Category: Trainers and Owners

At the time of writing, Simon Munir and Isaac Souede lie second in the 2021/22 Jump Owners’ Championship, with six winners and just over £79,500 in prize money. Most recently their distinctive two-tone green silks were carried to victory by Sceau Royal, who recorded a comfortable 3½-length win from Silver Streak in the Listed Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Hurdle at Kempton on October 17, 2021. Sceau Royal also ran well in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, almost being brought down by the drfting Chacun Pour Soi shortly after the third-last fence before recovering to finish fifth, beaten 3¾ lengths.

As far as winners at the Cheltenham Festival are concerned, Munir and Souede have jointly owned three, although Simon Munir already had two to his name before they joined forces. His earlier winners were Soldatino in the Triumph Hurdle in 2010 and Une Artiste in the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle in 2012, both horses having been trained by Nicky Henderson. More recently, the financiers have won the Triumph Hurdle, again, with Peace And Co, trained by Nicky Henderson, in 2015, Arkle Challenge Trophy with Footpad, trained by Willie Mullins, in 2018 and Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle with Concertista, again trained by Mullins, in 2020.

The short answer is yes, he is, at least by marriage. In 1989, Haggas married Maureen, the elder daughter of Lester Piggott, officially making him the son-in-law of the former eleven-time champion jockey. Indeed, according to Haggas, as far as his training career is concerned, ‘Lester has always been extremely helpful in lots and lots of ways.’

Born in Skipton, North Yorkshire in 1960, Haggas was educated at Harrow but, following an abortive, three-month spell in the family textile business, headed to Newmarket. He effectively begged employment, in any capacity, from the late Jeremy Hindley, who trained a horse for his father and had recently acquired Clarehaven Stables on the Bury Road.

The rest, as they say, is history. After two years as assistant to Sir Mark Prescott and four more as assistant to the late John Winter, Haggas first took out a training licence in his own right in November, 1986. He sent out his first winner from Somerville Lodge, Tricky Note, in April, 1987 and has since saddled over 2,000 more, including two Classic winners. Haggas won the Derby with Shaamit in 1996 and the Oaks with Dancing Rain in 2011 and, at the last count, had 21 Group 1 winners to his name at home and abroad. He saddled over a hundred winners in a season for the first time in 2013 and has done so again in every season since, amassing over £2 million in prize money – indeed, over £3 million in 2018 and 2019 – on each occasion.

In March, 2021, John Gosden became the highest-profile trainer to take advantage of the training partnership licensing scheme and now holds a joint licence with his son, Thady, who completed the modular training courses required by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) earlier in the year. However, in his own right, John Gosden has held a training licence in Britain since 1989 and has been champion trainer five times, in 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Having begun his training career in Calfornia, Gosden moved to Newmarket in 1989 and was subsequently appointed private trainer to Robert Sangster in Manton, Wiltshire, before settling at his current base, Clarehaven Stables, back in Newmarket, in 2005. Highlights of his first title-winning season included victories at the highest level for Fallen For You in the Coronation Stakes, Nathaniel in the Coral-Eclipse and The Fugue in the Nassau Stakes. Three years later, Gosden won the Derby, the Coral-Eclipse, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Golden Horn.

More recently, his stable stars have included the likes of Enable, Cracksman, Roaring Lion, Stradivarius and Palace Pier, all of whom have contributed, more than once, to his career total of 84 Group 1 winners. Since joining forces, at the time of writing, the Gosdens have collectively saddled 110 winners from 493 runners in 2021 and lie third in the trainers’championship table with £3.39 million in prize money.

King Power Racing was founded in 2017 by late Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash in October, 2018 and was succeeded as chairman by his son, Aiyawatt. In the interim, King Power Racing has grown rapidly, sending out 413 runners in 2021 so far, compared with just 48 in 2017. At the time of writing, the 2021 Flat season is not quite at an end, but in the Flat Owners’ Championship, which ended on October 16, King Power Racing finished third, with 40 winners and £1.69 million in prize money.

The seasonal highlight was, undoubtedly, a second ever Group 1 win, courtesy of Winter Power, trained by Tim Easterby and ridden by retained jockey Silvestre de Sousa, in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August. All told, Easterby has saddled nine winners from 61 runners for King Power Racing, at a strike rate of 15%, while Sir Michael Stoute has also saddled nine winners, but from just 39 runners, at an improved strike rate of 23%.

The most prolific trainer for King Power Racing, though, has been Andrew Balding, who has saddled 19 winners from 152 runners, at a strike rate of 13%, and earned just shy of £940,000 in total prize money. The other trainers to saddle winners for King Power Racing in 2021, so far, have been Richard Hannon and Roger Varian, with seven winners apiece, and Kevin Ryan and Ed Walker, with a single winner apiece.