Grand National: Nick Rockett leads home 1-2-3 for tearful Mullins

Willie Mullins would not need a ferry cross the Mersey, he could simply walk on it. The all-conquering trainer saddled the first three home in the Randox Grand National at Aintree on Saturday with his son, Patrick, taking the glory aboard Nick Rockett.

I Am Maximus(7-1), winner of the race last year, was a gallant second under top weight, with Grangeclare West (33-1) completing a famous 1-2-3 for the stable. Iroko, sent off the13-2 favourite, did his best to halt the Mullins monopoly, being the first home for the British-trained horses in fourth.

For good measure, Mullins was also responsible for  Meetingofthewaters (fifth) and Minella Cocooner (seventh) to reignite hopes of retaining his trainers' title. The great race, first run in 1839, has never been tamed quite like this, and the 2025 edition will now be forever remembered as "The Mullins National".

The emotional trainer could barely speak after the race, fighting back tears live on ITV. "That was some result," he said. "It's lovely to be able to give your son a ride in the National, but to win it, it's unbelievable."

At the post-race press conference, having had a little time for events to sink in, he added: "At the start of the race I thought, 'How am I going to watch all these runners?' And I just thought, watch your son. He's the most important one because he's your son. Not because he's on the best chance or anything. At least then I can focus on him and make sure he didn't fall. I just had my eyes on him the whole way and it turned out to be the right one.

"But that was because he was my son and, to me, he was the most important one. That was a father looking at his son, not a trainer looking at his horses.

“When I saw Patrick going so well three out I thought, this could happen, this could happen and then when it did happen I think I just broke down completely. I don’t think I’m ever going to have a day like this again. To put your son on the winner of a National winner . . . in our world it can’t get better than that.

"It must be like being the manager of a World Cup team and having your son score the winning goal."

The pair also teamed up to win the final race of the day to cap a remarkable meeting. Mullins Sr also scooped five Grade One races over the three days plus the Topham, having also had another ten winners at the Cheltenham Festival last month.

Nick Rockett was clearly travelling strongly coming to the final fence and he galloped away from his stablemate I Am Maximus to win by two and a half lengths. There was a further half-length back to Grangeclare West in third, with Iroko keeping on in fourth. 

Amateur rider Mullins told ITV Racing moments after winning the £1million race: "I had too good a start and was having to take him back all the way. I was wondering at Canal Turn had I lost too much ground, but he just jumped fantastic.

"Then I was there too soon and it is a long way from the back of the last with Paul Townend (on I Am Maximus) on my outside.

"It's everything I've dreamed of since I was a kid, I know it's a cliche but when I was five or six years old, reading books about the National and watching black and white videos of Red Rum. To put my name there is very special."

Mullins Jr is the latest in the family to have won the race, with his cousins David and Emmet having won the race, the first-named as a jockey with Rule The World and the second as a trainer with Noble Yeats.

He said: "David and Emmet have already won it so I'm level with them, so (cousin) Danny will have to pull his finger out now."

Nick Rockett was dismounted after the line and the winning rider added: "The horse is fine and I wouldn't mind going for a cold bath now myself. He's just a brilliant horse. He'd be one of the smallest in the field but he's as brave as a lion."

Later, was asked more about his Dad's drive and longevity. “Willie’s 69 but he’s not 69, you know; he put in new barns last year and wants to put in new barns this year, he keeps wanting to get bigger, keeps wanting to win more. When Gigginstown left [a few years ago] I thought he could have consolidated and become slightly smaller.

"You read of trainers retiring - I don’t see Willie retiring, I just see him dying at some stage, like my grandfather; he trained til he died. It’s not a job, it’s what he is."

Also full of emotion was owner Stewart Andrew, whose wife Sadie died in December 2022, just five days after watching Nick Rockett in his first race.

Andrew said: "This a class horse, he's got the heart of a lion. From a personal point of view, I can't tell you. Sadie would have loved today - she was up there, she'll have had a tenner each-way, I guarantee you.

"What a ride from Patrick, what a ride. I knew if we got to the front jumping the last, this horse is tough. If you look at this form, when he's jumped the last, he keeps finding. I can't believe it."

I Am Maximus was seeking to become a rare back-to-back winner, plus the first horse to give weight all round since Tiger Roll in 1974. He gave his all, with jockey, Paul Townend, saying he was "sickened" to get beat.

"Maybe he'd enjoy more of an ease in the ground, but there's no excuses really. He's run a huge race again, it's just hard with top-weight," said Townend.

"He took me through the race better last year probably. I'm sickened to be beat."

Sixteen of the 34 runners completed. There were three fallers, including the front-running Broadway Boy, who fell heavily at the 25th fence when still in the lead.

The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained seven-year-old was immediately attended to by vets. Following a period of assessment and treatment, he walked onto the horse ambulance which returned to the racecourse stables for him to be assessed further. He will remain in the racecourse stables overnight as a precaution.

 His jockey, Tom Bellamy, was taken to hospital with a suspected broken wrist.

Celebre d’Allen was pulled up in the latter stages after giving a bold showing. The 13-year-old  collapsed whilst being walked in by the veterinary team on the home straight. Following a period of assessment and treatment, which caused the sixth and seventh races of the day to be slightly delayed, he walked onto the horse ambulance which returned to the racecourse stables for him to be assessed further. He remains under observation in the racecourse stables.

His jockey, Micheal Nolan, was given a ten-day ban by the stewards.  Their report read: “An enquiry was held to consider whether Micheal Nolan, the rider of Celebre D'Allen, had continued in the race when the horse appeared to have no more to give and was clearly losing ground after the second-last fence.

“The rider and the Veterinary Officer were interviewed, and recordings of the incident were viewed. The rider was suspended for 10 days.”

Meanwhile, Dan Skelton, who began the Grand National meeting with one hand on his first trainers' title, must now be fearing the worst. On Saturday morning he led Mullins by more than £1 million but the latter's National runners alone picked up £860,000. Skelton now leads by just £122,000 with three weeks of the season remaining and richly endowed meetings at Ayr and Sandown to follow.

 "We have to challenge, like we did last year," Mullins said: "Once we didn't win the first two races yesterday I thought that was our challenge over. Even if we did win the National, because I thought we needed to finish in one, two, three, or four. We needed to get a big chunk of money out of the National - and we did.

"We'll see you in Ayr, Perth, Carlisle, wherever there is a race meeting between now and Sandown. We'll give it a good crack."

And when Mullins has a "good crack" at something, the outcome is becoming increasingly inevitable.