Sir Michael Stoute

Although it is more than three-and-a-half decades since Shergar was spirited away from the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare and never seen again, veteran trainer Sir Michael Stoute will always be best remembered for saddling the so-called ‘wonder horse’ to a record, 10-length win in the Derby at Epsom in 1981. Barbados-born Sir Michael has won the British Flat trainers’ championship ten times, most recently in 2009, and has the distinction of being the most successful trainer, numerically, in the history of Royal Ascot. However, in 1998 he was awarded a knighthood for his services to tourism on his home island, rather than his involvement with horse racing.

On British soil, Sir Michael has won fifteen ‘Classic’ races, including five wins apiece in the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby, while around the world he has also won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the Dubai World Cup, the Japan Cup (twice) and has eight Breeders’ Cup victories to his name. In recent seasons, Sir Michael has, by his own admission, lacked the resources to compete with powerful operations, such as Ballydoyle and Godolphin, but remains a force to be reckoned with in the British training ranks. In 2018 – the year in which he won the Commonwealth Cup with Eqtidaar and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes with Poet’s Word – he enjoyed his most lucrative campaign so far, with over £4.5 million in total earnings in Britain alone adding to an estimate net worth (according to celebrity net worth) of $20 Million or almost £16,000,000 as of 2024.

Not far short of 80 (hopefully he won’t mind us mentaioning that), Sir Michael Stoute is still racking up impressive wins, such as Desert Crown in the 2022 Derby and Bay Bridge in the Champion Stakes in the same year.