Horse Racing Tips

Who’s the best National Hunt trainer?

The competitive world of British and Irish Jumps racing is ever-changing, and five trainers stood out in 2024, with one coming to the fore, proving himself as the best.

The trainer in question was, undoubtedly, Willie Mullins. The master of Closutton secured the British Trainers’ Championship for the 2024 season, the first time an Irish trainer had achieved the feat in over 70 years. Earning over £3.2m in prize money, he saw off the challenge of Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls after a thrilling showdown in the final weeks across Ayr and Sandown.

He made history, once again, at the Cheltenham Festival as he scooped nine winners across the four days to move his total winners at the Festival to 103 and it’s hard to see how anyone can begin to match Mullins’ dominance in the top grade contests this year.

It was a closely run contest in the Trainers’ Championship however, with Dan Skelton shocking many and pushing Mullins all the way, Skelton has been a class operator for years now and deserves to be considered amongst the best in the British Isles now, he’s 5/6 to win this year’s Trainers’ Championship with Willie 7/4 to retain the crown from last year.

Ireland, once again, showed their dominance in the Prestbury Cup with Ireland notching 18 winners to Great Britain’s nine. Willie Mullins was of course dominant, but was helped by his Irish counterparts Gordon Elliott, Henry de Bromhead and William Hill ambassador Gavin Cromwell.

Willie Mullins has had the Irish Trainers’ Championship sewn up for years now but the British Trainers’ championship had always been a lot more competitive amongst the GB trainers with Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson and now Dan Skelton all throwing their hat into the ring.

Find out more about the five trainers across Britain and Ireland and their best chances for the National Hunt season.

Willie Mullins

The reigning Champion Trainer of Great Britain and Ireland is the obvious place to start.

Willie Mullins is the best National Hunt trainer around now, and his dominance doesn’t look like it’s close to ending any time soon. Nine winners at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival are unheard of for any trainer in recent times but Mullins, and there is no reason to believe that he can’t improve on that number in festivals to come.

He isn’t without his own setbacks throughout his training career, the well documented fallout with Gigginstown saw many of his stable stars moved on from Closutton, but his ability to train has meant he’s built back up now, and now everyone wants a horse trained by Willie Mullins.

It seems as if anything that he turns his hand to, he can take out. When it appeared, he may have a chance of winning the British Trainers’ Championship, despite his horses not making the trip over the Irish Sea all too frequently, he proceeded to win the Grand National with I Am Maximus and the Scottish Grand National with Macdermott, to clinch the title.

Mullins can get a horse primed to win competitive races, even after lengthy absences. A couple of examples down the years at the Cheltenham Festival have been with Arctic Fire in the 2017 County Hurdle and Penhill in the 2018 Stayers’ Hurdle.

It didn’t matter that these horses had over 400 and 300 days off the track respectively, Mullins got them race fit and brought them over to Cheltenham to land more success.

His ability in training mares is also a real skill that has seen him win the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on multiple occasions, most notably six times in a row with star mare Quevega and most recently in 2024 with Lossiemouth, who now looks a live chance for the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival this year.

His main stable star is, without doubt, Galopin des Champs. A two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Mullins has had his fair share of challenges with the horse. It was a glittering season in the run-up to his first Gold Cup before he was beaten twice by Fastorslow at Punchestown, with many questioning the horse and his credentials. Mullins had him cherry ripe and he was very impressive taking out his second Gold Cup, beating off a very strong field in the process.

He has a number of exciting novice hurdles and chasers coming through, such as Ballyburn, Dancing City and Majborough as well as his proven stars such as State Man, Gaelic Warrior and, of course, Galopin Des Champs.

Last year of Willie Mullins in Horse Racing

2024 was a historical year for Willie Mullins, notching nine Cheltenham Festival winners and the British Trainers’ Championship.

As mentioned, he won the Grand National for the first time since 2005 with I Am Maximus, with the prize money from the victory really propelling him into the trainers’ title race.

It’s not just the top National Hunt races that Willie Mullins excels in though, he had regular runners of the Flat including a Royal Ascot winner in Belloccio. He has had many represent him internationally, including two runners in the recent Melbourne Cup in Vauban and Absurde.

Gordon Elliott

Learning from the masterful Martin Pipe stood Elliott in good stead when he launched his own training career in 2006. He saddled Silver Birch to Grand National glory at Aintree in 2007 before even having a winner on home soil in Ireland.

