Amateur rider Patrick Mullins enjoyed his finest hour as he guided Nick Rockett to victory for his father Willie Mullins in the Randox Grand National at Aintree.
The Closutton handler had assembled a crack team for the Aintree marathon and as the runners entered the business end, his contenders were dominating the head of proceedings, with I Am Maximus looking in the ideal position to defend his title in the hands of Paul Townend.
However, the burden of top-weight proved too much in the closing stages, as Nick Rockett (33-1) finished full of running, leading home a one-two-three for the champion trainer, who was registering not only back-to-back victories but his third success 20 years after his first with Hedgehunter. Grangeclare West took the third spot – and for good measure Mullins also had the fifth-placed horse in Meetingofthewaters.
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Iroko was fourth for Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero.
Patrick Mullins is the latest in the family to have won the race, with his cousins David and Emmet having struck gold, the first-named as a jockey with Rule The World and the second as a trainer with Noble Yeats.
Patrick Mullins
He told ITV Racing: “I had too good a start and was having to take him back all the way. I was wondering at the Canal Turn had I lost too much ground, but he just jumped fantastic.
“Then I was there too soon and it is a long way from the back of the last with Paul on my outside.
“It’s everything I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, I know it’s a cliche, but when I was five or six years old, I was reading books about the National and watching black and white videos of Red Rum. To put my name there is very special.”
He added: “David and Emmet have already won it so I’m level with them, (cousin) Danny will have to pull his finger out now.”
Nick Rockett was dismounted after the line, but the winning rider said: “The horse is fine and I wouldn’t mind going for a cold bath now myself.
“He’s just a brilliant horse. He’d be one of the smallest in the field but he’s as brave as a lion.”
Willie Mullins
Willie Mullins was notably emotional as he said: “That was some result. It’s lovely to be able to give your son a ride in the National, but to win it, it’s unbelievable.”
Also full of emotion was owner Stewart Andrew, whose wife Sadie died in December 2022, just five days after watching Nick Rockett in his first race.
Andrew said: “This a class horse, he’s got the heart of a lion. From a personal point of view, I can’t tell you. Sadie would have loved today – she was up there, she’ll have had a tenner each-way, I guarantee you.
“What a ride from Patrick, what a ride. I knew if we got to the front jumping the last, this horse is tough. If you look at this form, when he’s jumped the last, he keeps finding.
“I can’t believe it.”
