((( PAUL NICHOLLS vs WP MULLINS ))) for the British Trainers' Championship.

Wild Willie Mullins is coming out all guns blazing too with entries in.....PERTH's 3 day meeting, TAUNTON & WARWICK this week and obviously SANDOWN on Saturday where the prize-money for those big graded races will make all the difference between these opponents.
Be ready with Stetson and twin Smith & Wesson’s in the holsters

I see the Outlaw Paul Nicholls has his horses, guns and Dodging Bullets lined up for Saturday BUT someone needs to buy him a Stetson, so he can tip his hat to Willie's Vautour. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Chase at 3pm on Saturday could be another classic.

4 shots to be fired from PAUL today...after only a 2nd & 3rd yesterday...

4.00pm Kem 24G 5y+ HcapCh (10K)3 Port Melon 6/1 Sam Twiston-Davies 11-10 138 3
4.30pm Kem 21G 4y+ HcapHdl (8K)3 Chartbreaker 6/1  Sam Twiston-Davies 11-3 126 3
5.00pm Kem 20G 6y+ S (4K)5 Polisky 3/1fav  Miss B Frost(3) 12-0 121 5
5.45pm Lud 15GS 4-6y NHF (5K)4 Coup De Pinceau 7/4fav Nick Scholfield 10-12  4

Nicholls pulled off a Coup De Pinceau to bag another £3,249 yesterday, and is All Set To Go this evening with his Beretta in the first two races at his local Taunton.

Meanwhile, Willie fires his first shots of the week - both in 3.15 at Perth today - Nambour BJ Cooper & Up For Review P Townend.

Wiliie chitty BANG BANG - Nice forecast CSF- £15.27 with a one-two at Perth for Willie, while Nicholls was All Set To Go to increases his lead to £43,240.
"We are back in the game after this race, but we still have a hill to climb and I think we are going to need a four-timer on Saturday if we are to win the championship," said Mullins. "I would say we are up against it but we are going to give it our best shot."

SATURDAY's Sprinter Sacre vs Un De Sceaux - The QM Champion Chase all over again - when SS won £199,325.00 for 1st and UDS won £74,795.00 (that 124,500 would have made a huge the difference). That little drop of rain forecast on Friday night will be welcome.

Don't think Nicholls has the fire power any more - going off to Barbados at a critical time mid-season is hardly someone deserving of a Champion Trainer title !

THE SHOWDOWN AT SANDOWN is nearly upon us, but first there's the little matter of a Friday skirmish with Wild Willie in Perth now with Rolly Baby 7/4
and later this evening with Outlaw Nicholls who has four shots to fire in Chepstow.

The NH Trainers' title sees Wild Willie with £2,266,562 vs Outlaw Nicholls with £2,320,118.

Willie £2,275,659.

The Bandit Sir Alex Ferguson also gives Nicholls a helping hand in the next at Chepstow with his Rainy City although Big Chief Benny 1/1 will likely scalp the duo again !

THE SHOWDOWN AT SANDOWN.....It's the gunslinger Outlaw Nicholls vs Marshal Mullins.

YES, the shootout for the NH Trainers' Championship is set to go down to the very last day of the campaign. The Crookies have the Outlaw Nicholls @4/6 fav with the Marshal Mullins 11/8. Both throw almost everything at Sandown's Magnificent Seven race card in the hope of stealing the title.

This is how the valuable card could decide the title :-


2.20 B365 Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Class 2) Total prize fund £50,000 Winner's prize £31,280
Voix Du Reve's 5/2 last-flight fall in the Fred Winter when coming to challenge could prove one of the turning points of this battle, as it left Nicholls with a one-two for which he claimed just shy of £60,000. That horse is Mullins' sole entrant in this valuable juvenile handicap. Nicholls relies on JCB 7th: Tommy Silver 4/1.


2.55 B365 Oaksey Chase (Grade 2) Total prize fund £50,000 Winner's prize £28,475
Mullins has a winning hand in this race (even without Vautour) in the build-up to the most valuable race on the card with two entrants - Valseur Lido 5/6fav along with Ballycasey 16/1 for place money.
Nicholls has three long(er) shots (no Dodging Bullets) with Wonderful Charm 9/1, Saphir Du Rheu 12/1 (who stays Chasing and a little surprising not to see him given the option of returning to hurdles) & Rocky Creek 28/1 for place money.
Hobbs, whose quietly brilliant season has played out in the background of this battle, might up-stage(coach) the two rivals with Menorah 5/1.

