Ballygunner Castle

His most recent win came at Fairyhouse on 30 November 2024, and by jockey Paul Townend's own account, it was a minor miracle. Ballygunner Castle was bumped hard at the start, Townend nearly came off at the first hurdle, and the pair spent the rest of the race on the front foot with nowhere to hide. Down the straight it turned chaotic, and yet the horse found more when asked. Townend called it "the sign of a good one" — high praise from a jockey who rides for one of the most powerful yards in racing. Mullins himself had flagged the horse as a smart prospect in the weeks before that win, noting he had needed the summer to fill his frame and mature.

That Fairyhouse win is now 17 months ago, and Ballygunner Castle has not won since across 6 races, though he has placed four times in that spell — finishing second or third regularly enough to suggest he is still running well without quite finding that extra gear. Recent form reads 4-2-2 in his last three completed runs, which means he is consistently in the mix, just not crossing the line first.

The context here matters enormously. Mullins' yard has sent out 220 winners this season alone — this is one of the most successful training operations in the sport, a machine that produces winners at extraordinary volume. Townend, who partners Ballygunner Castle most often and has won 1 from 5 rides together, is one of the best jockeys in the game. A horse that holds a place in that stable and keeps getting race-day runs is not a passenger — it is a horse the team believes in. Whether Ballygunner Castle can turn those places into another win is the question worth watching.