Jockey Danny Mullins has enjoyed two winners at the Cheltenham Festival, both of which came on Flooring Porter in the Stayers’ Hurdle (2021 & 2022).
Mullins rode three winners at the Dublin Racing Festival, all of which were at Grade One level – Gala Marceau (Spring Juvenile Hurdle), Gentleman De Mee (Ladbrokes Dublin Chase) and Il Etait Temps (Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle).
The trio are all trained by the jockey’s uncle Willie Mullins, Ireland’s champion Jump trainer and the winning-most trainer of all-time at the Festival with 88 winners.
The 30-year-old outlined his Cheltenham hopes for 2023.
He said: “Cheltenham has been great for me for the last couple of years - it’s down to partnering good horses which makes things easy for me.
“Flooring Porter is a very good horse. Things happened as I expected on the day when he won and you can’t do that without the horse.
“Fingers crossed, he’ll make it to Cheltenham. There is no better than Gavin Cromwell (trainer) as you’ve seen this weekend, when he has got the ammunition he is well able to hit the target. While I’m lucky to be part of Willie’s team, it’s fantastic to riding winners for Gavin as well as he is up and coming trainer.
“The Stayers’ Hurdle looks a strong race. Home By The Lee has pitched himself in there and Teahupoo looks good on what he has achieved.
“Cheltenham is about taking each other on in proper championship races. I have to keep riding well to get the chance to ride there.
“Cheltenham is Cheltenham and it is the week of the year when us in horseracing get the chance to hit the mainstream media. We get recognised outside of our sport and while it is important to be riding well day in day out, Cheltenham is the place where it hits all of the headlines in all of the papers. I’ve been lucky enough to win there before and hopefully can win again.”
While Mullins does not know what he will ride at this stage for his uncle, one horse he is looking forward to is Princess Zoe who is trained by his father, Tony.
The eight-year-old mare won the Group One Prix du Cadran on the Flat in 2020 and made a successful hurdling debut when dead-heating at Punchestown on January 30.
Mullins continued: “It was a good performance and more a case of job done than being elated (referring to her hurdling debut). She was at the sales in December and didn’t start schooling until the new year. Coming from Tony’s I think there is bags of improvement there compared to a horse coming from a big team like Willie’s.
“She is going to need to find improvement to be competitive at Cheltenham but she will learn plenty and got the job done when she won – she was good and tough to battle after hitting the last.
“You couldn’t say she will win the mares’ novices’ hurdle but she should be a competitor with the improvement you would expect. She is a strong stayer and not short of pace so two miles at Cheltenham (in the Jack de Bromhead Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle) should suit her.”
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