Elliott doesn't take Mullins' dominance as a given. Why should anyone else?

READY TO GO AGAIN: Willie Mullins, who is showing no signs of taking his foot off the accelerator as he prepares what he ominously warns may be his strongest team yet for this year's Cheltenham Festival. Issue date: Thursday March 9, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story RACING Cheltenham Mullins. Photo credit should read Lorraine O'Sullivan/PA Wire.

Willie Mullins may well be responsible for half of the favourites of what ought to be the most competitive four days in National Hunt racing. There will be hiccups along the way and perhaps the week will come when it all goes pear-shaped for the team. But from this vantage point, everything is rosy in the Closutton garden as we look ahead to the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.

Twelve months ago, his tally for the four days, and just 28 races, reached an incredible 10 winners and there ought to be nothing but wholehearted admiration for another job well done. So why, then, does Mullins’ success always rise the issue of his dominance and the effect, commonly perceived as negative, that it is having on the sport.