Newmarket’s big Autumn meeting, the appropriately named Champions Day, takes place this weekend and while researching the stats for our latest trends guide I uncovered a few trainers who are worthy of a mention.
Concentrating on the 6 main races of the day (Challenge Stakes, Champion Stakes, Rockfel Stakes, The Dewhurst, The Cesarewitch and The Jockey Club Cup) for the last decade I’ve come up with 3 trainers to look out for and 4 to possibly be wary of.
POSITIVE
Jim Bolger
In the last 10 years he’s had just 9 runners at the meeting but has managed 5 wins (55.6%) for a profit of +£22.02
Bolger has won the last 3 runnings of the Dewhurst from his only 3 runners in the race. He’s also won the Champion Stakes and the Rockfel.
Barry Hills
With 51 runners he’s had the most participants over the 6 races but they have yielded 8 winners (strike rate of 15.7%) for a whopping profit of +£43.42
Mr Hills has won the Challenge Stakes 3 times since 2000 and amazingly all 3 winners returned 20/1. He’s also won the Champion Stakes twice, the Rockfel, the Dewhurst and the Jockey Club Cup. However he last won The Cesarewitch way back in 1988 (Nomadic Way.)
Marcus Tregoning
He doesn’t have that many runners, just 14 in the last decade, but they usually run well and 3 have won (21.4% strike rate). Those 3 winners would have returned you a level stakes profit of £23.50.
He’s taken both Group 1 races on the card and provided a shock 25/1 winner in the 2000 Rockfel with the maiden Sayedah.
NEGATIVE
Sir Michael Stoute
He may be one of the best modern day trainers but a record of just 3 winners from 43 runners (7% strike rate) makes for fairly unimpressive reading. You would have recorded a level stakes loss of only -£7 in the last 10 years but this is mainly due to the 20/1 shock winner Cover Up saving the trainers blushes in the 2005 Jockey Club Cup.
S. Bin Suroor
They may be riding the crest of a wave at the moment and having their best season for a long time but if past performances are anything to go by Godolphin are heading for a nasty fall this weekend.
They’ve managed just 2 winners from 34 runners (5.9%) in the last decade for a loss of -£24.
Bin Suroor has a 0 from 15 record in the Champion Stakes for the past 10 years and, a not much better, 1 from 12 in the Challenge Stakes
Aiden O’Brien
Another top trainer who has struggled to get amongst the winners on Champions Day in the last 10 years is the master of Ballydoyle. From 45 runners he has hit the target just twice and in the process recorded a level stakes loss of -£32.33
The race that seems to do him the most damage is the Dewhurst where his 23 runners have yeilded just a single winner (Rock of Gibraltar in 2001 at odds of 4/6).
Richard Hannon
He may be the king of the 2yo but his Champion’s Day record leaves a lot to be desired with just 1 winner from 19 runners in the last decade. You would have lost £10 backing his horses to a level £1 stake with only a solitary win in the Rockfel saving the day. Beware his runners in the Challenge Stakes where he is 0 from 8 for the period in question.
Good luck,
Gavin