Willie Mullins has long been considered a master horse trainer. The veteran Irishman has trained more winners than anybody at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival, racking up well over 100 throughout his storied career. If that wasn’t enough, he has been named the UK & Ireland’s Leading Trainer on 12 occasions, also a record. But 2025, even by the 69-year-old’s lofty standards, has been a blockbuster.
Throughout the calendar year, Mullins hasn’t simply been winning; he has been redrawing the very boundaries of equine excellence. His Closutton yard has morphed from powerhouse to phenomenon, producing a run of success that combined granular planning with raw, irresistible flair. The trainer supreme has amassed over 200 winners so far this year, cementing his legacy as the greatest trainer of his generation.
Ethical Diamond
To appreciate the full scale of Mullins’ 2025, we will begin at the end in Del Mar’s late fall sunshine, a place where the legendary Irishman put the cherry on top of an already spectacular year. Few trainers have dared cross the Atlantic targeting Breeders’ Cup glory; fewer still have even dreamt of winning it. Mullins, the archetype of ambition, sent Ethical Diamond into the Californian cauldron. What followed was less a race, more a declaration.
The racing odds providers paid little attention to Mullins’ prized charge, despite its trainer’s spectacular year. Heading to the showdown, the horse racing odds Bovada listed Ethical Diamond as a 28/1 afterthought, no doubt taking into account the fact that the horse was Mullins’ first-ever Breeders’ Cup entry. But the Americans were about to find out just how good the Emerald Isle is at providing winners.
Ryan Moore in the saddle held Ethical Diamond in a stalking role, never wide, never wasteful. As the leaders quickened, so did the Irish jockey: his final three-furlong split clocked an electric 33.8 seconds, faster than any winner here for a decade. Auguste Rodin and Nations Pride, American flat royalty, were left grasping at shadows as the five-year-old gelding romped home.
In one fell swoop, the notion of Mullins as “just a jumps man” became obsolete. Secondly, the global tentacles of Closutton’s stable were established once and for all.
Nick Rockett
Some wins echo; others reverberate across generations. The 2025 Grand National belonged to the latter. The Aintree epic has long resisted the grip of domination—one race, 40 runners, chaos unleashed on unforgiving Liverpudlian ground. Yet, Mullins engineered what was previously thought impossible: a 1-2-3 sweep, his victorious Nick Rockett piloted by his own son, Patrick. For drama, for legacy, this was peerless.
🗣”To give your son a leg up in the National is one thing, for him to win it, is off the charts in my book”
An emotional Willie Mullins reacts to Nick Rockett’s victory in the Grand National! 🏆#ITVRacing | #GrandNational | @WillieMullinsNH | @MCYeeehaaa pic.twitter.com/z3OZjPcE64
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 5, 2025
Watch the tape back: Nick Rockett jumps the fourth-last fence in lockstep with history. Through stamina-sapping ground, he finds another gear, barely flinching as challengers closed. Young Patrick in the saddle remained tactile and unhurried, delivering the ride of his life. Behind him, stablemates Minella Cocooner and I Am Maximus played their own part in a Closutton clean sweep, the first of its kind and one which may never be replicated.
Why does this matter? The Grand National, won only once previously by Mullins before—the spectacular Hedgehunter in 2005—is the sport’s Everest. The National is unforgiving—Mullins and Nick Rockett made it look orchestrated, romping to glory on an Aintree day that turned a great stable into a dynasty.
Lossiemouth
Before the National, Mullins was already on a roll. At Cheltenham, expectation can suffocate. For Lossiemouth and her esteemed trainer, it was oxygen. The 2024 Mares Hurdle heroine returned in 2025, no longer a plucky upstart but the establishment figure who all eyes trailed. Rich Ricci’s gray, dazzling in the paddock, lived up to the billing and then some.
Gunning for her third straight Cheltenham triumph after her Stayers Hurdle win in 2023, as well as the Mares last year, jockey Paul Townend played chess grandmaster. Lossiemouth stalked, shadowed, waited—then exploded up the hill. Love Envoi, You Wear It Well—good mares, good horses—were reduced to distant admirers.
It’s not just the numbers but the impression: Lossiemouth finished with ears pricked, her stride unwavering as she crossed the tape: A champion in every department. Mullins’ verdict was even more telling: “She does everything like an old pro—except she’s getting even better.” For the Closutton maestro, this wasn’t just a Festival win, but a passing of the torch to a new queen.
Fact To File
In the Ryanair Chase, the Closutton machine again clicked into high gear. Fact To File, hyped throughout a handsome novice campaign, had been earmarked by analysts all year as a potential Festival kingpin. On the big day, he delivered a performance that was part exhibition, part statement of intent.
Statistically, his effort was flawless—17 fences, 0 errors, a round-trip jumping index of 99.8%. Mark Walsh rode with the patience required to get the job done—never panicked, always poised. Turned for home, Fact To File shifted gear, clocking the day’s quickest up-the-hill split. Envoi Allen and Banbridge challenged; neither could make a dent.
What does this say of Mullins’ craft? The devil is in the details. Fact To File’s route to Cheltenham was textbook Closutton—let the horse mature, don’t force the issue, then strike when the iron is hot. Next year, the Gold Cup beckons.
