The British Jumps Trainers Championship is the annual prize awarded to the season’s leading National Hunt trainer. Unlike the jockeys’ championship, which is decided by number of wins, the trainers’ championship goes to the trainer who accumulates the most prize money. A lot of winners certainly helps, but valuable events such as the Grand National or those at the Cheltenham Festival have a significant bearing on the destination of the title.
All winnings in British National Hunt races count towards the championship, with the season beginning in late April and ending at the Sandown’s Jumps Finale fixture the following April (there is usually a gap of a single day between the end of one season and the beginning of the next). The British Jumps Trainers Championship has fallen to several all-time greats, including Fred Rimmell, Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls, and 15-time winner Martin Pipe. Other names to note include Ireland-based Vincent O’Brien and Willie Mullins, who have added multiple British Trainers Championships to their collection of Irish titles.
2025/26 - Dan Skelton
Dan Skelton made a flying start to 2025/26 to build a significant advantage before the valuable spring festivals began. Despite the usual late Willie Mullins onslaught – including Cheltenham Gold Cup success and a third successive win in the Aintree Grand National – that lead proved too much for even the Closutton maestro to overhaul. Skelton made history as the first trainer to win a race at all 41 jumps tracks in a single season. His prize money total also broke new ground. Not content with becoming the first trainer to break through the £4 million barrier, he promptly surged past £5 million on the final day. Highlights of a spectacular year included a Grade 1 treble at the Aintree Grand National Festival, and valuable handicap wins in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and Coral Gold Cup.
- 1st - Dan Skelton - £5,045,615
- 2nd - Willie Mullins - £2,687,453
- 3rd - Nicky Henderson - £2,401,062
2024/25 - Willie Mullins
12 months after becoming the first Irish Trainer to win the British Trainers’ Championship since 1954, Willie Mullins repeated the feat. Over £1 million behind Dan Skelton ahead of the Aintree Grand National Festival, Mullins fired everything at the final months of the campaign. Erasing much of the deficit when saddling five of the first seven finishers in the Grand National, he headed into the Sandown Jumps Finale trailing by just £68,483. Attempting to cling on by his fingernails, Skelton could do nothing as Mullins fired in three winners on the day, and saddled the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the bet365 Gold Cup to retain his crown.
- 1st - Willie Mullins - £3,570,991
- 2nd - Dan Skelton - £3,377,124
- 3rd - Paul Nicholls - £2,545,078
2023/24 - Willie Mullins
For much of the 2023/24 season, the battle for the Trainer’s Championship looked like a straight fight between Paul Nicholls and his former protégé Dan Skelton. With only five British wins to his name, Willie Mullins was well off the pace in March. However, a nine-winner haul at the Cheltenham Festival, including Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, brought Mullins into the mix. When I Am Maximus then claimed the Grand National, Skelton and Nicholls were looking nervously over their shoulders. With the prize in sight, Mullins vaulted into the lead when Macdermott won the Scottish Grand National. Minella Cocooner sealed the deal with a bet365 Gold Cup success on the final day, as Mullins became the first Irish-based trainer to win the title since Vincent O’Brien in 1954.
- 1st - Willie Mullins - £3,326,135
- 2nd - Dan Skelton - £2,983,657
- 3rd - Paul Nicholls - £2,887,312
2022/23 - Paul Nicholls
2022/23 saw Paul Nicholls lift the trophy for the third season in a row. In winning the title for the 14th time, the master of Ditcheat moved to within one of record-setting 15-time winner Martin Pipe. Standout wins included Bravemansgame (King George VI Chase), Stage Star (Turners Novices’ Chase), and Stay Away Fay (Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle). Nicky Henderson took second, thanks to the exploits of Grade 1 superstars Constitution Hill, Jonbon, and Shishkin, while Dan Skelton’s consistency was rewarded with a third-place finish.
- 1st - Paul Nicholls - £3,646,585
- 2nd - Nicky Henderson - £2,648,792
- 3rd - Dan Skelton - £2,614,206
2021/22 - Paul Nicholls
Paul Nicholls held onto his crown in a tight race in 2021/22. Dan Skelton’s strength in numbers helped him remain in touch for the bulk of the season, while Nicky Henderson enjoyed big winners at the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals to close the gap. However, Nicholls finished with a flourish to fend off the competition. Having drawn a blank at the Cheltenham Festival, he came back firing at Aintree. The wins of Clan Des Obeaux (Betway Bowl Chase) and Gelino Bello (Sefton Novices’ Hurdle) added £196,795 to the Nicholls prize money total, with Greaneteen’s victory in the bet365 Celebration Chase ensuring he claimed the championship in style.
