Lavishing Unqualified Praise on Willie Mullins: A Historic Unstoppable Force in Jump Racing

There are times when you have to set aside concerns and focus on ensuring that a great achievement receives its due recognition. At the time of writing, there is still a mathematical possibility for Dan Skelton to become champion trainer instead of Mullins, but it doesn’t seem like anyone expects that to happen.

It’s akin to when football pundits say Scotland still have a mathematical chance to qualify for the knockout stage at a major tournament – the only possible response is, “Yeah, sure, I’ll believe it when I see it.” It is overwhelmingly likely that Mullins is about to become the first jumps trainer in 70 years to win the British title from a base in Ireland.

The number of people who can remember Vincent O’Brien’s last title in 1954 must be dwindling, and it obviously cannot include Mullins himself, born two years later.