The new flat season may still be in its early stages, but a number of trainers have already thrown down a marker with fast starts and impressive strike-rates.
With premier meetings having already taken place at the likes of Newmarket, Chester and Ascot, there’s been no shortage of success stories thus far.
As the height of the summer action gathers pace around the Derby and Royal Ascot, here are three trainers who have made a hot start to the campaign and are often backed in the horse racing tips.
Charlie Appleby
Charlie Appleby had a bit of a tough spring, but he got his runners into perfect shape for the flat season’s proper opener—the Guineas Festival at Newmarket at the start of May.
The Godolphin trainer picked up six winners across the prestigious three-day meeting at HQ, including winning both Classics.
Ruling Court held on from Field Of Gold for Appleby to retain his 2000 Guineas crown after Notable Speech’s win 12 months ago.
Meanwhile, Desert Flower impressively justified favouritism in the 1000 Guineas to gift the handler his first win in the fillies’ race.
Appleby has racked up £1.2 million in prize money at the time of writing, and with a strong crop of horses at Moulton Paddocks, could be in contention for the Trainers’ Championship again this year.
Andrew Balding
Andrew Balding has been one of the top trainers in Britain for several seasons now and has made a good start to this season.
Despite the shocking news that his yard lost the support of Qatar Racing right before the campaign got underway, the Kingsclere handler had already reached the 50-win mark by mid-May.
Balding has also been among the big-race winners, landing Group 2s at Newmarket and Chester with Bellum Justum and The Foxes for King Power Racing—who put a lot of faith in his ability.
Currently leading the way in the Trainers’ Championship with almost £1.5m in prize money at the time of writing, it’s uncertain whether he can keep up with Appleby or Aidan O’Brien.
John and Thady Gosden
Joint trainers John and Thady Gosden are third in the Trainers’ Championship with over £740,000 at the time of writing.
The Gosdens have had 22 wins currently, with the most notable perhaps coming in Listed races at Goodwood with Shaha and Crimson Advocate at the start of May.
While it’s a good starting point for the campaign, the father-son partnership were left ruing the fact they missed a massive opportunity to win the 2000 Guineas.
Field Of Gold was the red-hot favourite for the Classic, which veteran trainer John has never won, but William Buick outdid jockey Kieran Shoemark on Ruling Court.
Shoemark subsequently lost his job as the Gosdens’ retained stable jockey in the fallout that followed, and it will be interesting to see how that decision shapes their season.
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Karl Burke, who is garnering a reputation as something of a juvenile specialist, is up there with roughly £68,000 in winnings, while Richard Hannon makes up the top five in the standings.
This is a submitted article written by Luke Ashall.
