A Mullins monopoly? Legendary trainer on the cusp of a century of Cheltenham Festival winners

At the beginning of a spectacular sporting week defined for many punters and aficionados by numbers and stats, there aren't many more indicative of the beast that the Cheltenham Festival has become than Willie Mullins' headline figure of 88 wins.

It is a startling illustration of the great man's all-pervasive influence at an event that has expanded so significantly. Nineteen years ago there were still just 20 races at the festival. Now, the programme has ballooned by 40 per cent to 28, and no one has exploited those enhanced opportunities more ruthlessly than Mullins.

It took the Closutton maestro 13 years to train his first ten winners there, yet 78 followed across the next 15. He has been crowned leading trainer an incredible nine times and last year saddled a record ten winners, including an unprecedented five-timer on the final day. All of these leave him on the cusp of a century of Cheltenham winners, a once incomprehensible prospect yet by now one that it isn't remotely outlandish to suggest he could hit this week with a fair wind.