Mullins Eyes Melbourne Cup Glory With Dual-Threat Belloccio

Trainer Mullins has landed another impressive win, this time on the flat with dual-purpose star Belloccio in the Royal Ascot Copper Horse Stakes Handicap. The victory underlines Mullins' reputation for spotting talent and developing horses across disciplines.

Although the trainer himself was at the sales, he found time to sit in on an exclusive conversation with Ten Furlongs Magazine, during which he highlighted the importance of a proper rest period for Belloccio's switch from flat racing to jumps. This break, combined with the horse's natural jumping ability, seems to have reignited his form.

The ultimate prize? The Melbourne Cup. Mullins acknowledges the challenge but believes Belloccio has a shot. The Ebor in York is another target on the flat.

However, the jumps season remains a focus, with the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham next March a major possible target. Mullins is known for his strategic race selection, ensuring Belloccio peaks at the right moments.

A potential future tilt at the Ascot Gold Cup is a further sign of Belloccio's adaptability. This Royal Ascot win is a significant moment for Mullins, showcasing his ability to compete at the highest level on the flat.

Looking ahead, Mullins sets his sights on finally claiming the Melbourne Cup, a trophy that has just eluded him so far. The lucrative prize money offered in the Middle East is another target, with an eye on replicating their success in Saudi Arabia.

Mullins' ambition is clear: to compete globally, challenge the best, and land prestigious victories. With his dedication and ability to unlock potential in his horses, both trainer and Belloccio seem poised for continued success.

Congratulations on winning the 2024 Copper Horse Stakes Handicap at Royal Ascot. Can you talk us through the key moments of the race from your perspective?

We thought we had the horse nicely handicapped. He had a lovely rating coming from the flat when we bought him. We bought him as a dual-purpose horse and were training him during the winter. Our Irish winter was very difficult this year because it was so wet.

But as he got fitter, I thought this fellow was coming back to the type of rating that he enjoyed.

Although he broke well, I was wondering whether he was a little far back but I think my jockey looked happy. He settled well, during the race. So, I was happy.

When he squeezed him just before the straight, he said he just jumped right into it. And he (Buick) was very happy when they turned for home.

They just came out a little way to make the challenge and the horse did well, which I was very pleased with. Belloccio went on and won his race so we couldn't be happier buying a horse with that sort of money to win at Royal Ascot. That's really lucky stuff. Lucky for the owners and lucky for me too.

Coming off a Punchestown win, did you expect Belloccio to contend at Royal Ascot?

Yes. We had worked with him at home. I felt that his homework was equal to the figures that he was posting last year on the flat. We had bought him as a dual-purpose horse so we decided, to take him to a jump race to get an idea of what sort of ability he would show us on the racetrack.

If we went for a flat race, we were going to maybe advertise his good form to the flat handicapper. So, it was always good to go over jumps. He was very impressive, considering that he had never run in a hurdle race before.

And that told us this horse was as good as he had been showing us at home. And we just put his jumping career on hold on till we had a crack at Ascot. And it worked out. it doesn't always work out.

But in his case, it did.

How has the transition from flat racing to hurdles impacted Belloccio's performance?

I think very well, because, in flat racing, we find a lot of the horses are too keen, especially if we want to bring them out on a trip. And when you let them have a run over hurdles, they don't come out of the gate as quick because they think, ‘Well, I'm going to need to jump shortly’. Instead, they settle down and I think that's what happened to him. He settled nicely. We're very happy with that part of the training work.

What factors contributed to Belloccio's success at Punchestown and Royal Ascot?

Well, I think a nice break from last season's flat grounds helped. I often wonder, do horses get enough of a break we're very conscious of giving our horses a nice break when they change jobs, change countries, they need time to acclimatise, they need to learn how to jump, they need to really like to get all that really intense flat training out of their system and get them to relax more. And he did all that.

And to see him jumping in a first race like that showed us that he had relaxed. When he jumped, he went to the front and jumped beautifully from hurdle to hurdle.
Punchestown Racecourse is a big open track. And I think that helped maybe improve a little bit on the flat.

