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Believe it or not, we have now had 15 years of the Fred Winter Novices’ Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. This was added to the programme when the premier National Hunt meeting expanded in 2005, so that there was a race for four-year-olds who weren’t thought quite good enough for the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle.

Now run under the name of sponsorship of jewellery makers Boodles, there is enough history behind the Fred Winter to look at certain trainer trends. David Pipe, for example, has had three seconds in the race since he last won it back in 2007.

If the plan was to run Adagio in this year’s renewal, then his handicap mark has been blown by winning the Grade 1 Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow on Welsh Grand National day. Punters may have to look elsewhere.

Nicky Henderson usually plays his cards close to his chest in this division, so that may be why he’s had two seconds in the last four years. We won’t see the best Seven Barrows inmates out until nearer Cheltenham.

Irish handlers have won the last three renewals of the Fred Winter, and the middle of those went to young trainer Joseph O’Brien with Band Of Outlaws in 2019. He has two Flat coverts from father Aidan in Flying Scotsman and Palm Beach for the most recent winning owner of the race, the mighty JP McManus, as possible this year.

The other Emerald Isle trainer to enjoy recent success in the Fred Winter is not Willie Mullins but Gordon Elliott. In fact, he has had horses finish at least second in each of the last three years and won the race twice in that period (and three times overall).

Elliott saddled three of the first four home in the 2020 Fred Winter, so don’t be surprised if tips & predictions for the Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle focus on his horses as the yard looks strong in this division this season. Duffle Coat, a Grade 2 winner at Cheltenham already, is an obvious contender from this stable but may have grander ambitions by running in the Triumph instead.

Despite the strong performances of Irish runners in recent years, two-thirds of previous Fred Winter renewals have gone to a trainer based in Britain. Between 2006 and 2017, only two winners were trained outside of the UK.

 

Sharing the record with Elliott for most Fred Winter victories is the master handler of Ditcheat himself, Paul Nicholls despite the fact he hasn’t had a horse placed in the last four years. He managed consecutive one-twos in 2015 and 2016, and had four seconds in a row from 2013.

Nicholls has typical French imports Hell Red and Houx Gris as potential entries, but both have something to prove. The former looked potentially top class when winning at Chepstow, but disappointed in the Grade 2 race won by Duffle Coat when pulled up after being sent off favourite.

Houx Gris, meanwhile, was pitched in at the deep end on his debut for Nicholls and came third behind Adagio. There could be more to come from both, depending on how generous the handicapper feels.

 

Getting involved with horse racing on any level is anything but a formality. The spiraling costs that are involved and somewhat ‘closed shop’ nature of the sport , often means that many with a passion for racing are always outside looking in, rather than actively involved. Add being a woman to that already tough road, and some would argue that it becomes even more difficult to make it. Racing isn’t quite as much as an old boys club as it used to be, but it’d be naive to imagine that element doesn’t still exist in the minds of some. Still, whether jockeys, trainers or owners, the glass ceiling is starting to shatter and we have the likes of trainer Venetia Williams to thank for that.

Venetia Williams has the distinction of being only the second woman – after Jenny Pitman in 1983, and again in 1995 – to train the winner of the Grand National. In 2009, her nine-year-old, Mon Mome, ridden by Liam Treadwell, was driven clear to beat the 2008 winner, Comply Or Die, by 12 lengths. In so doing, he became the first 100/1 winner of the Grand National since Foinavon in the infamous renewal of 1967, when a mêlée at the smallest fence on the National Course gifted the winner an unassailable lead. So while many of us are scouring through tips for 2020 Grand National Festival, Williams has walked the walk, and in spectacular fashion.

Prior to winning in 2009, Mon Mome had finished tenth of 15 finishers, beaten 58 lengths, behind Comply Or Die in the National the previous year but, nevertheless, fared best of the 13 runners that Williams had saddled in the race in her 14-year training career up to that point. However, when asked about her chances of winning in 2009, she said, “They [Mon Mome and stable companion Stan] should both manage on the ground and the fact that I’ve got two to line up at the start is exciting enough, so anything is possible.” Ironically, Stan fell at the fence now called “Foinavon” on the first circuit, but anything was, indeed, possible.

Venetia Williams’ association with the Grand National started over two decades earlier in 1988 when, as an up-and-coming amateur rider, she had her one and only ride in the iconic steeplechase aboard 200/1 outsider Marcolo. In the days before the landing zone at Becher’s Brook was levelled, Marcolo fell at the formidable obstacle, knocking Williams unconscious in the process.

The eventual winner, Rhyme ‘N’ Reason, also blundered at the same fence, slithering down on his haunches before making a dramatic recovery. As Williams later recalled, the Racing Post ran a series of photographs showing his recovery which, quite by accident, also showed her coming a cropper in the background.

Williams is a rare breed, and no doubt she appreciates that other women, such as the aforementioned Jenny Pitman (winning with Corbiere in the 1983 Grand National, and Royal Athlete in 1995) paved the way for her success. They both dared to do what hadn’t been done, to train a Grand National winner, despite the challenges and naysayers that paved the way to that lofty goal.

On occasion we check in on horse trainer stats to get a feel of who’s currently top of the pile. Of course as with any sport, people go through runs of good and bad form, and with that in mind it pays to both evaluate and re-evaluate every now and again. Whole websites are dedicated to horse, jockey and trainer form (wins, places etc) and eager punters often have favourite horse trainers that they like to follow.

Trainer stats are typically split into two easy to understand categories, UK flat trainer stats, and Jump trainer stats. These are self explanatory, though it must be said that some trainers train both types of horse – they may special in national hunt (jump) racing for instance, but also race horses over the flat, and vice versa. The size of a training yard factors in too, how big the operation is, as well as how long the trainer has been involved in the sport of racing.  Some horse trainers like Mark Johnson have been involved in the sport for over 30 years and as such have accumulated a great deal of knowledge and connections when compared to their minnow rivals. Indeed  late last year Johnson became the most successful trainer in Britain when he saddled his  4,194th winner.

So while Mark Johnson has been ruling the flat trainer roost in the long run, who’s been top of the pile this season? Well it’s currently Mick Appleby with 20 wins and 36 places from 134 runs. And over the jumps? Dan Skelton is currently top of the table with 425 wins and 923 places from 2236 runs. Nicky Henderson is hot on his heels with 410 wins. Predictably big numbers from these top tier trainers.