THE battle between Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott for the 2016/17 National Hunt trainers’ championship has been a fascinating sub-plot not only to the Punchestown Festival, but to the entire season.
Even when Elliott was winning all those big staying handicap chases, the Galway Plate and the Munster National and the Kerry National and the Troytown Chase, there was always the feeling that Mullins would catch him. The bookmakers still had Mullins as favourite, and every time Elliott was asked if he could win it, he replied with his stock answer: no chance.
It wasn’t until the end of January that the bookmakers lined the two trainers up, 5/6 each of two.
By then, Elliott had added the Paddy Power Chase and the Dan Moore Chase and the Leopardstown Handicap Chase to his haul. His prowess in the big handicap chases this season has been unrivalled, but he also manoeuvred into Grade 1 territory with Apple’s Jade and Outlander and Death Duty and Mega Fortune.
NO MATCH
Mullins couldn’t match Elliott in the big handicap chases, but he continued his Grade 1 march with Nichols Canyon and Airlie Beach and Djakadam and Min and Douvan and Saturnas and Vroum Vroum Mag and Bacardys. And Un De Sceaux landed a brace of Grade 1 chases before Cheltenham, but they were both in Britain, neither counted towards the Irish trainers’ championship.
Speaking of which, both trainers excelled at Cheltenham. Six winners for Elliott, six winners for Mullins. Elliott had a treble on the Tuesday, Mullins had a four-time on the Thursday, with Elliott claiming the Cheltenham title on countback. It had no bearing on the Irish trainers’ championship, but it was fantastic to see their dual played out in full technicolour at Cheltenham in a phenomenal week for Irish trainers.
At the start of this week, the bookmakers said 1/5 Elliott, 7/2 Mullins. Mullins had the 1-2 in the Herald Champion Novice Hurdle on Tuesday, but Djakadam was beaten a short-head in the Gold Cup on Wednesday, a day on which Elliott had a brace of Grade 1 wins with Champagne Classic and Fayonagh.
Nichols Canyon was also narrowly beaten in the Stayers’ Hurdle on Thursday, but Mullins still had two winners on the day, Great Field in the Grade 1 Ryanair Novice Chase and Asthuria in the Mares’ Novice Hurdle.
By the time Friday morning rolled around, it was all very tight. The bookmakers said 4/6 Elliott, 11/10 Mullins, and it’s still fascinating.