Paul Mulrennan

Paul Mulrennan
Paul Mulrennan | X

Born in London, Paul Mulrennan’s career has seen some big successes. In 2016, for example, he rode Mecca’s Angel to the horse’s second successive victory in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes. That wasn’t the only time that he had developed a good relationship with a horse, having won six races with Mabs Cross.

Those races included the Arran Scottish Fillies’ Sprint Stakes and back-to-back wins in the Palace House Stakes. His victories achieved during his career are made all the more impressive when you consider that at various points he has broken his wrist, his leg and his collarbone, as well as punctured his lung and fractured a vertebrae.

About


Paul Mulrennan was born in London and you would be hard-pushed to suggest that he was always destined to become a jockey. In fact, when he was in school he wanted to be a Gaelic football player, having become obsessed with the sport. It was a teacher at his school in Ealing that pointed out that he was too small to succeed in the sport, instead suggesting that he become a jockey. He was 16-years-old at the time, looking into it and deciding to enrol at the British Racing School. That meant heading to Newmarket, having not even so much as sat on a horse prior to that point, setting him apart from many of his classmates.

Whilst he may have lacked experience, he never stopped trying to learn and grow and that earned him the respect of those that worked with him. His racing career began in 2000 and by 2004 he had ridden out his apprentice claim, allowing him to get started on earning decent money. At the time, the knowledge around found and exercise wasn’t what it is today, so he would not eat for three or four days in order to make the weight, surviving on ‘sweet cups of tea’ or the occasional bowl of soup. He did whatever he needed to in order to get rides, whereas nowadays he approaches things in a much healthier way.

Paul Mulrennan’s Major Achievements


The first success of Paul Mulrennan’s career that you might be able to generously call ‘major’ came in 2007 when he rode Gentleman’s Deal to success in Ladybird Stakes. It was the start of a successful relationship, with the Mick Easterby-trained horse also helping him to pick up the Group 3 Winter Derby and the Quebec Stakes before the end of the year. It took him another four years before he would win a race that you would refer to as ‘big’, this time taking Dandino to victory in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket. Melody of Love won the 2012 Firth of Clyde Stakes to offer him another noteworthy success.

Moviesta & Mecca’s Angel

In 2013, he began to be noticed by the rest of the flat racing industry thanks to his success in the King George Stakes at Goodwood, this time with Moviesta. It was his relationship with Mecca’s Angel that truly helped him to stand out though, with the pair winning several races together. In 2015 and 2016 they won the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes, the Group 3 Prix de Saint-Georges, the Group 3 World Trophy and the Listed event the Scarborough Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse. The pair also won back-to-back Nonthorpe Stakes titles at York Racecourse in 2015 and 2016, ensuring his place in the flat racing world was secure.

Easton Angel, Mabs Cross & Que Amora

There is an extent to which Mulrennan’s successes have come courtesy of developing good relationships with horses, winning the Westow Stakes and Scurry Stakes with Easton Angel, as well as two Palace House Stakes, amongst other events, with Mabs Cross. In both 2014 and 2016 he was able to ride more than 100 winners. A serious fall on the gallops in 2018 looked like it might put paid to his racing career, managing just 43 winners that year. He remained determined, however, and in 2020 won the Land O’Burns Fillies’ Stakes, as well as narrowly missing out on another Nunthorpe Stakes win on the back of Que Amora.

Euchen Glen & Azure Blue

Across the 2020 and 2021 season he managed to pick up three more Group 3 wins, which included success in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes on Euchen Glen, trained by Jim Goldie. In 2022,. he proved that he was back to his best, racking up 108 winners during the year, which was a personal best. A year later and a relationship with Michael Dods-trained Azure Blue helped him to win both a Listed race and a Group 2 event. By the end of 2023 he had ridden close to 1,400 winners across the course of his career, which is a decent number of victories in flat racing for someone who wanted to play Gaelic football.