What are Belloccio's upcoming goals and target races?

Well, the obvious target to me after winning was, could we try and make a Melbourne Cup horse out of him? Or maybe the Ebor in York. They're the flat targets. Otherwise, his main target for me over jumps would be to try and win the supreme novices hurdle in Cheltenham next March.

And, you know, that is the biggest event he could win as a novice over jumps.

I don't like to race them too much. So, what we try and do is pick nice big targets and aim for them. If they're good enough, we can keep going with those targets. If not, we have to drop them back in class.

As a horse with a flat career, how difficult is it to balance training for jumps for these prestigious events that he’s been entered into?

We don't find it difficult because these horses have two years’ experience in flat racing. And so they know all about racing. We don't have to get them ready for that.

All we've got to teach them to do is jump. Most horses have a good bit of ability to jump you get very few that cannot jump.

Belloccio showed plenty of promise in that area when we started jumping him. So really, all we had to do was to try and condition him to go a different pace the way we do in jump races.

Could Belloccio be a contender for the prestigious Ascot Gold Cup in the future?

Well, it's always a bonus to have a horse that has caught form. So, I think he could, but you know that that is a long shot. I mean at his age, he is probably getting a bit old, but he wouldn't be out of place having an entry.

With wins like the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup, how does this Ascot victory rank for you?

It's a huge win for a primary jump trainer like me to have a winner at Royal Ascot when you consider that only four other Irish trainers had a winner in Royal Ascot this year.

It's tremendous to be at the biggest meeting, one of the biggest meetings in Europe, and probably in the world as well.

With a large and talented jumps team, how do you manage to identify and develop horses for specific races like the Copper Horse Handicap?

We buy dual-purpose horses. We buy flat horses at the end of the flat season. And then we teach them how to jump if they show enough to me jumping, I think, Okay, let's go jumping first. And then we can always come back and use his handicap mark.

But I do not like running them on the flat before I jump them. I always prefer to jump them and then come back to the flat. it seems to suit better with me.

It's just a system we use and has served us well.

What advice would you give to aspiring trainers who want to emulate your success in the jumps racing world?

Well, I think like everything, it's hard work. I think the biggest thing is to learn how to use your gallops to your advantage. I see a lot of trainers try to have the best gallops, that money can buy but not everyone can afford that. So, you've got to try and get a system that suits your gallop and that suits your horses.

You have also got to try and get good stock. But only success will bring you that. I think you've got to know your gallop inside out to prepare a horse. then it doesn't really matter, the state of the gallop that you have. But it’s got to suit your method of training. And do not worry about the rest. Just do your best in your facilities.

I've seen trainers, move into new training facilities with what people call state-of-the-art gallops and not being able to make them work.

So, you just find what works for you. No matter where you are. Some people like a hill gallop, some people like a flat gallop, some people like round gallops, and other people like straight gallops. And horses are very adaptable.

In the early days, when I had just built my gallop, I thought it was going to work right up to the top end of it. And I find that not working the whole way to the top, actually works better. You learn it through trial and error.

Looking ahead, are there any specific challenges or goals you hope to achieve in the next few seasons?

We would like to try and win the Melbourne Cup, we've been second, third or fourth, I think we're bringing down absurd, maybe Belloccio will get an entry.

And then what I like is the amount of good prize money that's available in the Middle East. And, you know, all those new mile races that are available with big prize money. We won in Saudi Arabia a few years ago. And maybe that's another area that we should be concentrating on aiming for big prizes with for a nice test.

I think it's good to travel. you learn a lot more; you'll meet a lot more people. But you've got to follow prize money as well. So, we’re all looking at opportunities where there's nice races and good prize money, and try and take advantage of that.

How would you see the world of horse racing in the future, especially, you know, with the new and younger generation

Horse racing is a good sport. It's a great social outlet. And I think racing doesn't sell itself enough on the social aspect of it for people coming racing. I think we need to concentrate more on how much fun it is.