Spotlight On Saturday: Mullins Father And Son Reach The Summit With Aintree Glory

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 Mullins' emulated Ted & Ruby Walsh and Tommy & Paul Carberry in winning the most famous prize in jumps racing as a father/son combo.

Defending champion I Am Maximus was the nearest pursuer under Paul Townend and briefly looked like he might retain the mantle before the burden of top weight proved too much in the closing stages

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.

His father, meanwhile, has won the National three times and sent out the 1-2-3 this time with Grangeclare West in the bronze medal spot.

"It's everything I've dreamed of since I was a kid, I know it's a cliché, 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," said Patrick Mullins post-race.

His father, typically stoical in the face of his major successes at the racecourse, was overcome with emotion in the moments after the Aintree contest.

"This is the summit for me, I don't think it can get any better than this. It's just huge. It's like something out of a Disney film," he said.

"It is just something else to be able to leg up your son in the greatest race of all time."

More Grand National Analysis

Patrick Mullins enjoyed a carefree spin around Aintree on Nick Rockett, as the Thyestes Chase winner travelled strongly just off the pace and cruised into contention from the third last. Mullins' partner faced the reigning champion I Am Maximus as they approached the Aintree elbow, but he had a bit left in the tank and prevailed by two-and-a-half lengths for a famous father/son win.

Incredibly, Willie Mullins trained the 1-2-3 and four of the first five home in the Aintree marathon, with Iroko the best of the British challengers.

What next?

The next stop is the Scottish Grand National at Ayr, which Mullins will be aiming to win for the second year running. Macdermott won the big race last year and Mullins is now closing in on trainers' championship leader Dan Skelton. He's set to send a big team to Scotland and is odds-on to defend his British title.

Nick Rockett and I Am Maximus are likely done for the season, but some of Mullins' other Aintree runners could still be headed for the Irish National at Fairyhouse later this month.