Breeders' Cup Round Up: Wins For Mullins and the O'Briens Willie Mullins capturing headlines is no surprise, but Mullins making the headlines at the Breeders' Cup — that's a new one even for the Closutton powerhouse. Ethical Diamond scorched home under the new Irish champion jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle to light up Del Mar on Saturday night. Here's a look back at some of the Irish stories of note from California's World Championships of racing. Willie's world keeps on expanding 'To boldly go where no man has gone before' is the line most famously associated with Captain James T. Kirk but it appears as though General W P Mullins is fairly hell bent on doing similar as his own incredible enterprise knows no boundaries. Ethical Diamond, winner of the Ebor Handicap at York in August, came with a stunning late run to win the Breeders' Cup Turf in a course record for the champion jumps trainer of Britain and Ireland as Aidan O'Brien's Minnie Hauk failed to fire in the Del Mar sunshine. It's just another incredible landmark for the Closutton maestro. Ethical Diamond was posted wide in gate 14 at Del Mar and Mullins suggested pre-race that finishing seventh or eighth would be a positive outcome but his charge was given a flawless ride and he surged home to land more than €2m in prizemoney for connections the HOS Syndicate, who have hopes of a big-race double with Absurde running in the Melbourne Cup for Mullins on Tuesday. Given all that he has achieved in the sport, Mullins gave the Breeders' Cup win a high rank. "This might come second best to winning the Grand National with my son Patrick on board. I couldn't believe it," said an elated Mullins. For his winning rider, it completed the best few days of his young life. Browne McMonagle soared at Del Mar and — a little over 12 hours later — was at the Curragh to collect his trophy as champion jockey of Ireland for the first time at the age of 22. Ballydoyle not to be outdone Aidan O'Brien certainly isn't going to be pushed out of the limelight by the Mullins machine. The Ballydoyle chief remains in with a shout of breaking his own record of 28 Group 1s in a calendar year after Gstaad took out the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in stunningly simplistic fashion under Christophe Soumillon on day one at Del Mar to bring his tally for the year to 26. In doing so, O'Brien became the most successful trainer in Breeders' Cup history with 21 wins. He surpassed the late D Wayne Lukas in grabbing a record-extending eighth win in the Juvenile Turf. Typically, O'Brien deflected the attention as he recalled the help he got when starting out from the man whose record he had just eclipsed. "Wayne was such a big help to us all the time and when we had Giant's Causeway he was such a help. He was there at the barn when we were relatively new here and helped shoe him and he came down to the track with us on his own horse," he said. "Everything he did was for his horses and his owners. He dreamed a lot and was an incredibly special man." Donnacha gets in on the act The O'Brien dynasty, much like the Mullins legacy with Patrick surely set to inherit the reins in time, is safe. Joseph has won major races the world over, including at this great American showpiece, and now Donnacha has trained his first Breeders' Cup winner too. His breakthrough moment came when champion jockey Oisin Murphy rode Balantina to a thundering surprise win in the $1m Juvenile Fillies Turf. "This is very special. It was fantastic," Donnacha said post-race. "To watch Dad do it year-in and year-out, and Joseph to get winners - nice to be on the board."
