Dan Skelton became the first jumps trainer to surpass the £4million prize-money barrier in history on Saturday.
The runaway trainers’ championship leader has yet to win the title, thanks in the main to the remarkable exploits of Willie Mullins, and has had to aim for even bigger things in a bid to achieve his dream.
In a game of numbers he is closing in on 1000 runners for the season and with a strike-rate around 18% he’s also closing in on 200 winners, with his prize-money haul now over the record-breaking £4million margin.
In typical fashion it was Diamond Dealer who helped him surpass the landmark, a gutsy success under Tristan Durrell in the BetWright Novices’ Handicap Chase at Kelso, worth over £20,000.
Skelton leads Mullins by over £2million in the standings this year and while he won’t be celebrating until it’s mathematically impossible for him to be caught, it would take something monumental for him not to be crowned champion at Sandown next month.
Champion Trainer Prize-Money Totals
- 2026 *Dan Skelton £4million+ *leading trainer
- 2025 Willie Mullins £3,570,991
- 2024 Willie Mullins £3,326,135
- 2023 Paul Nicholls £3,646,585
- 2022 Paul Nicholls £2,964,486
Skelton said on Saturday after achieving the milestone: "I set aspirational targets, sometimes we meet them sometimes we don't. But I think things like that (aiming for £4million) gives us all a bit of a focus. The owners buy into it, they enjoy the journey.
"I get to do it for these people, the staff, the owners, supporters and everyone else and they motivate me. Winning £4million, I'm only the name that goes on it, I've a part to play but not the biggest part by any stretch, that's shared.
"I love this job and to do something like that is pretty special."
On Willie Mullins pipping him at the post in recent seasons Skelton said: "It makes you reach and it makes you push harder.
"When you get somewhere near the top you have to be an independent thinker, a unique thinker. You have to do something different because when you are chasing you're thinking how you can fill the gap.
"When you're the one that's getting chased or the equal you're thinking about how you stretch and that's really hard.
"We saw last year tactically what we had to do differently, but then you have to push again with a different mindset. It's something I've enjoyed doing this year and something I'll enjoy doing next year as well.
"You set a new target, set a new thing. Move on to new ground. You always have to keep looking forward and break new ground. That's what motivates me."
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