Mullins bids to emulate Irish racing legend Vincent O’Brien this weekend

El Fabiolo has been installed as the 4/6 favourite with BoyleSports for the Celebration Chase at Sandown after declarations were revealed for Saturday’s card.

The Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old will lead a team of nine runners for the Closutton maestro at the Esher venue as he looks to further cement his position at the top of the Champion Trainer table on the final day of the season.

Mullins holds an almost unsurmountable £175,085 lead over the chasing Dan Skelton, as both trainers look to win the championship for the first time. Fourteen-time champion Paul Nicholls lies a further £77,829 behind as Mullins bids to become only the second Irish trainer to complete the feat, with Irish racing royalty Vincent O’Brien scooping the prize in 1953 and 1954.

Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon (9/4) will look to back up his Melling Chase win and claim back-to-back Celebration Chases as he renews rivalry with his old foe El Fabiolo, while Gaelic Warrior will bypass the open company race to stick to novice company at Punchestown, where he is odds-on for the Castle Novice Chase (2/5).

The feature race of the day, the Gold Cup will see a three-pronged Closutton attack led by Nick Rockett, who went off favourite for the BoyleSports Irish Grand National and Minella Cocooner who finished third in the Easter Monday marathon at Fairyhouse, both priced at 8/1 to score at Sandown.

In what could be a day to remember for the double green of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, Impaire Et Passe will take on Langer Dan in the Select Hurdle, with less than a neck separating the duo in the Aintree Hurdle as Mullins and Skelton continue to do battle.

Despite £675,000 of prize money being up for grabs as the curtain comes down on the season, the bookies remain convinced that Willie Mullins is a sure thing to be crowned Champion Trainer in the UK, with BoyleSports having paid out on all bets in the wake of MacDermott’s success in the Scottish Grand National.

Brian O’Keeffe, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “The strength and depth of the Willie Mullins stable continues to blow us away and despite sending a strong team to Sandown, we know he’ll have us running scared at Punchestown next week too.”