The Scottish Grand National at Ayr always promised to be pivotal in this year’s race for the British Trainers Championship (determined by prize money rather than total wins). In the end, many believe the result provided the nail in the coffin for the chances of Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls.
Boasting a narrow lead heading into the race, Willie Mullins sent six runners in pursuit of the £200,000 in total prize money. Two of that sextet made it no further than the first fence. However, the other four filled four of the first six positions – including the winner, Macdermott, who belied a late market drift to edge out Surrey Quest in a thriller.
When all was said and done, £131,120 of that £200,000 had been added to the tally of the Closutton maestro. Paul Nicholls drew a blank in the race, whilst Dan Skelton picked a token £1,320 courtesy of the seventh-place finish of Ballygrifincottage.
All Over Bar the Shouting
Of course, the season isn’t over yet. Skelton and Nicholls have multiple entries at the British midweek meetings – although the fact Mullins has rare runners at Perth and Ludlow is a sign of his determination to become the first overseas winner of this title since the legendary Vincent O’Brien in 1954.
The current trainer’s table (as of Sunday 22 April) illustrates the challenge facing Skelton and his former boss Nicholls.
- Willie Mullins – Total Prize Money: £3,083,830
- Dan Skelton – Total Prize Money: £2,901,635
- Paul Nicholls – Total Prize Money: £2,804,159
Skelton must overhaul a deficit of £182,194, whilst defending champion Nicholls finds himself £279,671 adrift of the leader. A difficult task for Skelton and a mountain to climb for Nicholls, but neither faces an impossible task.
Saturday’s card at Sandown offers a considerable £675,000 across the seven races, headlined by the £170,000 duo of the bet365 Celebration Chase and bet365 Gold Cup. A win for Willie Mullins in either of those events will almost certainly seal the deal. Skelton may be able to scrape a win if he wins one of the two – so long as Mullins doesn’t win the other, whilst Paul Nicholls will need to win the bet365 Gold Cup and at least two other races to have any chance.
Mullins Boasts the Strongest Hand
Unfortunately for Skelton and Nicholls, Mullins is dusting off his big guns for the Celebration Chase, with the past two winners of the Arkle Chase amongst the current entries. El Fabiolo fluffed his lines in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, but the fact that he started at odds of just 2/9 for the premier 2m chase of the season is an indication of his talent, whilst Gaelic Warrior stormed to an 8½l romp in this year’s Arkle. Nicholls doesn’t hold an entry in this race, whilst Skelton relies on Nube Negra, who is yet to win in Grade 1 company and has been way below his best this season.
The bet365 Gold Cup looks more open, with all three trainers having solid claims, headed by Nick Rockett (Mullins), Le Milos (Skelton), and Threeunderthrufive (Nicholls), but, by that stage, the valiant defence of the home team may have suffered a knockout blow. Never say never in horseracing, but by the close of play on Saturday afternoon, Mullins will likely have another feather to add to his overstuffed cap.
