Legendary jumps trainer Willie Mullins arrived for his first morning on the Keeneland backstretch Oct. 29, soaking in his first trip to Central Kentucky.
While it's Mullins' first trip to Central Kentucky, it's his second straight trip to the Breeders' Cup with Ethical Diamond, a former jumps competitor who last year switched to the flat and then pulled off a 27-1 shocker in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T). While the 1 1/2-mile Turf became an option for Ethical Diamond as his 2025 season progressed and Mullins' keen eye saw the potential, this year Mullins has tailored the 6-year-old Awtaad gelding's season toward the $5 million Turf Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
"I think this year we probably targeted the race a little better," said Mullins, noting that his 2025 season started over jumps before being switched to the flat with Mullins seeing enough to take a shot in the Breeders' Cup. "This year, we've been gearing up for this race. We've been trying to gear everything up for this race. We hope that approach will be better for him."
Off his revelation victory in last year's Breeders' Cup Turf, Ethical Diamond's four starts to date this year have all been flat races. After a solid fifth-place finish in his 2026 debut in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1T) in March in Dubai, H O S Syndicate's Ethical Diamond received some time off before beginning his buildup for this year's Turf. He returned to racing in June and finished off the board in a start in the Hardwicke Stakes (G2) at Ascot Racecourse.
Fortunately, he was sharper in the two races that followed. On Aug. 6 at Leopardstown Racecourse, Ethical Diamond rallied from fifth to contend for the lead in midstretch then outdueled Green Impact late to capture the 1 1/2-mile Ballyroan Stakes (G3) by a nose. Then he shipped to Kentucky for a start in the $2 million Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational Stakes (G2T) Sept. 5 at Kentucky Downs, where he unleashed a strong middle move before finishing second to 6-year-old mare Tiffany, a 1 3/4-length winner who is entered in the Turf for trainer Sir Mark Prescott.
After the Kentucky Downs start, Ethical Diamond then returned to Ireland for his final preparations. Mullins said after the 1 1/2-mile Kentucky Downs race took a bit out of him, he has bounced back. He arrived Oct. 24 at Keeneland and has been working out of the quarantine barn.
After starting from the widest post in the field of 14 last year, Ethical Diamond will start from the other extreme this year as he drew the rail. A relaxed horse on the track at this point in his career, Ethical Diamond figures to settle into a preferred spot early under jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle, who guided Ethical Diamond to the Turf victory last year and is back to ride in this year's edition.
"You have to be happy with an inside draw," Mullins said. "This fellow was always very keen in the early part of his career, but I think he's more mature now and he will settle better for Dylan. Dylan should be able to put him where he wants him."
Mullins is a legend on the jumps side of Thoroughbred racing. As a rider, he earned six amateur championships and as a trainer has captured just about every major prize in Ireland, most of the big races in the United Kingdom, and several in France. Some of those wins include the Grand National, the Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (NH-1), the King George VI Chase (NH-1), and the Champion Hurdle (NH-1) in England, Ireland, and France.
He initially worked as an assistant trainer to Jim Bolger and his father, Paddy, who once had the largest jumps stable in Ireland and is Willie's biggest influence.
While Willie Mullins did not make the trip for Ethical Diamond's race at Kentucky Downs this year, in 1990 he did travel to that track, then known as Dueling Grounds, with his father. They sent out Grabel to victory in the $750,000 Dueling Grounds International Hurdle Stakes. The victory proved a big day for the family as the 7-year-old mare was ridden by Willie's brother, Tony, and co-owned by their mother, Maureen.
The Mullins family is one of racing's first families. According to a 2015 Thoroughbred Racing Commentary story, Willie's siblings Sandra, George, Tony, and Tom all won races as riders. With that extensive racing family, it would make sense that some would venture to Kentucky. Willie's cousin, David, operated Doninga bloodstock agency until his death in 2008 at the age of 51.
Doninga was named for the entity David's grandfather purchased in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1922. At the 2001 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, Doninga was the second-leading consignor by average, with the consignment including Saoirse, who sold for $2.2 million.
David Mullins was active in the industry and community as a member and former director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club, a member of the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association, and second vice president of Central Kentucky Riding for Hope.
David's daughter, Dara, is a marketing strategy manager for Keeneland. She has worked on Keeneland's social media initiatives as well as its website. In a Keeneland profile, Dara Mullins notes that joining the Keeneland team was a perfect opportunity.
"It allowed me to blend my personal interests in racing and Keeneland and my professional interest in marketing," she said. "On top of that, I am able to work for an organization that I have admired since I was young and am spoiled with a gorgeous setting and an incredible team that I work with every day. As a marketer, it is a privilege to work for a brand like Keeneland."
So while Ethical Diamond will make his first start at Keeneland, on some level—thanks to the extensive ties of the Mullins family in racing—he's a house horse.
