Grand National 2016: The Druids Nephew has a chance for redemption at Aintree

Andy Stephens7 April 2016

Neil Mulholland chuckles when asked if he would trust his leading Crabbie’s Grand National candidate, The Druids Nephew, alone in the company of his two young children.

“Definitely not,” he says without hesitation. “He’s not Larry The Lamb, he’s not Tyson The Fighter but he has his own way about him — a bit of attitude.

“He’s enthusiastic and wants to please but you would not want to be putting an average rider on him.”

Then, by way of summary, the trainer adds “he’s okay” as if to suggest there are greater equine challenges among his burgeoning team of more than 100 at his Conkwell Grange yard near Bath.

The National is famous for its tales of what might have been and Saturday’s renewal is unlikely to be any different.

As the triumphant connections enjoy landing sport’s greatest lottery, and the bulk of the £1million pot, some other poor soul will be seeking solace thinking, ‘it could have been me’.

Last year that forlorn figure was Mulholland and with good reason. The Druids Nephew was the best handicapped horse in the race after winning impressively at the Cheltenham Festival and looked the most likely winner when powering into the lead five out.

But then the dream abruptly ended. The Druids Nephew sailed over the obstacle with similar brio to the previous 25 fences but knuckled on landing and did the splits. His exit was officially a fall but was more like a sprawl.

Mulholland, 35, has never watched it back; he doesn’t need to. “He was just going too well, had too much spring in his step,” he said. “It was the speed that done for him; he was very unlucky.

“Nobody can say he would have won but it looked like he had a great chance. He was jumping so well — it was a fantastic adrenaline rush to know he was still there at such an important stage.”

The misfortune could have gnawed away at Mulholland but the former journeyman jockey, who quit at 27 to take up training, lives in the present. Part of his approach can be traced back to an ugly fall he suffered at Wetherby in 2004.

A shattered leg and broken cheekbone were the least of his problems — he was unconscious for 45 minutes and his parents were warned he may have suffered a broken neck and brain damage. He spent a year recuperating but suffered no lasting damage.

“We take life for granted sometimes, kicking ourselves when things don’t go right,” he said. “A lot of people have bigger problems. What if I’d suffered brain damage? I might have been in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. It doesn’t do any harm to remember how lucky you are.”

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Mulholland has saddled 56 winners this season and broken into the top 20 in the trainers’ championship. His calm exterior masks the fact that ticking away inside is a fierce competitor who would relish one day challenging for the title. The quality of his team keeps improving and he came close to achieving a second success at the Cheltenham Festival last month — Fox Norton, Southfield Royale and The Young Master all making the frame. Mulholland resisted running The Druids Nephew, keen to keep him fresh. “The National is what it has been all about and I’m very happy with him,” he said. “He had a good schooling session last week.”

Mulholland will watch with his wife, Becky, and their boys, Patrick, 4, and Conor, born last October. The former imitates riders on the television aboard his rocking horse. “He’s crazy about racing but too fond of the stick,” his dad says with a smile. A future Mulholland National winner ridden by his son? Don’t bet against it. First, though, comes the chance for redemption.

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