As we head into the best four days of jumps horse racing, many fans will be asking – how many Cheltenham Festival winners has Willie Mullins trained heading into the 2024 meeting?
Willie Mullins Has Trained 94 Cheltenham Festival Winners (and there’s more to come)
No trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival has trained more winners than Willie Mullins.
Next best is Nicky Henderson with 73 winners, with Paul Nicholls back in third on 48 Cheltenham Festival winners.
Therefore, Willie Mullins needs just six more successes to hit the magic 100 Cheltenham Festival winners, but with the Closutton handler getting exactly that figure 12 months ago and 10 winners in 2022, then it will be no shocker if he’s reaching this milestone.
Willie Mullins’ First Cheltenham Festival Winner Was Tourist Attraction In 1995
The Willie Mullins Cheltenham Festival story started back in 1995, when his Tourist Attraction won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – a race he’s now won seven times in total.
Wither Or Which gave Mullins his second Cheltenham Festival winner in 1996 when taking the Champion Bumper, with the classy Florida Pearl winning the same race a year later in 1997.
Since then, Willie Mullins has had many big race success at the Festival, including three Gold Cups, four Champion Hurdles, plus two Champion Chases and Stayers’ Hurdles.
Willie Mullins Trained Six Cheltenham Festival Winners In 2023
Willie Mullins is as short as 1/10 with the best UK horse racing betting sites to be the 2024 Cheltenham top trainer again and you feel even that those odds it’s still buying money.
Mullins has been the top handler at the meeting for the last five seasons (10 in total) and last year sent out six winners (see below).
Willie Mullins 2023 Cheltenham Festival Winners
- El Fabiolo – Arkle Chase
- Gaillard Du Mesnil – NH Chase
- Impaire Et Passe – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
- Energumene – Champion Chase
- Lossiemouth – Triumph Hurdle
- Galopin Des Champs – Gold Cup (watch below)
All bar two (Impaire Et Passe (Aintree bound) & Energumeme, injured) will be back in action at the Cheltenham Festival 2024.
Willie Mullins Has Been The Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer 10 Times
Trainer Willie Mullins has also been the Cheltenham Festival top trainer 10 times – no real shocker considering he’s racked-up 94 winners (and counting).
The first top trainer award at the meeting came in 2011, when just four winners landed the prize for him.
His biggest haul in one meeting to date was in 2022 when Willie Mullins sent out an incredible 10 winners over the 28 races. This works out that the top Irish trainer won 36% of the Cheltenham races that year.
Years Willie Mullins Has Been Top Cheltenham Festival Trainer
- 2023: Willie Mullins (6)
- 2022: Willie Mullins (10)
- 2021: Willie Mullins (6)
- 2020: Willie Mullins (7)
- 2019: Willie Mullins (4)
- 2016: Willie Mullins (7)
- 2015: Willie Mullins (8)
- 2014: Willie Mullins (4)
- 2013: Willie Mullins (5)
- 2011: Willie Mullins (4)
Willie Mullins Main Runners at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival
So, with another Cheltenham Festival top trainers title on the horizon and Willie Mullins needing just six more winners to hit the 100 mark – what are his best chances?
- Ballyburn – Supreme Novices’ Hurdle / Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle
- State Man – Champion Hurdle
- Lossiemouth – Mares Hurdle
- Fact To File – Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase / Tunrers Novices’ Chase
- El Fabiolo – Champion Chase
- Jade De Grugy – Champion Bumper
- Galopin Des Champs – Gold Cup
- Dinoblue – Mares Chase
Note: All figures correct as 26th Feb 2024
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