I say, old boy, did the steward forget to put the T in your post-breakfast GnT on Tuesday?!? Cor blimey you’ve made a shocking omission from your NH Trainers ranking list. You follow??? As someone once said. To be perfectly frank I find the battle for this ‘crown’ somewhat unedifying and resplendent of a street brawl. It’s not pleasant, to my eye, to see horses run in races that under normal circumstances they wouldn’t be put within a million miles of. As my ‘Young Gentleman’s Guide to training Racehorses (Foreword by Mr Henderson)’ states ‘you run horses in contests that are right for the horse NOT, I say NOT, that are right for the trainer’.
As fully expected Mr Mullins elects the Grade Ones at Punchestown for Vautour and Douvan rather than chase the sterling at Sandown tomorrow. Still sending over a formidable squad to keep the battle honest but good to see him support the Irish season finale and let the folk over here see the stars run on home turf. Meanwhile I see Mr Nicholls has 3 out of the 6 in the Celebration Chase, including the 143 rated Ulck Du Lin Maybe Barney has a point! Wonder will Vautour go 2m or 3m1 at Punchestwn next week? Hopefully it's the later and if they've Gold Cup aspirations next year you'd think this is the logical 'trial'.
Did it on purpose, old boy, took you a while to bite though, eh? G&T is not a great favourite of mine. I repeat, neither trainer involved in this will lose any sleep on finishing second.
Just don't forget to back Jenkins in the Land Rover bumper Beefy - Mr Henderson has young Patrick booked to ride
Taken from The Telegraph, nice piece on the two trainers. 21 APRIL 2016 • 10:53PM Paul Nicholls and Willie Mullins have many differences, but the one thing they have had in common is Ruby Walsh. He rode as first jockey for both – at the same time – until four years ago, when he decided to concentrate on Ireland, and there is no better man to offer insight into their characters. As it happens, Walsh, 36, is relieved he does not still have a foot in both camps as the two scrap it out to be champion trainer at Sandown Park on Saturday, the last day of the season. The man with most prize money will be crowned. “It would have been very awkward,” said the jockey, who is currently sidelined by a broken wrist sustained at Aintree on the eve of the Grand National. “Deciding which horse to ride would certainly have tested my diplomatic skills.” Having ridden 52 Cheltenham Festival winners – 21 for Nicholls, 29 and counting for Mullins – Walsh knows both men and their methods inside out. “As trainers, it’s like any sport, the results speak for themselves,” he said. “One is a multiple Champion in Ireland, the other a multiple Champion in England. They dominate the big races. They are both very good at it and their results stare you in the face. ADVERTISING “But they are very different. Willie is a few years older, they run very different operations and have completely different facilities. They are both very good businessmen and very good delegators, but as trainers they have a completely different modus operandi, which, as much as anything, proves training is an art and not a science. “Paul is more organised and definitely more punctual. If you went for dinner with Paul at 7pm he’d mean 7pm. If you went for dinner with Willie at 7pm he means 9.30pm – but that might be a bit of an Ireland thing. So in a way you have the two different cultures coming out in them.” While Nicholls likes to plan ahead, Mullins likes to keep his options open as long as possible. He returned from Perth after a day trip on Wednesday to organise his horses coming over for Sandown, although he regularly changes his mind about which race to run his horses at the last possible minute – declaration time the day before a race. When it comes to race tactics it is Nicholls who is the more involved. “Willie doesn’t really do instructions,” said Walsh. “He might say, 'What are you thinking of doing?’ and you’ll say, 'I’ll do it this way’ or that way, or make it up if you don’t know. Otherwise the race is just about the last thing he will talk about in the paddock before a race. “When I was starting out I rode against Willie and he was just as likely to change his tactics down at the start, perhaps that is just the way he views tactics. Paul got more involved and detailed, but both are straightforward. If you changed your plans neither had an issue and both like a bit of honesty if you get it wrong.” Walsh feels that while Mullins has had more influence on him as a person, it was the opportunities on the Nicholls superstars such as Kauto Star, Master Minded, Big Buck’s, Denman and Azertyuiop, that shaped his career. “Willie has had an incredible influence on my life,” he said. “I was working for him while I was at school and a full-time employee the moment I left, and I’ve been with him ever since, but I’d say riding Paul’s great horses shaped my career.” Walsh left Nicholls after a decade together and, although that looked a smart move with all the superstars in the Mullins yard while Nicholls 'rebuilds’, it was less to do with the horses than daily life. “I suppose I had 10 years on the road or, rather, in the air and eventually you get tired of not going home. I had a wife and kids at home and family life starts to pass you by. I also wanted to stretch out my career a bit, but it wasn’t an easy thing to do. It’s not something I would have told Paul over the phone. I went to see him.” Nicholls, who is likening the title chase to the annual Britain versus Ireland contest at the Cheltenham Festival, is pleased it has made the end of season more interesting. “It’s added a bit of spice to it,” he said. “I thought we were dead and buried coming out of Aintree £180,000 behind, but we had a brilliant weekend at Ayr. Of course it makes it a bit tougher for everyone involved. I’m not having sleepless nights about it, but you wouldn’t want to lose it on a third place somewhere. “Winning a 10th title would be fantastic – 10 is a magic number, but it’s not just about me, it is Team Ditcheat which, from the blacksmith to the gallop man, is 63 people. We’re as competitive as ever, but we are in a rebuilding phase. We’ve got this far without too many superstars, but we’ve had eight bumper winners recently, which augurs well for the future.” Contrary to some reports the trainers get on well. “I’ve huge respect for Willie. In fact my head lad Clifford [Baker] is going over to him for a few days in April. We’re both competitors and not in each others pockets, but he trains in Ireland and I train here. “I reckon it will all come down to the Bet365 Gold Cup. It would be nice to win it, but if we don’t I’ll be the first person to shake Willie’s hand.” Mullins recalled deciding to give it a go on the last day of this year’s Cheltenham Festival. “Obviously it will have an impact on the Punchestown Festival [next week] for us,” he explained. “The two we ran at Perth on Wednesday would have gone there quite apart from the Sandown horses and quite a few of those we took to Aintree. We usually stay at home for Aintree, but it was good to us and we have to reflect on that too.” Opening up Punchestown – after years of Mullins dominance – might not be the worst thing that has ever happened. “All my colleagues at home seem to be wishing me well and telling me to keep going,” laughed Mullins. “I think Paul will be hard to get past and it might come down to me needing a four-timer, unless we won the Bet365. If we end up with a near-miss I’ll have no regrets. It’s been worth the effort. We have won a lot of money and every time you do something different you learn. It’s all experience that we will put to use further down the line.” So who would the pragmatic Walsh put his money on? “Paul Nicholls. Definitely,” he said. “Before last week I would have favoured Willie, but Paul had an incredible weekend. Even if he goes into the day only £50,000 in front a bird in hand is very much worth two in the bush at this stage. “It might also come down to the weather. If it rained on Friday night that would help Willie. Paul’s Horse Southfield Theatre will be hard to beat in the Bet365 Gold Cup and, if it is dry, it will be hard for Willie’s to beat Sprinter Sacre in the Celebration Chase.”
