Attempting to predict who will become British Champion Trainer is rarely straightforward. Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson are the obvious names, having dominated the current century, Nicholls’ former protégé Dan Skelton has long threatened to take the step up, whilst the likes of Olly Murphy and Nigel Twiston-Davies are only ever a superstar or two away from a genuine challenge. Tough as the task may be, we can at least assume that the prize will go to a trainer based in Britain… can’t we?
In most years, that would be a pretty safe assumption: not since the 1953/54 season had an overseas trainer managed to beat the best of the British on their own patch. The legendary Irish handler Vincent O’Brien was the last to do it, but now we can add another to that exclusive list, namely, the master of Closutton, Willie Mullins.
Mullins vs Skelton on the Final Day
Having catapulted into the lead following the success of I Am Maximus in the Aintree Grand National, Mullins pulled clear of Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls when Macdermott landed the Scottish Grand National at Ayr to become the overwhelming favourite to pick up the trophy. However, it wasn’t over with quite yet. We still had the final day of the National Hunt season at Sandown.
Ahead of the seven-race card at the Esher venue, Mullins held a lead of close to £180,000 over Dan Skelton, with Paul Nicholls facing an impossible task back in third. That total presented a significant hurdle for Skelton to overcome but, with close to £100,000 first place prize money on offer in the Celebration Chase and bet365 Gold Cup, and £675,000 up for grabs across the seven races, Skelton headed to Sandown with hope.
Willie Wins it in Style
Skelton almost made the perfect start in the opener, with Be Aware closing all the way to the line but not quite getting to Alan King’s Helnwein. Second place rather than first meant £23,650 instead of £51,440, and Skelton was already looking up against it. To reel Mullins in, he would need to win one of the two feature races on the card and probably both.
In the end, Skelton’s race was run by the end of the third race on the card. Having added a further £4,264 to his tally courtesy of Easy Game’s fourth in the Oaksey Chase, Mullins sealed the deal with El Fabiolo’s £36,784.60 haul for his runners-up effort behind Jonbon in the Celebration Chase – Skelton picking up only £5,011.60 for the fifth-home Nube Negra. Following that result, a quick calculation revealed that Skelton now sat £194,019 adrift but could only pick up a maximum of £141,219 if all his remaining runners achieved their best possible finishing positions. Mullins had done it!
As if to emphasise the result, Mullins promptly landed the bet365 Gold Cup with Minella Cocooner to add a little gloss to the gleaming silver trophy. However, it was the following bet365 Select Hurdle which perhaps encapsulated this year’s battle for the Trainer’s Championship – Impaire Et Passe in front, going easily over the last, and only needing to be pushed out to hold off the tough Langer Dan from the yard of Dan Skelton, with Paul Nicholls’ Bluekin d’Oroux fading out of contention late.
The Final Standings
Ahead of the Aintree Grand National meeting, Mullins looked to have a semblance of a chance. However, wins in the final three major Saturday events of the season ultimately saw him pull comfortably clear of Dan Skelton, who posted a career-best effort in second, with Paul Nicholls putting up a valiant defence of his crown in third.
- Willie Mullins – Prize Money: £3,326,135
- Dan Skelton – Prize Money: £2,981,418
- Paul Nicholls – Prize Money: £2,886,461
Success Built on the Biggest Stages
One of the most remarkable aspects of Willie Mullins’ success is that he managed to conquer the entire British training fraternity with only 160 runners over the course of the British National Hunt season. To put that into perspective, second-placed Dan Skelton had 783 runners in 2023/24, whilst Paul Nicholls had 564.
To convert such a small tally of runners into a championship, Mullins needed to register a remarkable strike rate at the biggest and best meetings of the season – a feat he pulled off in sizzling style.
Mullins’ strike rate of 18% bettered Skelton’s 15% but fell short of the impressive 23% of Nicholls. However, when the stakes were at their highest, Mullins hit the bullseye with a frequency no one else could match. 28 winners accounted for that £3,326,135 in prize money, with the following five heroes doing more than their fair share to propel Mullins to the top of the podium.
- I Am Maximus – 2023/24 British Prize Money – £500,000
- Galopin Des Champs – 2023/24 British Prize Money – £352,729
- State Man – 2023/24 British Prize Money – £262,304
- Impaire Et Passe – 2023/24 British Prize Money – £185,885
- Lossiemouth – 2023/24 British Prize Money – £138,770
Back for More in 2024/25?
Champion Trainer at the Cheltenham Festival, Grand National winner, Irish Champion trainer, and now British Champion Trainer; can anyone stop the Mullins machine? Nicholls, Skelton, Henderson and co certainly have their work cut out for them, particularly as, having emulated the revered Vincent O’Brien once, he may be keen to do so again.
It was back in 1952/53 that Vincent O’Brien first claimed the British Trainers title, and he swiftly proved that to be no fluke when following up in 1953/54. When reminded that O’Brien had managed consecutive British titles, Mullins rather ominously responded, “Are you daring me?”. Given the vast pool of talent at his disposal, it would be no surprise to see Mullins go on to equal O’Brien’s record or perhaps even become the first overseas trainer to win three in a row. That is for the future. For now, racing fans should savour this monumental achievement by one of the most talented trainers in the history of the sport.
