David Mullins gains appropriate feature race win

David Mullins gained a fitting win in the Pierce Molony Memorial Novice Chase at Thurles today as the Grand National winning jockey returned to the scene of a serious injury sustained last October when today steering Zero Ten to win the Grade 3 race.

Jockey Mullins was air-lifted to hospital having suffered a fracture to his clavicle and T12 vertebrae in a fall from Lean And Keen at the Co Tipperary track on October 24. Having returned to action in recent weeks, today he bagged a second winner since that injury, in an incident-packed race.

Zero Ten had arrived to dispute the lead with Sizing Pottise when that rival fell at the second last and while he appeared to have the measure of chasing Cut The Mustard at the final fence, had his job simplified as that rival too fell, at that last obstacle.

Mullins' cousin trainer Emmet Mullins, a former jockey, later commented “we were a bit unlucky the last day when he tipped up with a novicey fall and the tables have turned today as we had a bit of luck.

“It's great, he jumped around and put it back together again. Fingers crossed now we can keep it going and he could have a nice finish off to the back of the season as a novice.

“He jumped straight and to be fair the last day it was probably his best round of jumping up to the fall.

“He learned from the fall and especially today when he went to the last, he had a good head of steam down to it and he was able to sit up and pop.

“He's learning and so are we.

“It's a big monkey off David's back to come back here and do that in a big race today, a Grade 3 race especially at Thurles with the Molonys. It's a great race to win with the Mullins' being so close to the Molonys over the years. It's a proud moment to win that race.”

Quotes from Gary Carson