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Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Willie Mullins retains trainers' title with final-day surge past rival Dan Skelton after dramatic Sandown showdown
Willie Mullins had just made history but he was not ready to celebrate. First he wanted to share a handshake with Dan Skelton, whom he had beaten to the title of champion trainer once again, then he wanted to congratulate Olly Murphy, who had saddled the last big winner of jumps season. Once those duties had been taken care of, Mullins began to speak. He stood in Sandown's winner's enclosure — which had effectively become his home from home on this momentous day — and reflected on how he retained the crown his stable landed for the first time 12 months ago. In those five, candid minutes, Mullins said 'tough' 13 times. He felt for Skelton, who had led the race with just four races of the campaign to go; he spoke of the mental toll the planning of this operation had taken on him and the angst of watching it all unfold. Tough, tough, tough. 'I just know what the last few weeks have been like for me,' said Mullins, who saddled 21 runners on a day when Sandown had its first 10,000-plus crowd since before the pandemic. 'You win some, you lose some. It must be tough on Dan but I am very happy for all our connections. 'Once again, they said for us to go to England with their horses and do your best. It shows that they are all sportsmen. Really, I tried to keep away from it all — otherwise you wouldn't have been able to get through it. I'm sure Dan was the same.' Skelton's horses have run brilliantly all winter and his numbers, in terms of prize- money and winners, have been remarkable but he has been engulfed by Mullins' tsunami since Cheltenham; at one stage Mullins was £2million behind in this race — he ended up winning it by £199,507. The day began with Skelton £68,483 ahead but once Gaelic Warrior sauntered away with the Oaksey Chase for Paul Townend, with stablemates Appreciate It, Gentleman De Mee and Classic Getaway all collecting pounds and pence, we knew what was going to happen. 'We'll just try to have a go next year; it's inevitable now, isn't it?' Skelton asked. His question required no answer. Mullins poked his nose in front when Kitzbuhel finished third in the Select Hurdle before Il Etait Temps, ridden by the trainer's nephew, Danny, produced the riding performance of the afternoon when dismantling 8-15 favourite Jonbon in the Celebration Chase. 'I feel sorry for Dan,' said Mullins, who had become the first Irishman to win this title since Dr Vincent O'Brien in 1954.
Irish Daily Mirror
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Mullins crowned British champion trainer on incredible Jumps Finale at Sandown
Willie Mullins has been crowned champion National Hunt trainer in Britain for a second successive year. The Co Carlow handler once again denied Dan Skelton a maiden trainers' championship as he overtook him on prize money for the first time this season on the final day. The victory comes 12 months after Mullins became the first Irish-based trainer since Vincent O'Brien 70 years earlier to lift the British title. A surprise win for Il Etait Temps (9/2) under the trainer's nephew Danny Mullins over 8/15 favourite Jonbon in the bet365 Celebration Chase all but secured the trophy would be returning to Closutton. It followed an earlier success for Gaelic Warrior in the bet365 Oaksey Chase, with Appreciate It, Gentleman De Mee, Classic Getaway, Kitzbuhel and Energumene also picking up prize money in their respective races. But the championship win was confirmed after the trainer had the second, third, fourth and fifth-placed horses behind Resplendent Grey in the bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase with Lombron, High Class Hero, Spanish Harlem and Grangeclare West respectively. Jump Allen's victory under Harry Cobden in the last race on the card, the bet365 Handicap Hurdle put the icing on the cake for Mullins, who started the day £68,482 behind Skelton, after the English trainer increased his lead between Wednesday and Thursday with four winners across the two days. The Closutton trainer sent a total of 21 runners to Sandown to do battle on Saturday, while Skelton declared nine. Despite leading the championship since it began, there was an air of inevitability that Mullins would beat him to it once again since the Carlow handler saddled the first, second, third, fifth and seventh-placed horses in the Grand National earlier this month, picking up £840,000 in the process. Sandown took the decision during the week to rearrange the races on the final day of the jumps season so the two richest contests on the day, the bet365 Celebration Chase and bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase would be run later on the card, with the first race brought forward 30 minutes. Mullins had no runners in the opening two races, with Skelton's Riskintheground the first of the pair's horses to run, finishing seventh in the Josh Gifford Novices' Handicap Chase, the second contest of the day. Gaelic Warrior got the ball rolling for Mullins as the 5/6 favourite won the Grade 2 bet365 Oaksey Chase under Townend, with stablemate Appreciate It coming second under Sean O'Keeffe. Gentleman De Mee also picked up prize money for Mullins for finishing fourth, while Skelton's runner, Boombawn came fifth. That left the 68-year-old less than £3,000 behind in the title race and after the fourth race he was ahead for the first time as Kitzbuhel picked up £8,560 for finishing third behind Blueking D'oroux in the bet365 Select Hurdle. And he surged clear after Il Etait Temps won the Celebration Chase, beating Jonbon by five and a half lengths, with his championship victory confirmed some 35 minutes later. Mullins has been installed as the 3/1 second favourite behind Skelton to win the championship for a third time next year. Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: 'Dual UK Champion Trainer Willie Mullins has once again shown that when he wants to win something in racing, he can win it. And while he left it late, we think there's every chance he could land the treble next year, making him a 3/1 shot to retain his title for a third time. 'Dan Skelton must've felt he was home and hosed before Mullins' Grand National heroics, and we think that he's the most likely winner of next season's title at 4/7 favourite. We best not sleep on Paul Nicholls, though, and we make the fourteen-time champ 5/1 to regain his crown.'
