'I enjoyed the riding at Cheltenham. The rest of it? I didn't enjoy it at all'
Patrick Mullins talks to the greatest big-race jockey of his generation
The times don't change. We do.
A middle-aged man stands on the edge of the gallop looking into the distance. His knees are always slightly bent, his shoulders rolled in and his back never straight, yet he stands tall somehow. Call it presence. It's in the eyes and the grin, I think. Intelligence.
Yet he's now one of those curious things: a retired star. You're either doing it or you're not. There's no belly, however, unlike some, and the hair was always grey to be fair. The cape is gone, though; he's a superhero no more. Bruce Wayne never got grey, Clark Kent didn't age, Peter Parker didn't retire. Our heroes aren't supposed to stop, to set aside the mask, to step back. But outside of the comic books they inevitably do. I think it ages us as much as them.
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Published on inInterviews
Last updated
Copy- 'You can see why people end up struggling - when you're trying to pay the electric bill, losing one ride can be massive'
- 'I've never paid six figures for a horse and never will - I learned pretty quickly you're only one phone call away from f*** all'
- 'I’ve trained some fabulous horses, worked with some excellent riders - maybe I have brought a little bit of talent to the table as well'
- ‘When you’re in the moment and you’re starved, you’re ready to explode - everything built up and I just lost my s**t’
- 'He must have his breakfast earlier than Willie does' - Patrick Mullins goes behind enemy lines at Gordon Elliott's yard
- 'You can see why people end up struggling - when you're trying to pay the electric bill, losing one ride can be massive'
- 'I've never paid six figures for a horse and never will - I learned pretty quickly you're only one phone call away from f*** all'
- 'I’ve trained some fabulous horses, worked with some excellent riders - maybe I have brought a little bit of talent to the table as well'
- ‘When you’re in the moment and you’re starved, you’re ready to explode - everything built up and I just lost my s**t’
- 'He must have his breakfast earlier than Willie does' - Patrick Mullins goes behind enemy lines at Gordon Elliott's yard