Transportation trouble unable to derail Willie Mullins' Trainers Championship tilt

Willie Mullins has already navigated one potential obstacle in his bid to retain the British trainers' title, after a substitute lorry was needed to transport some of his Sandown team on Thursday morning.

The Closutton maestro has gathered a 21-runner squad for Sandown's end-of-season meeting and his face-off with Dan Skelton, which will determine who claims the champion trainer trophy.

However, one of the Mullins lorries failed to start as some of the string were gearing up to embark on the first leg of their journey, resulting in an early-morning rush for a replacement.

Mullins said: “When the lorries pulled out this morning for Sandown, one of them wouldn’t start so we had to get a new lorry at half past five in the morning.”

The trainer was not aware of the issue himself until mid-morning once the stranded runners were safely on their way.

On a media call hosted by Great British Racing, Mullins added: “I didn’t know anything about it until I was wondering what my own lorry was doing in the yard taking horses to the Curragh when I thought that should be in England.

“I would think if I’m normally passing a bed at 5.30 in the morning, I’m normally getting into it not getting out of it, so I didn’t know anything.

“The lorry started last night and it’s started again just now so whatever happened first thing this morning I don’t know, but we found a spare quick enough.”

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