04 April 2024 , 14:34
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Willie Mullins has been backed to become champion jumps trainer - in Britain.
The sport’s dominant trainer is the holder of 17 training titles in his native Ireland. But thanks to another prolific Cheltenham Festival at which he saddled nine winners to pass 100 winners at the fixture, he is in the running for the British jumps trainers’ championship as well.
Mullins is in third place in the table, determined by prize-money, with £1.9 million in earnings, behind leader Dan Skelton who is less than £18,000 ahead of defending champion Paul Nicholls, the 14-time winner, on £2.5m.
The trainer still has 11 horses entered in the £1 million Randox Grand National which pays first prize-money of £500,000 while Skelton has one and Nicholls is not represented.
In a signal of intent, all three candidates have made multiple entries in the Coral Scottish Grand National and the season finale Bet365 Gold Cup in which Mullins has 13, Skelton eight and Nicholls six.
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Punters have taken note with Mullins’s odds tumbling to 5-1 from 12-1 with Ladbrokes and 5-1 (from 7-1) with Coral. Nicholls is 4-9 favourite with Skelton 11-4.
Ladbrokes spokesperson Nicola McGeady said: “Willie Mullins mania is ramping up once again ahead of next week’s Aintree extravaganza and after cleaning up at the Cheltenham Festival, punters are expecting more of the same in Liverpool.
“His price has crashed for the trainers’ title, and he’s now edging closer to Paul Nicholls and Dan Skelton.”
In recent days the Mullins-trained I Am Maximus has been cut to 8-1 (from 9-1) second favourite for the Grand National by Coral while stablemates Meetingofthwaters, 14-1, and Mr Incredible, 16-1, have also shortened.
The firm’s David Stevens said: "Although reigning champion Paul Nicholls and current leader Dan Skelton are still shorter odds to win the trainers' title than Willie Mullins, the Irish champion has by far the strongest hand to play in the Randox Grand National - including horses proven in heavy going - and should he get his hands on a big chunk of the £1 million National prize money, he would be very much in contention for the championship here.”