Mulrennan recalls ‘amazing’ Mecca’s Angel Nunthorpe memories

One of the most popular Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes winners in recent years has been Mecca’s Angel in 2015 – and she was so good, she repeated her victory 12 months later.

Her first success was roundly applauded as a breakthrough moment for the trainer and jockey partnership of Michael Dods and Paul Mulrennan.

Despite many years spent plying their trade with great credit on the northern circuit and plenty of notable winners between them, this was a first Group One success for both.

The fact it came at York, a local track, and at the Ebor meeting, the one week of the year the whole racing bubble descends north of Doncaster, made it all the sweeter.

Add on that owner David Metcalfe also hails from the north and it was understandable the ovation she received was almost on a par with Frankel’s a few years earlier.

Five-furlong sprints are usually tight affairs – see Marsha’s victory in 2017 when Frankie Dettori thought he had won on Lady Aurelia, or when Alpha Delphi denied Dods a third Nunthorpe with Mabs Cross.

Yet Mecca’s Angel won her pair by two lengths each time. In top-class five-furlong races, that is a long way.

And now she is well and truly proving herself as a broodmare of the highest order.

Bought by Coolmore when her racing days were over, she obviously gets to visit only the best stallions, but her Galileo daughter Content went close to winning the Irish Oaks and perhaps even more excitingly, Bedtime Story, the result of a trip to Frankel, looks a potential world beater in three wins so far.

For Mulrennan, the two Nunthorpes won on Mecca’s Angel are undoubtedly the highlight of his career.

“For me and Michael to win our first Group Ones was amazing, but to do it at York made it extra special,” said the Boroughbridge-based jockey.

“She was the first horse for over 30 years to win it back-to-back at York as well, as when Borderlescott did it, he won his first at Newmarket.

“I’m not from Yorkshire originally, but I have a connection to the place now and I’ve always had a lot of luck there, so to have two Group Ones there was very good.”

The Nunthorpe is unique in that it allows two-year-olds to compete against their elders, obviously with a healthy weight allowance. If you have a two-year-old filly, all the better.

That was the case in 2015 with Wesley Ward’s imposing Acapulco. She had already won the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot – ironically beating Dods and Mulrennan into second with Easton Angel.

Built like a four-year-old, it seemed a little unfair that she would carry just 8st at York, with crack American jockey Irad Ortiz coming over for the ride after she was partnered by Ryan Moore at Ascot.

Acapulco blasted out and it appeared by halfway she had burned everything off. But her stride began to shorten as Mecca’s Angel began to power home.

“Acapulco was owned by Coolmore, who sponsor the race, obviously I was in the race and wasn’t watching it, but I can imagine those that were thought that she was away and gone,” explained Mulrennan.

“Mecca’s was very tough and really stuck her neck out and ended up getting there comfortably. It was a fair effort given the second only had 8st. I think those connected with her just thought she couldn’t be caught and it looked like that for much of it.

“A lot of credit needs to go to Michael because she was favourite for the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot that year, but he didn’t run her because of quick ground and it was brave to take her out. She was in tip-top form and we actually thought all we had to do was go up and down to win.

“So for him to pull her out took a lot of guts. He took some flak, but he was proved right given what she went on to do. At the time, neither of us had had a Group One winner, so it would have been very easy to run her.”

The year after was smoother, a narrow defeat at Haydock and a win in Ireland on the way marked her out as a major player once more and while the favourite Limato tracked her all the way, when Mulrennan asked for everything a furlong out, she put the race to bed in style.

“I always say it was a pity she was sold after winning her second because I’m adamant she’d have won a third, she was just getting bigger and stronger as she got older,” said the jockey.

“It’s great to see how well she is doing at stud now and the latest one, Bedtime Story, is the first one she’s really put her stamp on, as she looks like Mecca’s.

“She has a similar style of running and a similar action, a low head carriage, there are a lot of similarities and she’s also got plenty of Mecca’s pace about her. When you combine that with Frankel, well, the odds are you’re going to get a good one.

“Mecca’s won by 12 lengths at Southwell and eight lengths at Hamilton – whatever level you are talking about, it’s pretty rare to do that, so we always knew she was special.

“She always had a bit about her. We thought she’d go close first time and she was beaten a neck in a four-way photo.

“All the good ones Michael has had in the last 10 years, he has never over-raced them at two and he’s reaped the benefit, you get a bit of mileage out of them.”