David James Mullins (born 6 June 1996) is a former

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

jockey. He is the son of Tom Mullins and grandson of

Paddy Mullins Paddy Mullins (28 January 1919 – 28 October 2010) was an Irish racehorse trainer in a career which spanned fifty two years. Training career His first winner was Flash Parade, which won the 1953 La Touche at Punchestown. Although he was predomi ...

. He was one of the retained jockeys for his uncle, the multiple Irish champion trainer

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey. Career He commenced racehorse training in 1988 having previously worked as an assistant to his father Paddy Mullins and Jim Bolger. Willie is a fo ...

Career

Mullins became involved with horse racing at the age of 15 and quickly gained fame in only his second year of riding at 19 years old when he was still claiming a 3 pounds allowance as a

conditional jockey A conditional jockey is an apprentice National Hunt racing jockey in Great Britain or Ireland under the age of 26 who has not won more than seventy-five races under rules or had not won that many races within the last six months. A conditional joc ...

. In that first part of the 2015/16 National Hunt campaign he recorded his first major successes for his uncle

, initially winning a Grade 2 event on board of Devis Bride. Shortly after that he obtained his first Grade 1 victory when taking the

Morgiana Hurdle The Morgiana Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles and half a furlong ...

in a tactical affair on board of

Nichols Canyon Nichols Canyon is a residential area in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California, bounded by Hollywood Boulevard on the south and Mulholland Drive on the north, lying between Laurel Canyon and Runyon Canyon. It was also known as Miller C ...

, producing the surprise of the season by defeating the champion hurdler

Faugheen Faugheen ( foaled 2 May 2008) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2015 Champion Hurdle and back-to-back Christmas Hurdles in 2014 and 2015. His best performance on a racecourse came in the 2016 Irish Champion Hurdle f ...

who was unbeaten at the time. During the same season he continued to win more Graded races for other trainers such as Ms Sandra Hughes and Pat A. Fahy and culminated with a victory for

Mouse Morris Michael "Mouse" Morris, formally the Hon. Michael Morris, (born 4 April 1951) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former amateur and professional jockey. As a trainer, he has won the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and has won the Iri ...

in the most valuable race of the Jumps calendar, the 2016 Grand National at only his first attempt, giving a patient ride to Rule The World, a horse which had never previously won a

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

. He became one of the youngest jockeys ever to win the race and declared: →"It's a weird feeling, you don't really believe it" →"I beat Faugheen on Nichols Canyon but I think this tops that". The only younger jockey to claim the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

was the 17-year-old

Bruce Hobbs Bruce Robertson Hobbs (December 27, 1920 – November 22, 2005) was an English jockey and racehorse trainer. Born on Long Island, New York, Hobbs became the youngest jockey ever to ride the winner of the English Grand National when successful ...

back in 1938. Mullins retired from the saddle in January 2021.

Major wins

Ireland *

Champion Stayers Hurdle The Champion Stayers Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Ireland which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown Raceco ...

-(1) Faugheen (2018) * Dublin Chase -(1) Min (2018) *

Greenmount Park Novice Chase The Faugheen Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt race in Ireland. It is run at Limerick Racecourse in December over a distance of about 2 miles and 3½ furlongs (2 miles 3 furlongs and 160 yards, or 3,968 m ...

-(1) Outlander (2015) *

Herald Champion Novice Hurdle The Bective Stud Champion Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles ½ furlong (2 miles ...

-(1) Cilaos Emery (2017) *

Irish Champion Hurdle The Irish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and du ...

-(1) Petit Mouchoir (2017) *

Mares Novice Hurdle Championship Final The Mares Novice Hurdle Championship Final is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to mares aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse Racecourse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 fu ...

-(1) Augusta Kate (2017) *

-(1) Nichols Canyon (2015) *

Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle The Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt race in Ireland. It is run at Leopardstown Racecourse at the end of December during the Christmas Festival, over a distance of about 2 mi ...

-(1) Whiskey Sour (2017) *

Punchestown Gold Cup The Punchestown Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 3 miles and ½ furlong (3 miles and 120 ya ...

-(1) Bellshill (2018) *

Ryanair Gold Cup The WillowWarm Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (4,023 met ...

-(1) Al Boum Photo (2018) *

Savills Chase The Savills Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and ...

-(1) Kemboy (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, David Living people 1996 births Irish jockeys Equestrians from County Kilkenny People from Goresbridge