Byrne believes in Mr Incredible’s second chance
They say the best thing about memories is making them and Patrick Mullins and his good friend and owner Paul Byrne will undoubtedly enjoy a special moment together when Mr Incredible takes a second crack at the Randox Grand National.
There will be a strong Mullins presence at Aintree for this year’s running of the world’s greatest steeplechase.
As well as Willie Mullins’ plethora of Grand National challengers, Emmet Mullins will be in town with 2022 National hero Noble Yeats, while Danny Mullins will be expected to receive the leg-up aboard one of the leading Closutton hopefuls.
Patrick Mullins could also be at the start line aboard Stattler – but half an eye will be looking across to Mr Incredible, the enigmatic eight-yearold with very much his own ideas about life.
Having arrived at Closutton on the back of refusing both at the start and then mid-race in consecutive outings, the Mr Incredible project seemed somewhat mission impossible. But the apple does not fall far from the tree in County Carlow and the heir to the Closutton kingdom has conjured up some of his father’s wizardry to consistently deliver Mr Incredible to the start line both in top form and, most importantly, good spirits.
“He’s Patrick’s project and he pretty much trains him,” explained Byrne.
“If he did win, I would like to see him get the credit, as he does a lot with him. He deserves a lot of credit for even getting him to where he’s got him to. This was a write-off case to begin with.
“He’s very frustrating and every day I get an update to say he consented on the gallop is good news. Every day is a battle with him, but he’s been fun to own and we’ve been lucky to own him. He does deserve to win the race, as he’s been a reformed character. He’s run very well every time for us and we just need to get a win into him, but the National would be a nice one to win.”
Mullins added: “He’s trained very differently to all the other horses and you have to do something different with him every day.
“Some days, he gets out of the wrong side of the bed and decides he’s not going to go at all, but you just need to work around him and he’s a horse with huge ability.”
Mr Incredible is one of a select number of horses trained by the Mullins team for Byrne – widely regarded as one of the shrewdest owners in the game and someone who has already had an influence on the history of the Aintree showpiece.
Mullins was only a teenager when his father joined the National roll of honour with Hedgehunter in 2005.
He has since seen his cousins David and Emmet both enjoy special days in the Aintree spotlight and for one splitsecond thought his own Liverpool dreams
would come true on a day solely remembered by most for Rachael Blackmore’s heroics aboard Minella Times.
He said: “There’s been some great days at Aintree, obviously Hedgehunter and then David on Rule The World and Emmet with Noble Yeats. I got a super spin on Burrows Saint the other year behind Rachael Blackmore, which was also a special year as well.”
He added: “I think Paul enjoys having Mr Incredible and it would be great if we could get a win with him, that would be magic.
“Myself and Paul have been friends since we were teenagers and he’s a great person to work with and get on with and we’ve been very lucky together.
“We’ve got Meetingofthewaters there as well, which is another one of my projects and I owned him at the start of the season, so I’m really looking forward to the race this year.”
But what of Mr Incredible’s chances?
Sent off at 14-1 last year, he was in the ideal position before disaster struck and rider Brian Hayes’ saddle slipped rounding the Canal Turn for the second time.
Mullin said: “Brian said he really enjoyed the track, jumped really well, just the second time round at the Canal Turn, when he had him in a nice position, his saddle slipped.
“So we decided we would try to get him back and have another go, because he’s not an old horse.”
Mahler Mission could make John Mcconnell’s dreams come true when the trainer ends his long wait to saddle a Randox Grand National runner at Aintree.
The County Meath handler sent out the ill-fated Fennor Cross to score during the Grand National meeting on Merseyside 12 months ago, but he is still to field a contender in the world’s most famous steeplechase.
Mcconnell’s Some Neck came agonisingly close to making the final line-up when first reserve in 2021, while 23-year-old jockey Ben Harvey also missed out on a first taste of the famous spruce on that occasion and is fulfilling Aintree ambitions a few years later than anticipated.
“If we get there it will be our first runner, so it will be a big day for us all,” said Mcconnell.
“We’re not going to change anything that’s not broken so Ben will ride him. Mahler Mission looks like he has the right kind of profile for it, so it will be exciting.
“It will probably be our biggest day, we’ve had a nice bit of success, but if we could pull this off it will be a huge moment in both our careers.
“He’s probably the best horse I’ve had and in terms of rating he is anyway. I do think we haven’t yet seen the best of him and for sure he is definitely one of our stars.”
Mcconnell has already fulfilled many of his goals in life, with Seddon’s success at Cheltenham last year sealing the ambition of a Festival winner, while big-race success in both codes is enough to keep any trainer content with their lot. “Like Cheltenham, winning this race is another childhood dream and it doesn’t get much bigger than the Grand National,” continued Mcconnell.
“To potentially have a runner with a chance is huge. I have always loved the National and it would mean an awful lot to me (if he could win) and in regards my team, they do all the hard work, so for everyone involved it would be massive for them.”