Willie may be the first name to spring to mind when you think of trainers with the surname Mullins. And rightly so, with the master of Closutton having conquered the National Hunt game to an unprecedented degree. Nevertheless, Willie isn’t the only Mullins to have tasted big race success in recent years – nephew Emmet Mullins has also hit the headlines on more than one occasion.
Registering his most famous success in 2022, when saddling the novice Noble Yeats to Aintree Grand National glory, the Bagenalstown-based handler has also crossed the Irish Sea to bag a clutch of Graded contests and showed he can hit the target on the flat when sending out The Shunter to grab Cesarewitch gold in 2023.
Historically, the Cesarewitch Handicap has formed one half of the Autumn Double with the Cambridgeshire Handicap. Having bagged the first race, Mullins is now taking aim at the second, which lights up the final day of the Cambridgeshire Festival this coming Saturday.
Song Striking Right Note with Punters
Given his well-earned reputation as a supreme target trainer, bookmakers always keep a close eye on any Emmet Mullins-trained runners ahead of the biggest races. In the case of the Cambridgeshire Handicap, the horse which has the odds compilers taking evasive action is the grey, This Songisforyou. Available at 20/1 earlier in the week, the six-year-old is now no bigger than 7/1 and as short as 5/1 in places.
Attractive Profile for the Big Race
This Songisforyou doesn’t stand out on pedigree – being by the relatively unheralded sire Temple City and out of the unraced mare Song Of Hours – but has shown he knows where the winning line is.
Kicking off with a win in a Galway bumper in 2022, it appears a National Hunt career was Plan A for this gelding. However, following a pair of underwhelming efforts over obstacles, Mullins switched his charge back to the flat and is already reaping the rewards.
Returned to the level in April 2023, This Songisforyou has since finished in the first three in four of five starts, including wins over 1m1½f at Clonmel and in the competitive Northfields Handicap at the Curragh last time out.
That latest effort on the 22nd of September has set the pulses of punters racing ahead of this week’s event at Newmarket. Travelling supremely well throughout that day, This Songisforyou surged clear up the far rail to record a 1½l success. With the Cambridgeshire weights announced before the Northfields Handicap, This Songisforyou gets in under just a 4lb penalty – giving him the look of a potentially well-handicapped and very much in-form contender.
Trainer Comments Fuel the Fire
Taken at face value, that Curragh success gives This Songisforyou obvious claims of performing well at Newmarket. However, the horse may not have even been at his peak that day. When summing up that €88,500 success, Mullins stated, “I was surprised he won at the Curragh because I thought he might need the run there and it would leave him spot on for the Cambridgeshire so, fingers crossed, he can put it all together on Saturday. It would be magic if he did.” Regarding the Cambridgeshire itself, Mullins added, “Everything about the race should suit him. I think it’s still good ground there, and I think the mile and one trip won’t be any hindrance to him.”
As ever, the Cambridgeshire seems sure to attract 25+ runners, so This Songisforyou certainly won’t have things all his own way. In addition to the danger of trouble in running in such a big field, there are no shortage of threats among the opposition, including the lightly raced Roi De France from the John & Thady Gosden operation, David O’Meara’s dual course winner Bopedro, and Godwinson, who won a big handicap at Goodwood last time out for the William Haggas team. However, if form, weight of money, and trainer comments are any guide, This Songisforyou is one to watch closely in the 185-year-old showpiece on Saturday afternoon.
