British trainer Dan Skelton has issued a determined declaration in his quest for a first trainers' championship, vowing to give his great Irish rival Willie Mullins no opportunity to close a substantial financial gap.
A Commanding Lead in the Title Race
As the National Hunt season moves into a critical phase, Skelton has built a formidable advantage. His stable has amassed over £2.4 million in prize money from 108 winners this campaign, putting him more than £2 million clear of Mullins, who has so far registered just four winners on British soil. This places Skelton nearly £2 million ahead in the financial standings that decide the title.
The Warwickshire-based handler has finished as runner-up to Mullins in each of the last two seasons, painfully losing the crown on the final day of the campaign in April on both occasions. The memory of those near misses is fuelling his current charge.
The Cheltenham and Aintree Threat
Despite the significant buffer, Skelton is acutely aware of the looming threat posed by Mullins's dominance at the major spring festivals. The Irish maestro is the most successful trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival and has won the last two runnings of the Grand National at Aintree.
"Ultimately, we were undone by the Grand National last year," Skelton, an ambassador for Ladbrokes, admitted. "We had ourselves in a good position, but with Willie Mullins coming first, second, third, and fifth, that was a problem."
He outlined the strategic challenge: "If he has his usual unbelievable Cheltenham, and wins the Grand National again, then he has a sniff. When Willie Mullins gets a sniff that is the worst thing. After that he can go all out in the last two weeks of the season. The trick is not to give him a sniff at all!"
A Collective Effort for a Premier League-Style Prize
Skelton emphasised that winning the title would be a monumental team achievement, comparing it to a football club lifting the Premier League trophy. His brother, former champion jockey Harry Skelton, who won the jockeys' title in the 2020-21 season, echoed this sentiment.
"It would be the biggest collective achievement," Harry Skelton stated. "However a collective effort is needed to produce that result. If a team wins the Premier League it’s not down to one individual, it is down to everyone and it is the same here. It will be one name on the trophy, but in fact, it would belong to everyone."
With the difficult winter weather posing challenges for all stables, Skelton's focus is on navigating the coming weeks and maintaining his team's form ahead of the decisive spring showdowns. The battle for the British jumps trainers' championship is firmly on, with a determined leader looking to protect his hard-earned advantage from the sport's most formidable force.
