When it comes to National Hunt Racing, no one can lay a glove on Willie Mullins. The Irish handler, whose runners are often very well-backed in the horse racing odds, dominates the sport in the United Kingdom and Ireland and has pretty much won everything worth winning in the world of jumps racing.
Despite his immense success, Mullins continues to raise the bar year after year. Just when it looked like he had reached his ceiling, he had an unthinkable 2023-24 season—breaking the 100-win barrier at the Cheltenham Festival with a 11th Leading Trainer accolade, winning a second Grand National, and becoming the first Irish handler in 70 years to win the British Champion Trainer title.
Mullins is relentless, like a shark who smells blood, as proven by his late quest for the trainers’ championship last season. Now he has gotten the taste for that as well, he’ll be out for more in the upcoming season, and he will be incredibly hard to stop, given the unfathomable firepower at his disposal.
That said, let’s take a look at four Mullins-trained horses to watch in the 2024-25 campaign.
Galopin Des Champs
Kicking things off with an obvious one in Galopin Des Champs. The eight-year-old is entering the season with a very specific goal, which only a select few horses in history have achieved, winning a third successive Gold Cup.
Galopin Des Champs has won the last two renewals of the Cheltenham showpiece in thrilling fashion, beating Bravemansgame by seven lengths in 2023 before holding off Gerri Colombe by over three lengths back in March.
What’s interesting is that his closest rival in the Gold Cup ante-post betting is his stablemate Fact To File, who won the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham this year and looks like a top-quality chaser in the making.
Redemption Day
Redemption Day has a good chance of securing Mullins his first victory in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle for the first time since Appreciate It’s win in 2021, which would see the Irish handler extend his record as the most successful trainer in the maiden race of the Festival to eight victories.
A bumper winner on debut in December 2021, the gelding failed to pick up another win on the flat in a further four attempts—including finishing 13th in the Champion Bumper—but ended last season with back-to-back wins, rounding off the campaign with a Grade 1 win at Punchestown.
At seven, Redemption Day is something of a late bloomer. You’d have expected him to be well-seasoned over hurdles by this stage, but an injury set him back and sidelined for over 600 days between April 2022 and December 2023.
It will be interesting to see how he fares over the smaller obstacles this season.
Ballyburn
One of the standout performers of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, Ballyburn left Prestbury Park in awe when he stormed home to win the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle by a commanding 13 lengths from his nearest rival.
A hurdle debut defeat to Firefox at Fairyhouse in December was long forgotten by May, as the six-year-old won four races in a row—including three Grade 1s—to become one of Mullins’ hottest commodities.
Ballyburn is set to go chasing this campaign, with the Arkle the most likely target at the Cheltenham Festival as he’s the 3/1 ante-post favourite. The Brown Advisory Novice Chase is another option while skipping novice events and jumping straight in at the Queen Mother Champion Chase at 20/1.
Lossiemouth
After last season, Lossiemouth is the best female hurdler currently on the jumps racing scene.
The Rich Ricci-owned five-year-old has been beaten just once in nine attempts under rules over the smaller obstacles, finishing runner-up to Gala Marceau in February 2023.
Last season saw her win the International Hurdle, Mares’ Hurdle and Mares Champion Hurdle with relative ease.
What’s interesting about Lossiemouth going into this season is that she might take on the indomitable Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle instead of going up again her same-sex in the Mares’ Hurdle again.
