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Irish Daily Mirror
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Tributes paid to legendary horse and much loved member of RTE Racing's team
Tributes have been paid to one of the most popular horses of the past two decades — who has sadly passed away at the age of 21. Gorgeous grey Thousand Stars was trained by Willie Mullins and won thirteen of his 80 races, four of them coming in Grade 1 company. He earned over €1.4 million in prize money for his owners, the Hammer & Trowel Syndicate, who also owned legendary mare and record breaking six-time Cheltenham Festival heroine Quevega. Indeed Thousand Stars' most memorable success came at the Cheltenham Festival in 2010 when he captured the County Hurdle under Katie Walsh. It began a long and successful partnership with Walsh, the pair winning three times in total, while he also finished behind the legendary Hurricane Fly in Grade 1s on a number of occasions. Following his retirement from racing Thousand Stars in 2016 became an important member of the raceday team for RTE. He and Katie Walsh teamed up during the post-race interviews of jockeys when Walsh would be on board the grey. Back in January Walsh spoke of their partnership on RTE with him saying: 'He's taken to that like a duck to water. He's like having another professional, he's such an easy horse to do anything with.' He was also used by Horse Racing Ireland to showcase part of their retired racehorse activation programme with Walsh adding: 'He's got such a kind heart to humans and to other people around the yard with kids around. He loves attention and there's no mean to him. He's just a pleasure to have around the place.' 'Horses are like humans - you could have a good athlete who is not a very nice person. He just was a good racehorse and he's just a very nice horse as well. His racing career and television career led to him becoming hugely popular and he was also a regular at the Dublin Horseshow in the RDS each year, where he competed on a number of occasions. A number of people took to X (formally Twitter) to pay their tributes to Thousand Stars with one post saying 'Rest easy & thank you Thousand Stars.' A post from @Racing_KLR read: 'Heartbroken to hear that @katiewalsh9 magnificent grey Thousand Stars has gone to the big track in heaven, he was a fav of my Mum, so she will get to see him again.' Following Thousand Star's retirement in 2016, Walsh herself paid tribute by saying: 'He was just a favourite of everyone. I got to ride him in so many Grade 1s and the day I won the County Hurdle on him at Cheltenham was really special. It was like he had joined in halfway up the home straight and he won really well. "I won a handicap hurdle on him in the fog at Fairyhouse one day and I suppose we thought he would probably be a decent handicapper. We never imagined he would end up being such a star. 'Everybody loves a grey and he seemed to capture the public's imagination. To be honest, he was probably unlucky to be around at the same time as Hurricane Fly and would have won even more races had Hurricane Fly not been around.' He began his career in France and joined the Mullins team in 2009 and the last of his 80 races was at Tipperary in July 2016. The son of Grey Risk was an important horse for Carlow trainer Mullins too in a period when his dominance wasn't as strong as it is today. He said on his retirement: 'He was an iron horse. He was tough and sound. He never showed off at home. You would never see him do a flashy piece of work but he saved everything for the track. He was a favourite of everyone in the yard and had his own style of running.'
