Dan Skelton has been the man of the moment this season.
Heltenham crossed the finishing line in Perth for Skelton to record a win at every one of Britain’s 41 jumps racecourses as the crowning glory of a sensational campaign.
Smashing through the £5million barrier in prize money at yesterday’s season finale was simply the cherry on top for Skelton, who had the trainers title wrapped up by mid-March.
The numbers have simply been astonishing. Skelton has saddled more than 1,000 runners and had 194 winners. There’s been more than 140 seconds and 130 thirds in there, too.
Before Sandown yesterday, he was already £2.2m clear of nearest pursuer Willie Mullins – a man who won the last two British titles. This has been a jumps season that has showcased Skelton’s strength and depth on these shores.
In the last few years, he’s built up a powerful operation that is delivering results on a consistent basis. He loves the planning side of racing and that kind of meticulous plotting has led to this brilliant set of results over the course of the season.
Dan Skelton with the British trainers trophy at Sandown yesterday
Skelton is presented the trophy by former boss Paul Nicholls
Skelton broke the £5million prize money barrier in one season on the way to glory
All of this great success attracts more owners, a strong team of staff and that can snowball into a formidable juggernaut.
Skelton says the target is to defend his title, saying Mullins will have to go to all sorts of different places to challenge, but surely that’s merely a formality. We’ve seen Martin Pipe, Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson reign supreme with multiple championships and Skelton seems certain to do likewise.
The real challenge is to win the really big races with really good horses. Mullins made history two seasons ago when winning the British title as an Irish trainer. He made even more by miraculously defending it.
The fact of the matter is Mullins has had bigger fish to fry at home. His Punchestown playground will be required this week to fend off a stronger challenge than usual from old rival Gordon Elliott to win the Irish crown.
Perhaps Mullins will bite to Skelton’s playful comments at Punchestown when the latter may saddle a few promising handicappers.
It’s all good fun and Skelton’s numbers are wonderful for us racing anoraks but the four big races of the British jumps season are always the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, the Grand National and the Gold Cup.
Mullins won all four and in grand style, too. He also won a Breeders’ Cup Turf on the Flat in the last 12 months or so. If Skelton is head and shoulders above the rest in Britain then there’s a yawning chasm between Mullins and the field when all the top horses meet and clash in the top races.
Mullins has nothing to prove to anyone at anywhere. Skelton, on the other hand, has built up an incredible operation but knows he needs more to win these top prizes.
The New Lion didn’t win a Grade One in a division shorn of State Man, Constitution Hill and Sir Gino – but Mirabad somehow did at 50-1 at Aintree. It’s all about planning and Skelton has done that so well across the calendar. Finding horses to beat Mullins’ best when the peak for the best races has been tougher.
Grey Dawning and The New Lion, two stable stars, fell way short. Panic Attack fell early in the Grand National as favourite but the way she was caught at Perth this week in a four-runner Listed race over three miles suggests she’d not have beaten I Am Maximus.
Perhaps talented novice hurdler Bossman Jack can be the one next season. He’s getting closer but there’s still plenty of work to do. And Skelton will relish the challenge.
Skelton celebrates with his family at Sandown’s jumps season finale yesterday
That’s the real challenge now. If Skelton was the man of the moment this season, Gaelic Warrior’s Gold Cup-winning effort was certainly the performance of the campaign.
To win a Gold Cup hard held on the bridle was simply breathtaking. Mullins’ eight-year-old never missed a beat, tanked through the race and just sauntered away from a good field after jumping the second last.
It was simply flawless. A throwback performance that legends of the past would be proud of. It’s remarkable that this quirky sort was beaten in the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap hurdle in 2022 off a mark of 129.
He’s always had a bit of a reputation since that very day when a big gamble was foiled and has, perhaps unfairly, had his doubters after suffering a couple of high-profile blowouts. But this enigmatic sort has suddenly become a model of consistency.
He beat stablemate Fact To File in the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown and is poised to face him again in a tantalising rematch in the Punchestown Gold Cup this week. He was third in a bunched finish in a thrilling King George at Kempton, which was probably the most exciting race of the season.
Gaelic Warrior was also an admirable second in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown, a place that he has often struggled to be at his best.
Gaelic Warrior jumped superbly en route to a terrific Gold Cup success
Jockey Paul Townend and trainer Willie Mullins clutch the 2026 Gold Cup at Cheltenham
But it all came together at Cheltenham and he became the first Arkle Novices’ Chase winner to develop and go on to win a Gold Cup. He beat Jango Baie by eight lengths and that horse won the Grade One at Aintree subsequently. The defending champion Inothewayurthinkin was back in third.
Grey Dawning was fourth and Skelton reported that he had his horse in the best possible condition for the race. He was beaten by 16 lengths and Grey Dawning was another horse to come out of the Gold Cup and win an Aintree Grade One.
Paul Townend only had to keep it simple on Gaelic Warrior to win the Gold Cup in bloodless style. It was a sublime performance where he beat on the right horses and it’s already looking like proven high-class form.
The undoubted highlight of the jumping season was a truly golden one.
