Who was Maureen Mullins and why is there a Cheltenham race named after her?
MAUREEN MULLINS was trainer Willie’s iconic mother.
Maureen, a racing legend, sadly passed away last month at the age of 94.
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The Mullins family matriarch was a leading figure in the sport decades before her death.
Maureen came from a farming family in Ireland and was interested in horses from an early age.
In 1954 she married famous Irish trainer Paddy Mullins, who was responsible for six successes at the Cheltenham Festival, assisted by Maureen.
They ran their operation together from Goresbridge, Co Kilkenny for over 50 years before Paddy died in 2010.
She also rode herself and won the women’s event at Gowran Park in 1982.
Maureen subsequently became a director and shareholder of Kilkenny Racecourse.
She and Paddy had five children together; Sandra, Willie, George, Tony and Tom.
All five rode winners as jockeys, while Willie in particular became a legendary trainer, following in the footsteps of his parents.
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Maureen also has 10 grandchildren: David rides Rule The World, winner of the 2016 Grand National, and Emmett rides 2022 champion Noble Yeats.
Even in her final years she remained a regular at racing events.
In 2016 she received an award for her contribution to the sport from Horse Racing Ireland.
Maureen remained involved in racing until her death.
Just hours before her death, she even placed her last bet of €20 on grandson Charlie.
Her bet came in and Charlie was victorious on a horse trained by Willie.
In January this year she opened a new weighing room in Gowran Park.
But shortly afterwards she had a bout of “pneumonia or flu”.
SunSport’s Matt Chapman has hailed Maureen as an “absolute legend”.
In her honour, today’s race at 5.30pm in Cheltenham has been named the Maureen Mullins National Hunt Steeple Chase Challenge Cup.
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