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Irish Daily Mirror
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Mullins reflects on 'tough' few weeks after being crowned UK champion trainer
Willie Mullins has revealed his battle with Dan Skelton to be crowned champion trainer in the UK has been "tough mentally". The Closutton handler edged out Skelton after a fantastic afternoon at Sandown on Saturday as wins for Gaelic Warrior and Il Etait Temps put him within touching distance of securing the title before he 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. The past few weeks have seen Mullins send horses to multiple courses up and down the UK and he admits is has been tough going. 'The last few weeks have been tough and they must have been tough for Dan too," said Mullins. "That's the way things go. 'I am very happy for all our connections and owners who once again have supported us with their horses. 'I am very happy to have won the title for the second time this year but I am not making any predictions for next season and we still have a week of the season to go in Ireland. I am going home now to get ready for next week. 'As I said last week, it feels special to do something similar to what Vincent O'Brien did but of course he then and went and also did it on the Flat which I won't be doing! 'I am very happy doing what I'm doing and am very happy for the owners, staff and the home team, starting with Jackie my wife. 'It's been tough mentally and I haven't read the papers for the last four days with so much going on or watched RacingTV. I was reading more about other sports because there was so much going on in racing I tried to keep away from it all. Otherwise, you couldn't get through it and I'm sure Dan was the same. 'The press and TV make it all so public and it has been great publicity for the sport going down to the last day.'
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.'
France 24
26-04-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Mullins emulates O'Brien with second successive trainer's title
The 68-year-old sent 21 runners over to seal the title and having started the day £68,000 (79,350 euros, $78,000) behind Dan Skelton he won two valuable prizes to pass the Englishman. Mullins did not have it all his own way. He was denied victory in the penultimate race, the Gold Cup Handicap Chase. That was won by Resplendent Grey rounding off an incredible season for champion jockey Sean Bowen, the Welshman having won the Irish Grand National last Monday. However, Mullins -- who had 10 of the 19 runners -- sealed the trainer's prize as his horses filled second to fifth spots. That prizemoney ensured with just one race to go Skelton -- the son of 2016 Olympic show jumping gold medallist Nick -- could not pass him. Mullins had more £3.5 million to over £3.3 million for Skelton. His achievement mirrors that of the late O'Brien whose two titles came in 1953 and 1954 before going onto a trophy-laden flat race career. "Privileged to ride for him, he is an exceptional trainer," said stable jockey Paul Townend. Mullins had a 1-2 in the Oaksey Chase, favourite Gaelic Warrior led home Appreciate It to reduce Skelton's advantage to just over £2,000. The Irish master passed Skelton in the standings in the following race as his favourite Kitzbuehel finished third, moving £6,000 clear. He took a sizeable lead with another extraordinary training performance by Mullins as Il Etait Temps eased to victory in the Grade One Celebration Chase, his first race in almost a year. "You can't discount Willie Mullins's horses after a long lay-off," said winning rider Danny Mullins. Mullins was to crown another wonderful campaign by winning the final race of the season with Skelton's runner appositely finishing second. Bowen -- one of four Welsh riders in the top 10 of the final standings -- fulfilled what he said was "something you dream of as a kid". Champion conditional (apprentice) jockey was Freddie Gingell who dedicated the title to his late mother Kim, daughter of Cheltenham Gold Cup winning trainer Colin Tizzard. Kim, who was an integral part of her father's set-up, died of cancer in 2020. "Everything I achieve is for mum," said 19-year-old Gingell. "It's nearly five years ago now and my whole world really got turned around. "From then on, I really wanted to give it my best shot which is what she would have wanted. It's all for her. "Dad (Dave Gingell) and I really are like best friends as much as father and son. "I am thankful for him being by my side and we get through every day together." pi/pb © 2025 AFP
Telegraph
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
ITV racing tips: Saturday April 26 – Sandown, Leicester and Haydock
There are seven meetings taking place across the UK and Ireland on Saturday. ITV Racing's cameras will be in attendance at Sandown, where the finale of its jumps schedule takes place. In addition, the ITV4 broadcast that starts at 1.30pm and runs through to 5pm will feature a selected race each from the Leicester and Haydock cards. Our expert has picked out four selections from these contests. ITV Racing tips – Sandown, Leicester and Haydock, April 26 1.20, Sandown – Wolf Moon (each-way) @ 11/1 with Betfair 2.40, Haydock – Myal @ 4/1 with Betfair 4.10, Sandown – Klarc Kent (each-way) @ 25/1 with Betfair 4.45, Sandown – Ike Sport @ 13/2 with Betfair Odds provided by Betfair and correct at the time of writing. If you already have a Betfair account and are looking for a new bookmaker to use for this week's racing, check out more free bets from the best betting sites, reviewed by our experts. 1.20, Sandown – Josh Gifford Novices' Handicap Chase (Class 2, 2m 4f) We are taking a chance on WOLF MOON, who has shown a lot of potential in his brief career so far. On debut in January, the five-year-old finished second at Huntingdon and then claimed a maiden victory at Southwell in February. Ben Pauling's gelding then won on his return to Huntingdon last month. This is a step up, but one that he looks equipped to handle. 2.40, Haydock – Handicap Stakes (Class 2, 7f) MYAL gave a strong performance over a longer trip at Docaster on his return in March. He had previously won his last four races in 2024. Two of those victories came at Haydock – and with this race back at a more familiar 7f, he could enjoy a third success on this favoured course. 4.10, Sandown – Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Class 1, 3m 4f) The betting for this race is dominated by the Willie Mullins stable – and just as we did at the Scottish Grand National, we are going to ignore his main contenders and go for his outsider KLARC KENT. On that occasion, the nine-year-old gelding was narrowly beaten into second by Captain Cody. With this being a shorter trip, stamina will not be such an issue and we are backing him to at least make the places. 4.45, Sandown – Handicap Stakes (Class 2, 2m 4f) IKE SPORT won this race emphatically last year. Since then the Spanish Moon gelding has failed to perform at the same level, but as he comes down the weights there is reason to believe in a reversal of form. He ran well to finish fifth in the Handicap Hurdle at Aintree, when he got caught too far back. We think he will push on and challenge in this contest again.
