WILLIE Mullins is in France this weekend hoping to secure some horses to replace the 60 removed from his stables by Gigginstown House Stud this week.

Speaking to The Irish Field after racing at Gowran Park yesterday, the champion trainer reflected on his eventful week. “Our numbers will obviously be down this season but we will manage. I am happy that we won’t have to let any staff go at the moment.”

Mullins will be at the Arc Sale in Paris this evening, a venue where he has picked up some high-class recruits in the past. “A fairy godmother has yet to appear but I’m lucky enough to still have some owners who will take a good horse if I find one. That’s generally what happens.”

Gigginstown House Stud lost no time in finding new homes for the ‘Mullins 60’ following their decision not to accept the 10% training fees increase at the Mullins’ yard. At Gowran Park today Devils Bride represents trainer Henry de Bromhead and tomorrow at Tipperary trainer Joseph O’Brien runs Bel Sas, his first Gigginstown runner.

Gordon Elliott has received between 17 and 20 extra horses, Mouse Morris at least seven while Henry de Bromhead, Noel Meade and Joseph O’Brien have also benefitted.

Gigginstown is believed to pay trainers a basic €1,500 monthly training fee per horse. This equates to around €50 a day and matches the weekly €350 charged by Mullins for the past 10 years. Recently Mullins wrote to all his owners advising them that his rates were going up by €35 (10%) to €385. This prompted Gigginstown to remove their horses.

Mullins told At The Races: “We’re parting company - it’s basically over fees, I imagine. I put up my fees for the first time in 10 years and Gigginstown chose not to pay them. That’s it, we’re just parting company.

“We’ve put together a fantastic team with Eddie O’Leary and ourselves but that’s it. It’s there now and the team is there for someone else to train.”

In a statement issued to RTÉ Sport, Gigginstown said: “As Gigginstown House Stud has been unable to reach agreement with Willie Mullins on an increase in training fees, we have agreed - with considerable regret - to move the Gigginstown horses to alternative trainers for the coming 2016/17 season.

“Gigginstown wishes to sincerely thank Willie and all the team at Closutton for the many Grade 1 races we have won together over the past seven years. We hope that an agreement can be reached at some time in the future which will allow Willie to resume buying and training more graded winners for us.

“While we part at this time with regret, we wish Willie and all the team at Closutton continued success.”

Last season Willie Mullins campaigned 191 horses including 40 for Gigginstown. His total prize money haul of €4.4 million left him almost €2 million ahead of Gordon Elliott. Elliott ran 208 horses last season and his 61 Gigginstown runners included Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Don Cossack. Elliott is known to have secured Don Poli, Apple’s Jade, Outlander, A Toi Phil and Blow By Blow from the Mullins yard.

Henry de Bromhead has been given Valseur Lido and Devils Bride.