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23 Oct 2025

Mullins leading the way at Ayr with another title up for grabs

Mullins leading the way at Ayr with another title up for grabs

The Audrey Turley-owned Galopin Des Champs, ridden for trainer Willie Mullins by Paul Townend. Photo: Patrick McCann/Racing Post  

Reporter:

Reporter

18 Apr 2024 2:43 PM

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Sport@tipperarystar.ie

Willie Mullins has seen his odds cut to 2/5 from 1/2 with BoyleSports for the British Jumps Trainers’ Championship after declaring a team of 18 horses on Scottish Grand National day at Ayr. 
The Closutton maestro holds a five-figure lead over the chasing pack, headed by English duo Dan Skelton, who is also bidding to shed his championship maiden tag, and fourteen-time winner Paul Nicholls.
The raiding party is headed by Scottish Grand National favourite Macdermott, as Mullins fires six darts at the feature race worth £112,500 to the winner.
Mr Incredible who unseated Bryan Hayes at the Chair at Aintree, BoyleSports Irish Grand National sixth We’llhavewan and recent Fairyhouse second Klark Kent are also well fancied for the Carlow-based handler. 
On the supporting card, Mullins fields twelve runners across seven races, with Alvaniy, Bialystok and Westport Cove in action in the £100,000 Scottish Champion Hurdle. 
With Dan Skelton hot on the heels of Mullins, he relies on favourite L’Eau du Sud in the Scottish Champion Hurdle to eat into the deficit.
Last seen finishing second to Absurde in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham, the gelding who is part owned by Sir Alex Ferguson is a 7/2 shot to score in Scotland.  
Paul Nicholls, meanwhile, will run his star stayer Stay Away Fay in the feature race as he bids to secure a big pot. The seven-year-old was last sighted pulling up behind Fact Or File at the Cheltenham Festival but scoped badly post-race and is a 12/1 shot to bounce back. Nicholls is looking to secure a fifteenth trainers’ title in just 20 years but has now drifted to 7/1 from a low of 5/2 last week. 
Brian O’Keeffe, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “We are well used to Willie Mullins breaking records, but a British Champion Trainer title is a phenomenal achievement even by his standards. With a Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup and Grand National already in the bag, it would be the icing on the cake of a dream season.”

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