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'Neither of us had any silver spoons - we've had to work our way through racing'
Paul Mulrennan is one of those people who always seems to be smiling. As he sits in the garden of his North Yorkshire home next to wife Adele in the sunshine, he looks a picture of contentment – and for good reason.
On the back of his best season numerically when he rode 108 winners and massively exceeded expectations to finish fourth in the jockeys' championship, Mulrennan is in the prime of his career, and he is relishing every moment of it.
"Last year was unbelievable," he says. "I'm a northern jockey who doesn't have a big retainer so it was great. Every jockey wants to ride 100 winners but I'm a big believer in trying to stay in one piece. I was just getting going and three times I had bad injuries, and it sets you back.
"I was second in the title race at one stage behind Will [Buick] and although Oisin [Murphy] was off, Hollie [Doyle] and Tom [Marquand] were there and to be up with them was great. I'm a lot older than them and heavier – I'm only able to do around 9st."
Mulrennan, 41, defies nature on a daily basis. Keeping his 5ft 8in frame light and tight requires dedication and sacrifice. Family time with Adele and their 13-year-old daughter Scarlett suffers as a consequence, but having an ex-jockey as a partner makes it easier to deal with.
"I always say this game is a marathon, not a sprint. A lot of jockeys whose careers I've followed have got better as they've got older, the likes of Kieren Fallon and Johnny Murtagh. Hopefully I'm the same. I'm very lucky Adele is so understanding as a lot of the time she's very busy with her work and we're like ships in the night. There are a lot of times when I'm away for three or four days in Scotland and I don't see Adele or Scarlett."
Mulrennan isn't the only highflyer in the Boroughbridge household. Adele, 39, has been a big hit on ITV Racing since starting out three years ago. She has a busy schedule of her own but has to pick up the extra slack at home.
"As a jockey's wife you've got to be so understanding," she says. "It's out of your hands and there's not a lot you can do about it. It massively helps that I understand what it's like.
"Even though I'm not a jockey anymore I still work in the industry and know what you've got to do to succeed in your job. Unfortunately you've got to be a bit selfish and focus on yourself. Even if there's a night meeting and Paul is at home during the day, he's focused on the job and making the weight."
Every once in a while a day comes along that makes the grind feel worth it. One happened just last month when Mulrennan won the Duke of York Stakes on emerging sprinter Azure Blue, whose performance in beating Highfield Princess offered so much promise for the season ahead.
Mulrennan's career highlights have come at York – he won the Nunthorpe on Mecca's Angel in 2015 and 2016 and also rode out his claim at the track – and once again his wife was by his side in his moment of glory. This time was very different, however, as she stuck a microphone in his face straight after the line while working for ITV.
"It was a bit weird as that was the first time she's interviewed me in her job," Mulrennan says. "I meant to dedicate the win to an old school friend's mum whose funeral it was that day and I was quite emotional. When I lost my claim there [in 2006], Adele was leading me up that day and she got interviewed and was talking more than me."
Acutely aware of how much the victory meant to her husband, the interviewer managed to maintain her composure and professionalism before signing off with the line "dinner's on you tonight".
"It was strange as we'd actually spoken about it the night before as Paul thought she had a really good chance," Adele says. "You always want to get a good interview out of a jockey and when I asked him the questions, I could see he was getting emotional and he stopped talking.
"I had my biggest winner at York [on Masta Plasta in the 2008 Scottish Sprint Cup] and it's a special track for us, so to interview Paul there for the first time was nice. I didn't quite get my dinner though. Paul picked up a curry on the way home and they didn't put in my chicken korma."
Having had a bird's eye view of what Azure Blue is capable of, Mulrennan is hungry for more. His long association with Michael Dods has been accentuated by a smattering of high-class sprinting fillies and she looks every inch the latest off the production line.
"It's always nice to find another good horse," the jockey says. "She's kept on improving and it was great to do it at York again. It was a Group 1 in all but name and she's the real deal.
"Michael and I have had a lot of good days, with Mecca's Angel, Easton Angel, Mabs Cross and now Azure Blue. Mecca's Angel has definitely been the standout of my career but this filly is heading that way. She does everything all those other good fillies did, even down to the little things like when she finishes her work she stands and looks around at the other horses knowing how good she is.
"If it happens to be wet she probably would take her chance at Royal Ascot but there are lots of options – the July Cup, Nunthorpe, Abbaye. She could go back to five furlongs or stay at six and the sky's the limit for her. All her races have been over six furlongs bar one at seven, but you've seen the way she travelled in the Duke of York – she was half pacing at the two pole – and visually you're thinking you could bring her back to five.
"She did well over the winter and is now over 500 kilos – she's a big girl. She's only four and seems to go on any ground and it's great because the owners Peter and Linda Appleton and Anne Elliott have been very good to me over the years."
As I try to delve into the inner workings of the Dods training manual, the family's two dogs, Daisy and Peggy, interrupt the conversation right on cue.
"I know a couple of things he does but I'm not going to say anything as I'll be giving away his secrets," Mulrennan replies. "He seems to have a knack with bringing the fillies along slowly and only puts them in the big day when it's there for them to go and win. He doesn't go to make up the numbers or put them in the deep end too soon and that's why they all get better with age."