Irish Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Willie Mullins' top 10 money earners after another record-breaking season
Willie Mullins capped another dominant season in national hunt racing at the Punchestown Festival last week by bringing his season tally in Ireland to €5,840,675. That was close to €2 million clear of second-placed Gordon Elliott, who, in turn, was €2 million clear of third-placed Gavin Cromwell. Punchestown was a particularly satisfying meeting for Mullins as he saw some of his stable's flag bearers settle old scores. State Man, who fell at the last flight with the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle at his mercy in March, left no doubt about who is the best two-mile hurdler in training. And Galopin Des Champs proved he was far from finished at the top level with a breathtaking success in the Punchestown Gold Cup. Mullins has broken just about every record in national hunt racing, and he has trained some of the best horses to go over jumps. But out of all his stars, who have been top money earners? It may surprise some that the likes of Annie Power, Douvan, Min and Florida Pearl don't even make the top ten. 10. Sharjah (Years Active: 2015-2024) Owner: Mrs Sussanah Ricci Winnings: £990,678 One of only two horses in the top ten not to have won at the Cheltenham Festival, Sharjah nevertheless made Leopardstown his home for many years. He won the December Festival Hurdle on four consecutive occasions between 2018 and 2021 and turned up at every big Festival. 9. Al Boum Photo (2015-2022) Owner: Mrs J Donnelly Winnings: £1,051,557 Who was the first horse to provide Mullins with a win in the Cheltenham Gold Cup? The answer is Al Boum Photo, of course. Although never enjoying the fandom of the likes of Faugheen, he won two Gold Cups, a rare feat in the modern era. 8. I Am Maximus (2020-Present) Owner: JP McManus Winnings: £1,070,875 I Am Maximus has turned into a grand national specialist. After being a suspect jumper early in his career, he came good in the 2023 Irish Grand National. He then went to Aintree the following year and sprinted up the hill for an emphatic success in the world's most famous steeplechase. I Am Maximus returned to Aintree this year and was only beaten by his stablemate Nick Rockett. Still, it saw his career earnings break the £1,000,000 mark, and you would not rule him out from another Grand National bid next year. 7. Faugheen (2012-2020) Owner: Mrs Susannah Ricci Winnings: £1,116,679 Nicknamed 'The Machine', Faugheen, at his best, was a relentless galloper who was unbeatable for a few seasons. Injury problems dogged him later in his career, but perhaps his greatest victory was at the Dublin Racing Festival in 2020 when he won a Grade 1 novice chase at the age of 12. In 26 races, he won 17 times and was in the top three on 22 occasions. 6. Thousand Stars (2006-2016) Owner: Hammer & Trowel Syndicate Winnings: £1,165,070 Perhaps a surprise to some to rank so highly. This loveable grey was so often the bridesmaid to Hurricane Fly, but he also landed some valuable pots on his own. The son of Grey Risk was a regular visitor to Auteuil in France, where he won five races, including three Grade 1s. 5. Energumene (2018-present) Owner: Tony Bloom Winnings: £1,138,817 Whatever Energumene has won on the racetrack, his owner Tony Bloom has probably won from landing bets on him. Despite having many injury issues, Energumene has had a habit of producing on the biggest occasions. He provided Mullins with his first Champion Chase winner and defended his title a year later. 4. State Man (2021-present) Winnings: £1,547,787 Still only eight years old, State Man still has the potential to be Mullins' biggest money-spinner. Bought from France, he fell on his hurdles debut at Leopardstown before winning on his next and then making a mockery of his handicap mark in the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. He has had his detractors over the past couple of years after proving no match for Constitution Hill in the 2023 Champion Hurdle. But 12 Grade 1 victories have proven his undoubted class, and he would have won a second Champion Hurdle this year if not for a fall at the last. 3. Un De Sceaux (2012-2020) Owner: Edward O'Connell Winnings: £1,583,124 As a young horse, Un De Sceaux was a tearaway, knowing only how to run as fast as he could for as long as possible. It made for fascinating viewing. Un De Sceaux was an exuberant winner of the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham, and although he never won the Champion Chase during the era of Sprinter Sacre, he was a remarkably consistent horse. Stepping up in trip later in his career, he won the Ryanair Chase in 2017, and finished in the top three in 30 of his 34 races. 2. Hurricane Fly (2006-2015) Owner: George Creighton & Mrs Rose Boyd Winnings: £1,894,422 A remarkable career saw Hurricane Fly win a staggering 22 Grade 1 races for Mullins. The honours are endless: five Irish Champion Hurdles, four Punchestown Champion Hurdles, three Morgiana Hurdles and two Cheltenham Champion Hurdles, to name a few. Although not the flashiest sort, he rarely lost a battle and had an unerring habit of finding a good jump at the last when most needed. And if these figures were adjusted for inflation and a steady rise in prize money, he would be at the top of this list. 1. Galopin Des Champs (2020-Present) Owner: Mrs Audrey Turley Winnings: £1,928,428 If Hurricane Fly is the best hurdler Mullins has ever trained, then Galopin Des Champs is unquestionably the best chaser. Bought from France, the gelding was a little slow to find his feet in Ireland before running out a decisive winner of the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Then, after making an electrifying chase debut at Leopardstown, he was kicking Bob Olinger out of the way in the Turners Novices' Chase until falling at the last. That has remained a rare blip in a magnificent chasing career that has included two Cheltenham Gold Cups, three Irish Gold Cups and a Punchestown Gold Cup. He has won 12 of his 18 races over fences and looks set to break the £2,000,000 mark next season.
