Title race live: Dan Skelton's title lead pushes past £70,000 mark before crucial clash in valuable Sussex Champion Hurdle

Willie Mullins cut Dan Skelton's lead in the British trainers' championship to just £27,878 ahead of the final week of the season as Absurde led home a one-two for the Irishman in the Sussex Champion Hurdle at Plumpton.

Coral cut Mullins to 1-4 (from 1-3) to retain the title after Sunday's action, in which he picked up prize-money with four of his five runners in Britain.

Skelton also had a winner when Shakeyatailfeather followed up her victory at Cheltenham on Thursday with a gutsy success in the 2m3½f handicap chase, but the trainer was eased to 11-4 (from 9-4) after his advantage decreased from just under £70,000 at the start of the day.

Mullins came close to taking Plumpton's last – worth £15,843 to the winner – with Mr Escobar, but he had to settle for second and £7,290.

Skelton said: "Willie was always going to take prize-money out of the day and it was just a question of how much. He took more out of it than we wished he had, but I'm not getting het up about it.

"Monday is another day. We've got some big chances and we'll just try and get a few quid back and see what happens.

"We can't legislate for what happened in the Grand National, he's pushing all the boundaries and making us all come up to his mark and it's a privilege to be involved. We're trying our best and if we can do it, we will, if we can't, I'll look forward to trying to win it another day. It's not over yet."

Skelton's advantage passed the £75,000 mark before the Sussex Champion Hurdle on Plumpton's valuable Easter Sunday card, but Daddy Long Legs followed impressive stablemate Absurde home in the feature to shrink his lead to £26,269.

Knickerbockerglory and She's A Saint gave Skelton some place money in the race, while Mullins' Sir Gerhard won £1,117.50 courtesy of finishing sixth.

There is less than a week to go until the championship concludes at Sandown on Saturday and both trainers are set to go head to head again on Monday at Plumpton, where the key race is the BetGoodwin Sussex Champion Chase, worth £52,810 to the winner.

Skelton fields early favourite and recent Ayr winner Asta La Pasta while Mullins, bidding to repeat last year's trick by overhauling Skelton in the final weeks of the season, runs Westport Cove on a day when the reigning champion's focus will mostly be centred on Fairyhouse's Irish Grand National card.

Latest standings

Skelton £3,236,057
Mullins £3,208,179

Difference £27,878

How the day unfolded

Standings at start of the day
Skelton £3,211,982
Mullins £3,142,810

1.50 Plumpton

Prize-money accumulated
Skelton – £2,069.10 (Lady Kluck, third)

Total
Skelton £3,214,051

2.20 Plumpton

Prize-money accumulated
Skelton – none (Le Fauve, pulled up)

Total
Skelton £3,214,051

2.55 Plumpton

Prize-money accumulated
Skelton – none (Denzil, eighth)

Total
Skelton £3,214,051

3.30 Plumpton

Prize-money accumulated
Skelton - £6,381 (Major Fortune, third; Hidden Heroics, fourth)

Total
Skelton £3,220,432

4.05 Plumpton

Prize-money accumulated
Skelton - £6,381 (Knickerbockerglory, fourth; She's A Saint, fifth)
Mullins - £58,080 (Absurde, first; Daddy Long Legs, second; Sir Gerhard sixth, Tounsivator, ninth)

Total
Skelton - £3,226,813
Mullins - £3,200,890