It is rated an even-money shot by one firm that Willie Mullins will outscore Britain at next month’s Cheltenham Festival.
The champion trainer, who is odds-on to reach a once scarcely credible century of festival winners, appears to be in such a dominant position that Paddy Power reckon it is a flip of coin if he or every trainer in Britain combined is more successful at the most important meeting of the year.
If Ireland has largely turned the Prestbury Cup into a one-horse race, the cross-channel team has rallied to some extent by winning 10 of the 28 festival races up for grabs in the last two years.
However, Mullins famously secured a record 10 winners for himself in 2022, including a remarkable 1,518-1 five-timer on the final day of that festival.
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With six more victories last year, the man who has transformed the face of National Hunt racing is on 94 festival winners in all.
Even by his own lofty standards, though, the Irishman looks like going into the upcoming festival with the greatest strength in depth he ever has taken to Cheltenham.
A team topped by the reigning Gold Cup champion Galopin Des Champs, backed up by the red-hot Champion Chase favourite El Fabiolo, means he is a cramped 1-3 to pick up eight or more winners this time.
With Mullins having scooped a record nine of the 15 races at the recent Dublin Racing Festival in Leopardstown, cross-channel hopes of outscoring him, never mind the entire Irish raiding party, look in need of bolstering.
The last time the home team emerged on top in the Anglo-Irish competition was 2015, although there was a 14-14 tie in 2019. In 2021 came the nadir in cross-channel fortunes with a famous 23-5 rout.
It’s all very different to a decade and a half ago when Paul Nicholls was last crowned leading trainer at the festival.
Britain’s champion handler is in pursuit of a Cheltenham landmark of his own as he needs two more winners to reach 50 for the festival.
The Englishman who handled the careers of luminaries such as Kauto Star, Denman and Master Minded has endured frustration in recent years but struck twice last season through Stage Star and Stay Away Fay.
One horse he won’t be able to call on this time is new purchase Caldwell Potter, who changed hands out of Gordon Elliott’s yard for a record €740,000 at Tattersalls in Fairyhouse last week.
The Grade One winning grey, bought by a four-person syndicate that includes former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, had been prominent in betting lists for some of Cheltenham’s top novice hurdles but won’t be going to the festival.
Caldwell Potter’s price at a dispersal sale of 29 horses previously owned by Andy and Gemma Brown was a record for a jumps horse at public auction. He was bought by his new owners to replace Hermes Allen, who was fatally injured in a fall at Sandown.
“The lads sadly lost Hermes Allen last weekend and I guess they felt it’s a lot of money, but between the four of them it is not that bad. He’s a nice horse to replace Hermes Allen to go novice chasing,” said Nicholls.
“He won’t go to Cheltenham because he won’t acclimatise in time. He might go to Aintree if we are happy, but he has been bought to go chasing, that is his job. He’s next year’s chaser.”
Caldwell Potter’s price exceeded the previous record paid out by owner Darren Yeats for Interconnected in 2019. His £620,000 tag corresponded to approximately €725,000.
“Was he [Caldwell Potter] that much more than the horse Darren Yeats bought the other year? Probably not, and horses get sold for huge numbers privately that you never hear about,” said Nicholls.
“He’s a Grade One winner, has got huge potential and it’s a lot easier when you can spread the cost between four people, so I’m excited to have him.
“He arrived on Monday and Mike, the lad who used to look after Hermes Allen, is looking after him and he is thrilled to bits – we just hope we are lucky with him,” he added.
