the Grand National, this was the race.
“It was disappointing not to be at Cheltenham. As it turned out, I didn’t miss a winner, which made it slightly easier.
“To get a ride in the National more than makes up for that, definitely.
“Some people like the Gold Cup, but this was always the race I wanted to have a crack at – it does not get any better than this.”
No amateur has won the National since Marcus Armytage on Mr Frisk in
1990, but Burrows Saint is second-favourite with some bookmakers based on the fact he won the Irish Grand National two years ago.
“In the National, game plans can go out of the window pretty quickly, but in the Irish National Ruby [Walsh] rode him fairly handy and with a bit of daylight. After that, we’ll see where Lady Luck takes you,” said Mullins.
“I was second on a horse called Boxer George in the Foxhunters [in 2011]. That’s the closest I’ve come to a winner over the fences.”