The same is true of Mulrennan. The Irish-bred, London-born adopted northerner was a latecomer to racing, having first sat on a horse at the age of 16. A talented Gaelic footballer, he had a way into the sport through his cousin and fellow rider John Egan, who got him his first job with Brian Meehan.
He then moved north to work for Pat Haslam – "I'll always remember he said to me that if I wanted to succeed I needed to think like Tony McCoy and adopt his tunnel vision" – before his big break came with Mick Easterby, for whom a certain Adele Rothery rode the first winner of her riding career.
The Mulrennans were a couple when they worked together at Easterby's stable, but they have never got under each other's feet.
"We met at the hotel at Scotch Corner at the amateur jockeys' ball," Adele says. "We got talking at breakfast in the morning and my friend gave Paul our address without me knowing and he sent a Valentine's card in the post. I ended up joining Paul at Mick's later on. Working together can be quite hard but it wasn't too bad because I was at the top yard and Paul was at the bottom. In general we've spent a lot of time away from each other and I think you get longevity out of a relationship when you're not with each other all the time."
The biggest test of their marriage came when they fought out a finish at Catterick in 2009 with such intensity they both got bans – an occasion that led to the unfortunate headline 'Mulrennan beats wife'.
"Paul was screaming at his horse and I couldn't believe it as he'd had a winner previously and I was thinking, 'Come on give me a chance'," Adele recalls. "I remember looking to my left and I could see the determination on his face. I called him a bad word afterwards and it was a quiet drive home. That's race-riding though. It doesn't matter who you're going up against, everything is forgotten on the track."
Even though their careers have taken different paths since, the couple share the stresses and strains of working in the public eye and the online abuse that comes with it.
"People might say you've given one a great ride but if you get beat in the next race, they're calling you every name under the sun," says Paul. "Maybe it's my age but I laugh when people send me stupid messages. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think it's important to stay level."
The two share similar backgrounds too. Adele grew up on a council estate in Bradford so they have both had to graft hard for their success. They have different characters, however.
"I'm more of a people person who likes to be organised, whereas Paul can be quieter and is happy to go along with things", says Adele.
Mulrennan is proud of the way Adele has become an established and relatable part of racing's terrestrial coverage through her paddock expertise and concise explainers of the sport's many complexities.
"She's been great and I'm not just saying that because she's my wife," he says. "She's really knowledgeable about horses and I learn stuff from her every day. People have really taken to her on the TV because she talks sense about the horses. It's the stuff people want to know about, things like the conformation of a horse, a horse's tack, how a race has been ridden and why a jockey has done something.
"I'd like to think we're both role models for people coming into racing as we both started at the bottom of the ladder. We didn't have any silver spoons and have had to work our way through."
Adele has recently given up her role as raceday presenter for Go Racing In Yorkshire, which she held for seven years, to focus on her family and TV career. She has started working on Racing TV as a pundit and insists she would have no qualms about criticising her husband on air should it be warranted.
Mulrennan would take it on the chin anyway and put it down as experience. It's a mentality that has served him well.
"I've had a fair bit of criticism in the past from trainers," he says. "My agent Richard Hale said a few things too and I didn't like it at the time, but I took it all on board and tweaked a few things. You've got to take criticism in life and if you're not willing to listen and learn, you won't get on.
"This job isn't for everybody and you've got to be strong-minded. I can sit here and name you ten lads that were better than me who should still be riding now but didn't have the grit and focus.
"After I won the Duke of York, I went to the Golden Team Boxing Gym in Leeds to fulfil my training regime under the guidance of Keith Walton and I've worked with [sport scientist] George Wilson and [nutritionist] Kerry Kayes on my diet. With the training I'm doing now, I'm fitter and stronger than I was in my 20s. I used to be too light and was killing myself to make stupid weights, but now I'm better off being more level with my weight as you last longer."
Continually striving to be a better jockey helped Mulrennan achieve one of his ambitions last year when he was crowned Cock O' The North for the first time. He also picked up the Flat jockey special recognition award at the Lesters. Tightening a link with trainer Jim Goldie played a major part in the successes as they dominated at the three Flat tracks north of the border.
"I've been up north for 20 years and it was always something I wanted to win and it was nice to get that cap," Mulrennan says. "I rode a lot of winners in Scotland. Jim's adopted me and has been great to me. Adele jokes I've got a Scottish accent, I'm up there so much. We're the only trainer and jockey combination to get the most winners at all three Scottish Flat tracks in a season."
An Ayr Gold Cup win to go with his Silver and Bronze victories would not go amiss for Mulrennan, but he is taking nothing for granted as he looks to ride on for the foreseeable future.
"I've just had my best-ever season and have still got plenty of years ahead of me," he says. "It's taken me a long time to get to this stage and I'm not ready to pack it in yet. There can only be one champion jockey and you've got to be satisfied with what you're doing. I'm lucky because I just love riding – it's a great way of life and a great job."
There's that smile again, from a jockey more than happy with his lot.
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