ULTIMATELY, Willie Mullins came up short in his effort to land the British trainers’ championship, to become the first Irish-based trainer since Vincent O’Brien 62 years ago to achieve that feat. Even so, it was a valiant effort.

In the end, Paul Nicholls won by £97,825: £2.439 million to £2.341 million. In percentage terms, the British champion won by 4% of his total. You have to admire the effort that Nicholls put up to win it, you could see how much it meant to him, his tenth title. It was great theatre, it was great for racing, a crescendo on the final day of the season. Afterwards, people said that Willie Mullins went all out to win it but, in reality, he didn’t. Not all out. If he had gone all out, if he hadn’t had Punchestown to the forefront of his mind, it is possible that he could have won it. The figures tell you so.