Paul Nicholls intends to be gracious in victory or defeat as his enthralling title battle with Willie Mullins comes to what promises to be a thrilling conclusion at Sandown on Saturday.
By his own admission this season has been a relatively low-key one for the master of Ditcheat, and yet he is tantalisingly close to being crowned Britain's champion National Hunt trainer for the 10th time.
Mullins - aiming to become the first Irish-based trainer to be claim the British crown since Vincent O'Brien in the 1950s - has remarkably trained less than 30 winners this side of the Irish Sea this term, but his dominance of the top-class events at Cheltenham and Aintree this spring - where he saddled seven and six winners respectively - looked to have put him in a commanding position.
However, Nicholls came roaring back last weekend, with Vicente's Scottish Grand National triumph the highlight of an Ayr four-timer and he has continued in similarly spectacular form since to ensure he now holds the aces ahead of the final day.
"We've had a great season and being competitive you want to win the championship. We want to keep it in the UK rather than it go to Ireland," said Nicholls.
"It's been quite tough this year. We only had five winners by October 1 and we didn't have the Grade One horses we've had in the past.
"Arguably we only have one Grade One horse in training, Silviniaco Conti, and he has had more than his share of problems this season.
"You can't just go out and buy horses like Kauto Star and Master Minded any more. Those days are gone.
"We have concentrated on recruiting and bringing on promising young horses for the future such as our juveniles and the group of bumper horses that have been so successful lately."
Nicholls insists he is proud of the yard's achievements this season, no matter what the result this weekend, and if he does come up short, he will be happy to congratulate the new champion.
He told Betfair: "I'm thrilled that we have won over 120 races, earning over £2.3million in prize-money for their owners and we have had more winners than any other yard this season, which is, I think, a first for us.
"I do tend to feel the pressure on these big days because I hate the idea of letting people down when things don't work out.
"But ours has always been a team effort and I am encouraged by all the messages of support that we have had in the past few days.
"We've fought back and kept chipping away and last Saturday was a big day for us.
"Me and Willie Mullins get on great. We always shake hands and we text from time to time if we want to help each other.
"He's a gentleman, he's a brilliant trainer and we have huge respect for each other. We've always got on great and always will do.
"Win or lose we have given it our best shot and if Willie Mullins is crowned champion trainer on Saturday I will be the first to shake his hand and say 'well done'.''
With significant ground to make up, for most trainers the battle would be as good as over with only one day remaining, but the Mullins army is out in force in Esher.
The likes of Un De Sceaux, Valseur Lido and Vroum Vroum Mag are all major contenders on a fantastic card, but the trainer's son and assistant Patrick is hopeful rather than confident that the Closutton team can wrestle back the advantage.
He said: "It's a big day and I think the general feeling in the yard at the moment is we're up against it.
"We might have to have four or five winners on the day, which is not impossible but it's a tough ask as when you need things like that to happen there's normally one that either gets beat or falls.
"Paul has two or three in a few of the races, so even if we win them, he's chipping away at us all the time picking up prize-money.
"You never know, though, and I think we'll all be heading over there and we'll see what happens.
"It's great to be in this position and you never know when it might happen again.
"It would be fantastic to win it but it's the end of the world.
"What's interesting is when Vincent O'Brien won the English title in the 1950s he wasn't actually champion trainer in Ireland which is a strange piece of information.
"If it can be done, great, but if Paul manages to retain his title fair play to him."
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