Willie Mullins was crowned leading trainer at the Cheltenham Festival for the 13th time after saddling eight winners from 69 runners, with his horses earning a staggering amount in prize money
Willie Mullins claimed the leading trainer title at the Cheltenham Festival for the 13th time this week following another extraordinary four days for the Carlow handler at Prestbury Park.
The 69-year-old sent out eight winners from his 69 runners, capturing seven Grade One contests, and accomplishing the exceptional feat of securing the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup in the same campaign. Gaelic Warrior’s Boodles Gold Cup triumph on Friday was the pinnacle of a week where he also claimed the major prizes with Lossiemouth and Il Etait Temps.
Mullins first secured the leading trainers’ accolade at Cheltenham in 2011 but has since commanded the Festival, with his all-time victory tally now reaching a staggering 121 successes. The Irish trainer’s earnings from Cheltenham have been calculated and the totals make for some jaw-dropping reading.
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Mullins ran 69 horses across 26 of the 28 contests – the only two races without a Mullins representative were the Ultima Handicap Chase on Tuesday and the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle on Thursday.
More than half, or 38 of those horses, earned prize-money for connections, with the Gold Cup winning sum of £351,687 representing the largest payout secured by a Mullins horse this week. On Tuesday, Mullins sent out just 11 horses and banked £431,338 with Lossiemouth securing the largest windfall, £262,077, from her Champion Hurdle triumph.
This meant the owner of both those horses, American-born businessman Rich Ricci, collected the two biggest cheques for a combined total of £614,365.
Wednesday’s net haul reached £486,515 whilst Thursday’s figure dropped significantly to £172,339 as the Closutton operation suffered a rare blank on the third day.
Friday’s Gold Cup victory delivered the most lucrative daily return of £541,526 bringing Willie Mullins’ four-day earnings to a staggering £1.63 million.
Mullins and his rider Paul Townend can levy approximately 10 per cent of any prize money from their owners, meaning for four days’ work in the Cotswolds this week, the duo pocketed close to £200,000 apiece.
Owners also cover training, entry, veterinary and transport costs whilst a jockey can expect a riding fee of £235.90 for each race they compete in.
Notably, Mullins has narrowed the deficit to Dan Skelton to roughly £1.9 million in the UK trainers’ championship, a title he has claimed for the past two consecutive years.
He also faces a domestic challenge from Gordon Elliott, with the Meath handler maintaining a lead of approximately £400,000 heading into the season’s closing weeks. Mullins has been named Irish champion trainer 19 times and in 2024 he became the first Irish trainer to clinch the UK title since Vincent O’Brien in the 1950s, repeating this achievement in 2025.
Whilst it seems improbable that Mullins will rival Skelton in the UK this season, with £1 million up for grabs in the Grand National at Aintree, it’s not entirely out of the question given that he saddled four of the top five finishers in 2025.