‘You can’t fake quality’ - why punters need to take note as Dan Skelton's Saturday squad gives a snapshot of a special season

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It is the day when champions are crowned and all the hard-fought winners through the depths of winter, along with every last penny of prize-money earned over the past 12 months, can be celebrated in the sunshine at Sandown as the jumps season in Britain reaches its finale.

And while it’s been business as usual for Sean Bowen, about to become champion jockey for the second time after going out hard from the word go last May, it has been subtle tweaks all season long that will on Saturday see Dan Skelton receive his first trainers’ championship trophy from his long-time mentor Paul Nicholls. 

Furthermore, many of his highest-profile runners on the Sandown card encapsulate the shifts in Skelton’s mindset that have seen him finally wrestle the title away from Willie Mullins with what will be a new record high in terms of prize-money won in a British season, most likely even passing the £5 million mark on Saturday.