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When Danny Mullins won the 2021 Stayers’ Hurdle on Flooring Porter, little did he know it would lead to another kind of horsepower journey 18 months later, writes Ben Hart.

Jockey Mullins entered the 50th Wexford Rally in September last year, with the aim of raising awareness for the ‘Tomorrow for Tomas’ charity.

Tomas, along with his brother Sean, arrived unexpectedly into the world at just 26 weeks.

Sean sadly passed away after 30 days, but 13 years later Tomas is still fighting strong and refusing to let his spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy defeat his love for sport.

Indeed, his passion for racing led him to Mullins and an unprecedented jump from the saddle to life in the fast lane.



“One day I was in Kilbeggan where Flooring Porter was parading and Tomas was there with his dad Shane,” explained Mullins.

“Tomas is a local kid from where Flooring Porter came from and there’s a fantastic video of him cheering us on during Cheltenham.

“I was chatting to him there and was struck by his knowledge of racing, GAA and all sports, he just loves it.

“He makes the best of what he can do and that really enlightened me.

"Sometimes you take things for granted in life and to see Tomas in that situation, being so bright and enthusiastic about life, I thought it would be only right to raise awareness by doing something like the rally.”

With Mullins aware of the attention his latest sporting quest would attract, he set about raising funds for Tomas and his family.

The challenge was by no means a long-term aspiration, with Mullins ‘never really’ a car fanatic in his youth.

But having broken his wrist, arm, collar bone and neck during a distinguished racing career, he was ready to embrace the perils that came with rally driving.
 

From Professional Jockey to Rally
Driver - Behind the Scenes!
Documentary launching Monday 4 September at
7pm. @WexfordMC @REDMILLSHorse @slaneyviewhonda https://t.co/0JnMj5Khrb pic.twitter.com/xc3sshF4PL

— Danny Mullins (@dan2231) September 1, 2023

“A friend of mine took me to a testing morning for a rally car and I got to sit in with one of the top drivers, Josh Moffett,” recalled Mullins.

“The speed he came down off a loose gravel road down on a mountain was unbelievable, and I was sitting there in the passenger seat like a rabbit in the headlights.

“There's very few things away from a racehorse that can give you that.”

The transition was not the smoothest, with two broken drive shafts on Mullins' first morning in the car, but he soon got the hang of things.

“It is a lot different to a road car – sometimes I'm clipping along in my road car and thinking I'm fairly good at this,” he joked.

“You get into the rally car and have to learn how to control, learn how to left-hand drive, there’s the sequential gearbox in there, your left foot brake and right foot accelerator, to get your body and mind trained to all of that, it takes a bit of knowing.

“That was maybe part of the challenge that I really enjoyed as well.

“It's about how quickly you can adapt to your surroundings, and I suppose that transfers back to riding horses and races.

“Very rarely does a race go to plan A, so you have to learn how to adapt and move forward quickly.”



Fuelled by a determination to do Tomas proud, Mullins rose to the occasion, impressing to take class 1 honours.

The fundraising campaign received a huge boost too and features prominently in the behind-the-scenes RIDE documentary which follows Mullins’ journey from the stable yard to parc fermé.

“Plenty of people were asking about Tomas and the cause during the rally, and he sent me plenty of videos wishing me luck which was fantastic,” said Mullins.

“Being involved in sport and in the spotlight a little bit more, it's a good feeling to be able to give back as well.

“I spoke recently to Shane, his dad, and I think they're nearly finished the extension on the house with the modifications.

“So his day-to-day living can become a lot easier for him through all those funds being raised, so that's fantastic. Tomas’ mindset, in a situation that many wouldn’t be able to handle, is fantastic.”

This autumn, there will be no such extra-curricular activities for Mullins, with focus firmly back on the horses.

Uncle Willie’s winter hopefuls are all stepping up their work at home, but the timelines on the yard differ to most.

🗣️ "She should have plenty of options in the winter."@dan2231 reveals to @irishkor that a change of tactics worked the oracle for hardy mare Williamstowndancer, who pocketed the Grade 3 @BoyleSports Novice Hurdle @tipperaryraces pic.twitter.com/gxuvchSQrU

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 1, 2023

“Willie's are probably going to be a couple of weeks behind everyone else as they normally would be,” said Mullins.

“He tends to train them for a prep run before Christmas, and then all the big spring festivals.

“It seems to have worked in the last couple of years and it'll be the same this year, although we've had a bit more rain earlier this year, which might bring things along a bit quicker.

“I suppose when Willie does that it makes some of the other trainers go a little bit earlier and then later in the season, Willie’s ones tend to be a little bit fresher.

“They don't necessarily get stuck in the system either, every horse is trained individually and that probably reaps the reward at the end of the year too.”

After topping the trainer standings at Cheltenham Festival this year, the yard is already targeting more success in 2024.

“Is Cheltenham ever off your mind?” joked Mullins.

“Not all horses are suited by Cheltenham but every owner, trainer, and jockey wants to have a crack at Cheltenham.

“It's early in the year, so you're looking at what could make it there.

“Of the ones I’ve ridden, I suppose Gala Marceau is very exciting.



“To see how good she was over just short of two and a half miles in Auteuil last May made things really exciting for her.

“She couldn't really land a blow against Lossiemouth on a level playing field, but at that trip, which is the trip the Mares' Hurdle is going to be this year, I think she's found plenty of improvements.

“I'd love to keep Paul [Townend] off her if I could.”

So is Mullins expecting another wacky adventure to follow his next trip to Prestbury Park?  

“I’ve nothing planned in the near future, but I do love different types of challenges,” he added.

“I'm not sure what they are myself, but I would be open-minded to anything.

“Life in the saddle is very good and there's very few things that can replicate that feeling, so we'll see what the future holds.”

Watch Part 1 of the RIDE documentary here.