Kristin Mulhall disbands stable; moving to Ohio
Trainer Kristin Mulhall recently disbanded her California-based stable after a 22-year career to focus on development of a 67-acre horse property in Ohio.
In a conversation on Thursday, Mulhall did not entirely rule out returning to training at some point, perhaps in Kentucky, but said she will no longer be involved with racing on the West Coast. She said she recently sold her home near Santa Anita.
“No more California for me,” she said. “I shut down my barn at Santa Anita. I am going to be buying and selling riding horses, just traveling around and having a good time.”
Mulhall, who turns 42 on Saturday, was in the midst of a journey through Wyoming and Montana on Thursday before traveling to her farm in Fresno, Ohio, south of Akron.
Mulhall had her final runner at Santa Anita on June 16, the last day of the track’s spring meeting. In her career, which began in 2002, Mulhall has won 421 races. While the stable had three wins from 26 runners this year, Mulhall said her interest in training in California had waned. She cited pressure from oversight veterinarians and regulatory officials as a reason she quit training.
“I tried to do what’s right by the horse,” she said. “I don’t feel I can do that with the different rules now. They’re basically training the horses now.
“I said when it wasn’t fun I was going to quit. It’s not fun anymore.”
Mulhall won nine graded stakes.
In 2004, the Mulhall-trained Imperialism was third behind Smarty Jones in the Kentucky Derby and fifth behind that champion in the Preakness Stakes. Imperialism won three graded stakes.
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