It was an auspicious start to Elliott’s training career, and it took him multiple attempts before he won his first Irish Grand National. In 2018, Elliott sent out 13 runners in the race and finally ended his hoodoo as General Principle was first past the post.

Willie Mullins, once again, won the Irish Trainers’ Championship as well as the British equivalent, another year where Elliott hasn’t quite had the firepower to match that of Closutton’s. However, stable jockey Jack Kennedy won the Irish Jockeys’ Championship in 2024, overhauling Paul Townend for the first time, he was predominantly backed by Elliott throughout the year, and it showed in the end.

He has had plenty of joy at the Cheltenham Festival over the years, crowned top trainer in 2017 and 2018, recording 14 winners across the two years. He hasn’t quite reached that level since with the increase of Willie’s winners, but he’s an ever present force at Prestbury Park and gets consistent winners every year.

The 2024 Cheltenham Festival was a fine year for Gordon, where he had three winners in the form of Teahupoo, Stellar Story and Better Days Ahead.

Last year of Gordon Elliott in Horse Racing

Elliott trained three winners at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival as well as several big winners in Ireland.

Nicky Henderson

Seven Barrows trainer Nicky Henderson has been on the scene for some 40 years now, having previously assisted Fred Winter during the mid-1970s. No trainer has saddled more Champion Hurdle winners than Henderson who reached nine as Constitution Hill stormed up the Cheltenham run in.

And the veteran trainer has had plenty of success in the other Championship races at the Cheltenham Festival.

Henderson has won the Queen Mother Champion Chase six times – joint-most with Tom Dreaper and Paul Nicholls. While he’s also sent out two wins in both the Stayers’ Hurdle and Gold Cup.

The Grand National is a race that has evaded Henderson. Despite having sent out 20 runners in the world’s greatest steeplechase, he’s only seen five complete and has never placed in the race.

He’s not won the Scottish or Welsh equivalents either, but then again, you probably don’t associate too many stayers with Henderson. Bobs Worth may have won three Cheltenham Festival races, including the Gold Cup, but he’s the main one that falls into that category.

Last year of Nicky Henderson in Horse Racing

2024 was a tough year for Henderson and the team at Seven Barrows. Stable star Constitution Hill has looked one of the most exciting Jumps horses in the country and looked to be a warm order for the Champion Hurdle this year and many to come, however a disappointing public gallop at Kempton showed the horse and many others of Henderson’s Cheltenham string to have caught a virus, ruling them all out of participation in the festival.

Constitution Hill looks to have made a full recovery, and we look forward to seeing him in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle at the end of November.

View the latest jockey and trainers’ betting odds here

Paul Nicholls

The Ditcheat trainer started life as a jockey and had plenty of great guidance, starting under the stewardship of Josh Gifford before becoming stable jockey for David Barons.

In 1985 and 1986 Nicholls rode the winners of the Hennessy Gold Cup (now known as the Coral Gold Cup) at Newbury, while he also landed the 1987 Welsh Grand National aboard Playschool.

Having ridden 133 winners over seven years, Nicholls retired after injury in 1989 and two years later took out his training licence – some might say he’s never looked back.

It was in 1993 that he sent out his first Grade 1 winner, but he had to wait until 1999 for his Cheltenham Festival breakthrough, which saw him land two Championship races with Call Equiname in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and See More Business in the Gold Cup.

Through the years he’s trained plenty of legendary names, which have helped provide many rivalries, including the one between Kauto Star and Denman. Kauto Star won the Gold Cup twice in 2007 and 2009 with Denman getting the better of his stablemate in 2008.

Not only did Kauto Star produce at Cheltenham, but he was a five-time winner of the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day – a feat that remains unmatched. And it’s that Grade 1 that Nicholls like to target, winning it 13 times since 1997.

With all the success at the upper echelons of National Hunt racing, it’s no surprise that Nicholls has racked up plenty of prize money. He won his first Champion Trainer title in 2005/06 and has gone on to claim the accolade 11 more times, wrestling it back from Nicky Henderson in the 2021/22 season.

Another thing Nicholls has is a Grand National victory. In 2012 Neptune Collonges wore down Sunnyhillboy in the final furlong and got up on the line to win by a nose under a power-packed Daryl Jacob ride. However, that remains his only Grand National winner from 63 runners, and he didn’t have a single entry for the 2024 race.