I thought i would have a quick look to see which trainers do well on Boxing Day. You often hear that you should keep a close eye on the big powerful yards, and that certainly appears to be the case. I had a quick look back from 2007 onwards (2010 all meetings abandoned, 5 years in total) to see how the winners stacked up:-
Nicky Henderson:- 14 winners (4 last year)
P. Nichols:- 10 winners (only 1 last year)
D. McCain:- 8 winners (3 last year)
D. Pipe:- 6 winners (4 of those were last year…)
T. Vaughan – 6 winners (1 last year, 3 in 2011 – look out at Ffos Las)
V. Williams – 7 winners (quiet last 2 years, all 7 winners 07, 08, 09 – look out at Towcester and to lesser extent Wincanton- all 7 winners at those two tracks)
So, maybe not surprising, and certainly not the most scientific research (i havent looked at number of runners, although for example Henderson operates above 50% with his Non-handicap runners) hopefully it gives you something to think about.
Backing all of these trainer’s runners on Boxing Day is probably a quick way to the poor house, but i am confident these trainers will all have a winner or two, or three and it is just a case of finding the right ones! I am quite excited about trying to unearth a massive priced V. Williams winner, esp with her string doing well again in last few days, and her horses usually thrive in testing conditions)
Unsurprisingly given their all round stats at the courses concerned, look out for Henderson at Kempton (and to lesser extent Nichols); pay close attention to McCain’s runners at Sedgefield and Wetherby; and as ever keep an eye on Nichols runners at Wincanton.
So, the overall message would be to pay close attention to the runners of all those trainers above on Boxing Day. I am confident they will have a few winners between them, lets just hope we can back the right ones!
Josh
