THE outcome of the Bet365 Gold Cup today at Sandown will obviously be a key determinant in the destination of the British National Hunt trainers’ title, with £175,000 up for grabs in total prize money. And, with 10 declared runners, there is every chance that Willie Mullins will bag a lot of that.

You can make a case for most of the 10 Willie Mullins representatives too. Grangeclare West ran some race in the Grand National and, you never know, if he had jumped the final fence a little more fluently, he could have been the 1 in the 1-2-3(-5-7), not the 3. Brian Hayes got a great tune out of him at Aintree, so it is not surprising that he keeps the ride.