Even though in the final month of last season Mullins won over £2.1m in prize money which saw him notch up eight wins at Aintree (including winning all four G1s on the first day, before his huge National haul), a repeat of that may still not be enough if Skelton can keep picking up prize money here and there.
We know full well that he will send out just about anything in his yard that is fit to run that he thinks will be capable of winning some additional prize money regardless of where the race is as the yard has come too far now (and worked too hard) to not utilise whatever is left in the yard to get this title won.
What happens at Aintree will surely dictate just how much ammunition Mullins will throw at Ayr and Sandown but my guess is that when the dust settles after Aintree, Skelton’s lead will simply be too much even for Mullins to claw back this time around.