The British Trainers Championship is once again coming down to the final week of the season, with Willie Mullins battling it out against Dan Skelton for the trophy.
Just like last season, since Willie Mullins won the Grand National and put himself back in the running to win the UK title, he’s sent an abundance of runners across for meetings he wouldn’t normally target.
Has this seen added interest for fans of the sport? Definitely. Have we seen Mullins at places he normally wouldn’t go, such as Plumpton over the Easter weekend? Definitely.
But is this actually good for UK racing, namely for the professionals at the lower end of the spectrum? I’m not so sure.
It’s a classic case of short-term and long-term benefits for the sport. Some will be on each side of the fence, but for me, we should always be looking after the longer-term project, regardless of any short-term gains.
Trainer Chris Gordon Highlights Struggles
One of the best explanations of this from the point of view of a lower professional in racing came from Chris Gordon on social media.
Chris’s views on todays runners and how the Trainers Championship affects the small UK trainers @betgoodwinuk @EQFencing @freddie68528641 @Rex_Dingle @charlie_maggs @tomcannon2 pic.twitter.com/T2C32ixoDn
— Chris Gordon Racing (@Chrisgordonrac1) April 21, 2025
He explained how close he came to winning both this season and last season, denied by Mullins with them both.
While competition is great, and ultimately, Gordon accepted that the Mullins runners to beat him were better, he explained the monetary difference very well, and what it meant for him.
As someone who openly struggles to get by while training, I find the fact that Willie Mullins targeted these races and took away his win a huge deal. Rather than 10% of the win prize money, Gordon took home 5% of the place money, a much smaller total prize pot, and of course, half of the percentage value too.
Fight for Prize Money Takes Away from Smaller Trainers
Essentially, the trainer’s title is a fight for prize money, presented in a title championship form.
When we get to the end of the season, if there’s a battle on, the trainers involved look to enter more horses and target bigger pots, all to win as much prize money as they can, in order to win the title.
But of course, the increase in prize money going to Dan Skelton, and then the increase in money going to Ireland, rather than UK trainers, all leaves the smaller names, like Gordon, missing out.
Now, as a fan, I want to see the best of the best taking each other on. Every Mullins runner coming across adds a great angle to the race. The potential to see horses like Lossiemouth run at Sandown is great news, and makes a card I would normally take no interest in a worthwhile read for myself.
However, as someone looking at the bigger picture, I also want to see Chris Gordon and others survive.
I guess it’s a pull between the short-term love of wanting to see the best take each other on at the end of the season, and the long-term love of wanting smaller trainers to not just survive but also flourish.
I’m inclined to side with the latter more, as I look at this. I want racing as a whole to grow and move forward, rather than seeing yet more money go to the Willie Mullins camp.
This probably puts me in the minority, many others would simply tell the smaller trainers to try a little harder to win the races they target, but racing isn’t in a position to pick and choose, we have to look after everyone.
