Turf Talk: 2026 will be the year that Dan Skelton is crowned Champion Trainer

As he did the previous year, Mullins managed to catch Skelton with a rush of winners at the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals, culminating with him having the first three home in the Grand National.

There is a similar theme this term, with Skelton setting a cracking pace and Mullins yet to get going over here in the UK.

Skelton is approaching 100 winners and has amassed more than £2 million in prize money, whereas Mullins has only had 15 runners and two winners.

With all the firepower in Skelton’s Alcester yard I am convinced that this is the year he is finally crowned Champion trainer.

As always, the National Hunt season revolved around the Cheltenham Festival. That man Mullins won 10 of the 28 races but amazingly never won the feature race on each day.

Golden Ace was a shock winner of the Champion Hurdle having benefitted from the last hurdle fall of State Man.

She of course had a similar shock win when first Constitutional Hill and then The New Lion toppled over to gift her the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle.

Marine Nationale won the Champion Chase for Barry Connell andbased on his comeback run at Leopardstown over Christmas will be hard to beat next year.

The Stayers Hurdle fell to yet another Irish-trained horse in Bob Ollinger, ridden by Rachael Blackmore, who retired from the saddle not long afterwards.

Blackmore did so much for the sport and female riders and will be sadly missed.

The biggest prize of all, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, went to the Gavin Cromwell-trained Inothewayurthinkin, who deprived Gallop De Champs of a third victory in the race.

That success meant that his owner JP McManus was again the top owner at a meeting where he has had over 80 winners.

McManus almost managed his fourth Grand National triumph when he had three of the first five home at Aintree, but Nick Rockett just got the better of his I Am Maximus in that famous Mullins one, two, three.

Although the Irish have dominated racing over here, evidence being winning 20 of the 28 races at the festival, there are signs that the English yards are fighting back.

Skelton is obviously leading the way, but the likes of Olly Murphy, Ben Pauling and Joe Tizzard are all young trainers having great seasons.

Throw in the old guard of Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson, and I think the future looks rosy.

And of course, we had a fairy tale ending to the year with The Jukebox Man winning the King George Chase at Kempton.

Ex-football manager and national treasure Harry Rednapp owns this chaser, who showed superb battling qualities to strike a blow for the smaller owners of the game. Good old ‘Arry.

May I wish all readers a very prosperous New Year.