- 1st - Paul Nicholls - £2,964,486
- 2nd - Nicky Henderson - £2,421,296
- 3rd - Dan Skelton - £2,116,783
2020/21 - Paul Nicholls
The effects of the global pandemic continued to be felt in 2020/21, with total prize money taking a significant hit. Paul Nicholls came out on top courtesy of a consistent season which included five Grade 1 wins. The ever-popular Frodon picked up the biggest pay cheque when claiming a famous win in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. Comfortably clear headed into the closing months, Nicholls ended the season in style, with Clan Des Obeaux winning the Betway Bowl Chase and Greaneteen landing the Celebration Chase on the final day. Dan Skelton continued his ascent through the ranks to claim second for the first time.
- 1st - Paul Nicholls - £2,470,877
- 2nd - Dan Skelton - £1,858,165
- 3rd - Nicky Henderson - £1,490,241
2019/20 - Nicky Henderson
Nicky Henderson regained the title in a curtailed 2019/20 campaign. The Cheltenham Festival controversially went ahead, but the final month of the season, including the Grand National Festival, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Star names in the Henderson squad included Christmas Hurdle and Champion Hurdle heroine Epatante, Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Shishkin, and Champ, who claimed the RSA Novices’ Chase. Propelled by early-season victories, including Clan Des Obeaux in the King George VI Chase, Paul Nicholls led the race for much of the campaign, but he was unable to match Henderson’s decisive four-winner haul at the Cheltenham Festival. The Ditcheat handler closed the gap when Truckers Lodge won the Midlands Grand National but was denied the chance to launch a late charge in April.
- 1st - Nicky Henderson - £2,539,198
- 2nd - Paul Nicholls - £2,347,106
- 3rd - Dan Skelton - £1,486,254
2018/19 - Paul Nicholls
Paul Nicholls claimed an 11th title following another close battle with perennial rival Nicky Henderson. The valuable victories of Clan Des Obeaux in the King George VI Chase and Frodon in the Ryanair Chase made the difference. 2018/19 also saw Nicholls reach 3,000 winners - only the third National Hunt trainer in history to do so. Thanks to stars such as Altior, Buveur D’Air, and Verdana Blue, Henderson kept the pressure on throughout but fell just short. Dan Skelton became only the second trainer to win over 200 races in a single season (after the legendary Martin Pipe), as he finished third for the first time.
- 1st - Paul Nicholls - £3,307,172
- 2nd - Nicky Henderson - £2,908,080
- 3rd - Dan Skelton - £2,301,457
2017/18 - Nicky Henderson
Presiding over a squad including Buveur D’Air and Might Bite, and captained by the mighty Altior, Henderson had too many guns for his rivals in 2017/18. Buveur D’Air registered an early-season Grade 1 double in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and Christmas Hurdle, while Might Bite added £128,000 with a win in the King George VI Chase. Henderson then ended the race at the Cheltenham Festival courtesy of Buveur D’Air (Champion Hurdle), Altior (Queen Mother Champion Chase), and Might Bite (second in the Cheltenham Gold Cup). Lacking his usual superstar names, Paul Nicholls did well to take second, while Colin Tizzard had Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Native River to thank for his third-place finish.
- 1st - Nicky Henderson - £3,477,604
- 2nd - Paul Nicholls - £2,513,494
- 3rd - Colin Tizzard - £1,975,899
2016/17 - Nicky Henderson
2016/17 produced a thrilling head-to-head battle between Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson. Boasting strength in numbers, Nicholls fired in the winners throughout the season but managed only two Grade 1 wins and a single success at the Cheltenham Festival. Henderson, in contrast, ended the year with eight Grade 1 triumphs, three of which came at Cheltenham. Holding a narrow advantage ahead of the Finale fixture at Sandown, the brilliant Altior finally ended Nicholls’ hopes with an eight-length romp in the Celebration Chase. Colin Tizzard produced a career-best effort in third, thanks to star names including Cue Card (Betfair Chase) and Thistlecrack (King George VI Chase).
- 1st - Nicky Henderson - £2,846,487
- 2nd - Paul Nicholls - £2,529,250
- 3rd - Colin Tizzard - £2,041,055