CHAMPION Irish trainer Willie Mullins has denied rumours that he is considering opening a satellite yard in Britain.
Speculation was rife at the weekend that the Carlow-based trainer was investigating the possibly of expanding his operation in a bold move across the Irish Sea.
However earlier this week, Mullins told The Irish Post that such a move “is not a runner”.
He added: “We are well able to go across and back, and the cost of having another yard in England… no, it’s not a runner.”
Asked if it there was a possibly of establishing a base here in the future, he said: “It is not something we are looking at in the immediate.”
This week, columnist Dougie Costello hailed the champion Irish trainer, tipping Mullins and Ruby Walsh to finish top trainer and jockey at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
“It looks like we have a good team going,” Mullins said. “But unfortunately, we can’t expect anything. You can only hope that it will be as good as last year and that most of them will perform because not all of them will perform to their best — it’s an away game for us when we go to England.”
Mullins said he currently has 140 horses in training and has worked with a total of 200 horses this year.
The depth of the trainer’s resources has been commented upon this season while Mullins has solidified his relationship with Walsh, who has enjoyed success since making a permanent move back to Carlow, having split his time between Closutton and Paul Nicholls’ yard in Ditcheat for 11 years.
Mullins has trained 29 Cheltenham Festival winners since 1995.
