Dan Skelton on the trainers' title race and Britain's Prestbury Cup hopes
Ladbrokes ambassador Dan Skelton isn’t getting comfortable despite his lead in the trainers’ title race and says Britain are getting closer when it comes to the Prestbury Cup.
You can also check out his Saturday runners blog here.
Dan Skelton weekend blog - January 10, 2026
“When Willie Mullins gets a sniff that is the worst thing.”
We are obviously having another go for the trainers’ title this year… we had a good go at it last year! Ultimately, we were undone by the Grand National. We had ourselves in a good position last year, but with Willie Mullins coming first, second, third, and fifth, that was a problem. We are ahead of where we were last year and everything is going along well. We are in the hardest part of the year at the moment with the weather, so we have to work hard to keep everything right during this time. This is the toughest time for everyone. The horses, the staff, racecourses, owners, everyone is affected by the bad weather when it turns up. Hopefully they come out over the next six weeks in firing form and we can look forward to the spring festivals. Even though we have a decent lead, you can never get comfortable. It’s a strange thing… if Willie Mullins didn’t win a Grand National, he might not come over for the vast majority of the races afterwards. If he has his usual unbelievable Cheltenham, and wins the Grand National again, then he has a sniff and when Willie Mullins gets a sniff that is the worst thing. After that he can go all out on the last two weeks of the season. The trick is not to give him a sniff at all!
“But the reality is that everyone’s effort will have allowed one name to make the trophy.”
To win the trainers’ title, in terms of me as an individual and us as a team, it would be the biggest collective achievement. However, the collective effort is needed to produce that result. But the reality is that everyone’s effort will have allowed one name to make the trophy. If a team wins the Premier League it’s not down to one individual, it is down to everyone and it is the same here. It will be one name on the trophy, but in fact, it would belong to everyone.
“We are putting the numbers up against the Irish more than we have done for a while.”
As professionals in the industry, we possibly look at the Prestbury Cup as a barometer as to where the line of equality is. The scales have been massively tipped in favour of the Irish side in recent years, but I think we are starting to get closer to balancing that out. I am not saying we will balance it out, or things will tip in our favour this season, but we are putting the numbers up against the Irish more than we have done for a while. And we have been putting that pressure on for the last four or five years. I remember those years ago we all rallied around and said “right, we need to go away and sort this”. We can’t sort it in a year, it takes time, and I hope the fruits of everyone’s efforts can begin to be seen in March.
“I am going to the Gold Cup with Grey Dawning full of hope.”
The Gold Cup is such a great race and looking at it now, there could be any of eight winners. If any of them eight won, you couldn’t say it’s a surprise. Each horse has their own story and route, and I just hope they all turn up on the day and it will be as good as everyone hopes it can be. If you had four in contention going over the last, it would be one of the most memorable Gold Cups, just like the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase was. I am going to the Gold Cup with Grey Dawning full of hope. We are obviously going to trials day and that will be our final stepping stone and hopefully we can come through it well and move on to the Gold Cup. There are some horses who have had their final run, while others are yet to have it so the landscape will change even more by the time it comes. We are very happy with our horse this year and it has been a lot easier than last year with him.
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