Dominant in recent times, Willie Mullins rocketed through the 100 Cheltenham Festival winner mark last season and the master of Closutton is well fancied to claim a staggering 11th Top Cheltenham Festival Trainer crown next month. Yet again ready to unleash a strong squad of stars, Mullins will be the resounding favourite to reign supreme once again, but could he be dethroned this year?
We take a look at who could win the coveted accolade on the Friday 14th March and pick out some of the star names that will be going into battle over the four days of top quality National Hunt action.
Willie Mullins
It wasn’t surprising that Willie Mullins couldn’t emulate his 10 winners of 2023 when only saddling nine winners at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, but that was still enough to claim a fifth consecutive title and he’s long odds-on to land the prize again in 2025.
The dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs will be the flagbearer for the yard, as he goes in search of a third win in a row, while State Man will be looking to down Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle and retain his crown. However, it’s the novice division that really could see Mullins dominate as Kopek Des Bordes is a hot favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, while Majborough could hand him more Grade 1 glory in the Arkle an hour later. Add in the likes of Ballyburn and Dancing City (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase), Final Demand (Turners Novices’ Hurdle) and Maughreen (Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle) then the Co. Carlow maestro will have well-fancied contenders across a multitude of races.
He may hold a strong hand in some of the handicaps, but his Grade 1 dominance in the UK & Ireland means he’s entitled to be a warm order to retain his crown again and it’s hard to not see him picking up a hatful of trophies again and adding to the 103 winners he’s already saddled at the festival.
Nicky Henderson
The most successful British trainer in Cheltenham Festival history, Nicky Henderson has over 70 wins to his name at the legendary Jumps extravaganza, but he’s not tasted top trainer success since 2012. However, the Seven Barrows handler is ready to unleash a strong team at this year’s event and he could be a huge player in some of the biggest races of the week.
When you talk N J Henderson you have to talk about Constitution Hill and the superstar hurdler is a red-hot market leader to regain his Champion Hurdle. A fine winner of the 2022 Supreme, he then scorched the Prestbury Park turf to thrash State Man in the 2023 Champion Hurdle, but he missed last year through injury. However, he’s back and looks as good as ever this season and he’s the highlight of the opening day.
Jonbon will be another of the shining beacons for the Henderson yard and he’s destined to claim his first Cheltenham Festival win in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Those two legends should prevail, but Henderson was dealt a huge blow when Sir Gino was ruled out of the festival for the second year in a row when the Arkle looked on his plate. Lulamba is an exciting juvenile and is fancied for the Triumph Hurdle, but Henderson will need a few to spring up at decent prices if he’s to have any chance of dethroning Mullins.
Gordon Elliott
A dual winner of the Top Cheltenham Trainer title in 2017 and 2018, Gordon Elliott will be another heading across from Ireland with a strong team, but the Cullentra House yard may not have the firepower of yesteryear. Eight winners the three-times Grand National-winning trainer amassed in 2018, but his team looks unlikely to hand him that amount of winners this year.
Elliott certainly has the most talked about horse in the shape of Brighterdaysahead, who has absolutely trounced State Man on two occasions this season and is the one horse the public want to see take on Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle. However, the owners, Gigginstown House Stud may have other options for the first rate mare and opt for the easier, less exciting plan of snapping up Mares’ Hurdle glory.
Teahupoo is another potential Elliott banker as he aims to claim his second Stayers’ Hurdle crown on day three of the meeting and if he can repeat last year’s performance then will take all the beating in a division lacking significant strength in depth.
He may lack the firepower in the Grade 1 contests this festival, Elliott will have a huge amount of runners competing in the handicap hurdles and chases throughout the week and he could well pick up a few of those prizes as the week goes on. But, is it enough to challenge for top spot? I doubt it!
Other Contenders
With 28 races taking place there are plenty of opportunities for trainers to get their name etched into the illustrious Cheltenham Festival roll of honour and we pick out a few that should be able to bag a few winners during the week.
Former Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Henry De Bromhead may not have the likes of Minella Indo and Honeysuckle firing in wins at the highest level, but with 21 winners at the meeting he’s a man to keep an eye, while Gavin Cromwell will be another Irish handler looking to claim success and he should have a strong team.
Paul Nicholls certainly is a man that has struggled in recent times and he looks unlikely to have many key players, while Dan Skelton will have the likes of The New Lion and Langer Dan lining up, but won’t have enough top class talent to play any sort of starring role in the race to be crowned top trainer.
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