Dan Skelton trying ‘not to give Willie Mullins a sniff’ in British jumps trainer battle

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Dan Skelton is determined ‘not to give Willie Mullins a sniff’ as he chases down his first British jumps trainers’ title. Skelton has finished runner-up in the last two seasons to Ireland’s 19-time champion jumps trainer, seeing the crown slip from his grasp on the final day of the campaign in April.

In the current campaign he has recorded 108 winners which have earned £2.4 million, more than £1m more than his nearest rival and over £2m more than Mullins has collected from four winners. Mullins comes into his own at the Cheltenham Festival , where he is the winning most trainer, and in the Grand National, which he has captured two years in a row, which have been pivotal to his success.

Ladbrokes ambassador Skelton said: “We are obviously having another go for the trainers’ title this year. We had a good go at it last year!

“Ultimately, we were undone by the Grand National. We had ourselves in a good position last year, but with Willie Mullins coming first, second, third, and fifth, that was a problem.

“We are ahead of where we were last year and everything is going along well. We are in the hardest part of the year at the moment with the weather, so we have to work hard to keep everything right during this time.

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“This is the toughest time for everyone. The horses, the staff, racecourse, owners, everyone is affected by the bad weather when it turns up. Hopefully they come out over the next six weeks in firing form and we can look forward to the spring festivals.

“Even though we have a decent lead, you can never get comfortable. It’s a strange thing. If Willie Mullins didn’t win a Grand National, he might not come over for the vast majority of the races afterwards.

“If he has his usual unbelievable Cheltenham, and wins the Grand National again, then he has a sniff and 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!”

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Skelton’s brother Harry was champion jockey for the 2020-21 season and he said a trainer’s title “would be the biggest collective achievement”.

He added: “However a collective effort is needed to produce that result. But the reality is that everyone’s effort will have allowed one name to make the trophy.