Willie Mullins successfully defended his British jump trainers’ championship after a treble at Sandown on Saturday which allowed him to comfortably pass Dan Skelton in the prize money table.

Mullins became the first Irish-based handler since Vincent O’Brien in the 1950s to lift the UK jumps trophy on the closing afternoon of last season and came out on top once again after a titanic tussle with Skelton which went down to the final throes of the campaign.

Mullins said: “The last few weeks have been tough and they must have been tough for Dan too. That’s the way things go.

“I am very happy for all our connections and owners who once again have supported us with their horses.

“I am very happy to have won the title for the second time this year but I am not making any predictions for next season and we still have a week of the season to go in Ireland. I am going home now to get ready for next week.

“As I said last week, it feels special to do something similar to what Vincent O’Brien did but of course he then and went and also did it on the Flat which I won’t be doing!

“I am very happy doing what I’m doing and am very happy for the owners, staff and the home team, starting with Jackie my wife.

“It’s been tough mentally and I haven’t read the papers for the last four days with so much going on or watched RacingTV. I was reading more about other sports because there was so much going on in racing I tried to keep away from it all. Otherwise, you couldn’t get through it and I’m sure Dan was the same.

“The press and TV make it all so public and it has been great publicity for the sport going down to the last day.”

Gaelic Warrior

Skelton started the day over £68,000 in front of Mullins, but an easy win for Oaksey Chase favourite Gaelic Warrior and then a surprise as Il Etait Temps topped the odds-on Jonbon in Celebration Chase saw the defending champion seize control.

Training the second, third, fourth and fifth-placed horses in the bet355 Gold Cup set the seal on another success for Mullins, with Skelton having to settle for second again.

The highlight of the day for Mullins was surely the impressive performance by Il Etait Temps in the Grade 1 Celebration Chase, the horse's first run for a year.

The grey stunned Jonbon to run out an easy winner of the two-mile chase under Danny Mullins.

The form was in the book, when he was last seen he beat Gaelic Warrior at the Punchestown Festival having also won at Aintree, but the fact he had missed the whole of the season saw him go off a 9/2 chance.

Ridden by Danny Mullins, he pinged every fence and appeared on the bridle at the Pond Fence.

Jonbon, who had shifted marginally right at some of his fences but in the main jumped well, had no excuses as Il Etait Temps breezed by on his way to a five-and-a-half-length win to hand Jonbon his first defeat away from the Cheltenham Festival. The winner’s stablemate Energumene was third.

Willie Mullins said: “I didn’t expect that and I was hoping both him and Energumene would finish, pick up some place money and both be sound. But to do what he did, I couldn’t believe it there in the stands and that has to be one of the moments of the whole year I think, for him to come out and do what he did.

“He looks top class and that’s his fifth Grade 1 I think. He’s not a big, chasing type and to put him against Jonbon it looked like father and son, but he can jump and he’s athletic and stays and he does everything.”

On the near season-long absence, Mullins added: “He had a little knee problem and was supposed to be back at Christmas and then Easter and every time we got close it went wrong.

“We said we’d put him by for Punchestown but then we needed him for today and thank god we did, but he has been working very well at home.”

Nicky Henderson said of Jonbon: “He’s run well and he’s jumped and travelled and done everything right.

“He’s danced every dance this season and unfortunately Cheltenham didn’t work. He had his hardest race there in finishing second, trying to get into the race and that flattened him enough.

“Aintree was great and we are all starting to think that extra half-mile might help him. He’s a very good two-miler but we’ll be having a chat about it.

“It’s tempting to go Shloer, Tingle Creek and then have a look. But I think we’re all thinking that extra half-mile – and dare I say plus – might just help him out. There’s one way to find out and that’s to try him, but we’ll see.

“He’ll go back to Martinstown (Stud) and have a lovely summer of champagne and caviar and then we’ll have a chat and work it out.”

Connections of third-placed Energumene felt the ground was too quick for him to play a significant role but there are no plans to retire the dual Champion Chase winner.

Earlier in the day Gaelic Warrior justified 5/6 favouritism in the £80,000 Grade 2 bet365 Oaksey Chase.

Partnered by Paul Townend, the Susannah Ricci-owned seven-year-old came home the facile five-length winner form stable companion Appreciate It, while Mullins also picked up valuable prize money with Gentleman De Mee (4th) and Classic Getaway (6th). Skelton saddled the fifth Boombawn.

Mullins said: “I didn’t mind the ground or the trip today – it was just whether he’d recovered from his last race at Aintree.

“I think Punchestown will come too soon and we have an option mind about him and will look maybe at stepping up for the King Geroge. There are lots of options open to him.”