Timeform ratings help highlight the incredible strength in depth at Willie Mullins' disposal and just how difficult a task Dan Skelton has faced in trying to wrest the title from the champion.
After the retirement of Langer Dan, Skelton was left with seven horses with a Timeform rating of 145 or higher, the benchmark for smart form over jumps, while Etalon also reached that level when successful at Perth on Wednesday.
In contrast, Mullins has a remarkable 58 horses rated 145 or higher, providing him with a far deeper pool of horses to choose from in the most valuable end-of-season races that has enabled him to rapidly eat into the lead Skelton has spent all season accumulating and will probably prove decisive in the trainers' championship.
That was evident in the Grand National, in which Mullins saddled the first three home, plus the fifth and the seventh, from his six runners to take a huge chunk out of Skelton's title lead. Mullins also had six runners in the Scottish National - comprising an even greater percentage of the field - and had a one-two.
The Scottish National winner, Captain Cody, hasn't been declared for the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown on Saturday but Mullins still has ten runners and is responsible for half the field. Skelton has only one runner, Hoe Joly Smoke, in the bet365 Gold Cup while he had just two runners in the Scottish Grand National, Snipe and Sail Away, and was not represented in the Grand National at Aintree.
Of course, with huge prize-money and prestige on offer at Punchestown next week, Mullins has not thrown absolutely everything at the British title, with his two highest-rated horses Galopin des Champs (175) and Fact To File (173) both kept at home.
But Skelton has also had considerations other than the trainers' title, such as the best long-term plans for his horses, which is why his top novice hurdler The New Lion (156p) has not been seen out since Cheltenham. Neither Skelton nor Mullins has had all of their big guns available for the run-in and that has to count against the trainer with the much smaller squad of smart sorts to pick from.
At Sandown on Saturday alone Mullins has declared 21 horses, 11 of whom have smart Timeform ratings. That's more horses rated 145+ running on one card than Skelton and Nicky Henderson could call upon and only one fewer than Paul Nicholls has in his stable.
It is not by luck that Mullins has been able to acquire such a deep and talented team - he is reaping the rewards for decades of success. But when the Mullins juggernaut fixes on a target there is now almost an inevitability it will crush anything in its path.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