3.35 bet365 Celebration Chase (Grade 1) Total prize fund £125,000 Winner's prize £71,187
The most spectacular race of the day is no doubt a re-run of The QM Champion Chase. It may only be the second most valuable prize on the card but it should be a classic dual between swashbuckling Nicky Hendos Sprinter Sacre 6/5 and Willies Un De Sceaux (6/4). All Nicholls can do in this is Dodging Bullets 16/1 in front of Sire De Grugy 14/1 for some place money with £13,375.00 for 3rd. Paul’s other two runners Solar Impulse 50’s and Ulck Du Lin 80’s should mop up the 5k for 5th & 6th.

4.10 bet365 Gold Cup (Grade 3) Total prize fund £150,000 Winner's prize £84,405
Staying chasers HAVE been so often Nicholls' trump card and in the most valuable race of the day he has arguably his strongest hand. Southfield Theatre 8/1 fav, while he also has last year's winner Just A Par 20/1.
Mullins' might surprise with Measureofmydreams 14/1 who exited in the Scottish equivalent and Sir Des Champs 25/1 was an early casualty in the Grand National.
The Young Master 9/1 Neil Mulholland with young Sam Waley-Cohen (3) is the fly in the ointment for CMiyc.

4.45 bet365 Select Hurdle (Listed) Total prize fund £50,000 Winner's prize £28,475
The edge here belongs to Mullins who has Vroum Vroum Mag 4/5 for his third winner of the day while Nicholls sweeps up the important? place money again with Ptit Zig 7/1 or Silsol 14/1. His San Benedeto 33/1 can only hope for 6th place money of the 7 runners.

5.20 bet365 Josh Gifford Novices' Handicap Chase (Class 2) Total prize fund £30,000 Winner's prize £18,768
Nicholls' three bullets - Calipto 5/1fav, Some Buckle 11/2 and As De Mee 9/1 - have fallen short of lofty expectations so far this season. His other entry, Dormello Mo, ran only 3rd at Newton Abbot on Monday while Kerry Lee’s Kylemore Lough entry is switched to win again, in Punchestown next week !!!
Rolly Baby was Wild Willie’s sole entry but already won that skirmish in Perth for Townend as suggested earlier.

5.55 bet365 Handicap Hurdle (Class 2) Total prize fund £30,000 Winner's prize £18,768
It coulda woulda shoulda all come down to this race and neither man seems to be taking any risks - although earlier place money for Nicholls may have already be vital in deciding the Trainers’ Title. Mullins had eight entries to Nicholls seven.
Bellow Mome 8/1 is Willie’s favourite gunslinger with Burgas 20/1 & Mckinley 25/1 for back-up, while the outlaw Nicholls shoots from the hip with 2nd fav Red Hanrahan 9/1, Qualando 14/1 , Alcala 16/1 & Chartbreaker a 33/1 shot.
Could HM The Queen have a Close Touch 33/1 after her 90th Birthday to spoil the party or perhaps JP’s Matorico (14’s with B/way) shoulda coulda willa lend a helping hand to Willie this time round ? Expect a nail biting finish as the two Champions sling it out for the final £30,000 available in this Wild West 2015-16 NH season.

©Cmiyc

KL ?

Amazing that Marshall Mullins is even in with a chance of the Trainer's Title with only 26 winners...Shows his dominance of all the big races! The Outlaw Nicholls has 121 winners for the season so far! That's a big difference. Think IF UDS wins then it's curtains for Paul.

Congratulations to Richard Johnson Champion Jockey !

http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/nicholls-v-mullins-their-thrilling-fight-in-numbers/2065899/top/#newsArchiveTabs=last7DaysNews


Any analysis of this tussle must start at the Cheltenham Festival, without which Mullins would not be a factor.
On the eve of the festival, Mullins lay 17th in the standings, with Nicholls leading the way but things began to change quickly as Mullins once again dominated the first day of the Prestbury Park spectacular.
Mullins bagged a total of £1,291,480.10 at the fixture, compared to Nicholls' £217,900.
In fact, Mullins took more than double Nicholls' entire haul in just place money only, with his beaten brigade accounting for an incredible £534,923.20.

While Mullins emerged as a threat in the spring, Nicholls set out his stall from early in the season, with his most profitable calendar month coming in November.
The Ditcheat handler pocketed £500,461 during that period, meaning Mullins actually picked up more money from his placed runners at the festival than Nicholls in even his best month.
If he loses the title, Nicholls might look to the turn of the year as the time it was truly lost, as he managed to bring in only £130,791 from January 1 to February 1.
Barbados ?

Cricket, this is a funny old game ! Perfect for Hobbs & Menorah and sets the stage for Champion Jockey presentation

71k for the winner with Marshall Mullins 44k behind - he needs UDS to win this from the front

Pure class from SS

Just 36k now between the rivals

Nice fly in the ointment ty

Vautours fall at aintree cost Mullins the title in the end