The three-way struggle to claim the National Hunt trainers’ championship will provide a race-by-race narrative to the Grand National meeting at Aintree, as Paul Nicholls attempts to win a record-equalling 15th title while Dan Skelton and Willie Mullins aim for their first.
There are 20 races worth £100,000 or more still to be staged in Britain before the end of April, and 15 of those will be run over the next three days at Aintree. The fifteenth, of course, is the £1m Grand National on Saturday, but the three title contenders have 43 declared runners over the first two days alone, including more than a dozen that are likely to be the first or second pick in the betting.
