Category: Trainers and Owners

Does Aidan Coleman have a retainer with J.P. McManus?

The short answer is no, he doesn’t. Following the shock retirement of Barry Geraghty – who had replaced A.P. McCoy as retained rider to J.P. McManus in Britain in 2015 – in July, 2020, Aidan Coleman was short-priced favourite to replace him. However, concerns were voiced, at the time, that Coleman might not represent the type of unrivalled appointment that McManus had favoured in the past. Even Coleman, himself, was keen to play down speculation linking him to the role. He said, ‘I’m very fortunate that I ride for a lot of people, I’m very busy and I ride a lot of nice horses. I’m just concentrating on myself and what will be, will be after that.’

Coleman was one of several jockeys – the others being Richie McLernon, Jonjo O’Neill Jnr. and Richard Johnson – frequently used by McManus in Geraghty’s enforced absence, due to a succession of injuries, in recent seasons. That said, aside from Geraghty and McLernon, no jockey has ridden more winners in McManus’ famous green and gold hooped silks during the last five seasons. The situation became a little clearer in November, 2020, when, while discussing riding plans for the Champion Hurdle winner Epatante, trainer Nicky Henderson said, ‘J.P. [McManus] has got a lot of horses and Aidan is going to be riding a few of them. There’s no retained jockey in this country.’ In the 2021/22 National Hunt season, so far, Coleman has ridden 17 winners, four of which have been for McManus.

 

Has Donald McCain Jnr. won the Grand National?

As far as the Grand National is concerned, the name ‘McCain’ will always be most closely associated with the late Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain, who saddled the legendary Red Rum to three victories, in 1973, 1974 and 1977. In 2004, with his glory days seemingly far behind him, McCain saddled Amberleigh House to win the Grand National for a fourth time, thereby joining George Dockeray and Fred Rimmell as jointly the most successful trainer in the history of the Aintree showpiece. McCain saddled his final National runners in 2006 and retired from the training ranks, turning over the licence at his stables, on the Cholmondley Castle Estate in Cheshire, to his son, Donald Jnr..

McCain Jnr. Did not make an immediate impact at Aintree, although he did saddle Cloudy Lane, owned by Trevor Hemmings, to finish sixth in the National in 2008 and eighth two years later. However, on an unseasonably hot day in April, 2011, McCain Jnr. followed his father – who watched on, calmly, but proudly, from the paddock – into Aintree folklore by winning the Grand National with Ballabriggs. Also owned by Trevor Hemmings, and ridden by Jason Maguire, Ballabriggs withstood a strong challenge from Oscar Time on the run-in, staying on well to win by 2¼ lengths, with defending champion Don’t Push It a further 12 lengths away in third place.

Who is the most successful British Flat trainer?

The most successful British Flat trainer of all time is Mark Johnston who, since 1988, has been based in Middleham, North Yorkshire. On August 23, 2018, Johnston saddled Poet’s Society, ridden by Frankie Dettori, to victory in the Clipper Logistics Handicap at York; in so doing, he took his career total to 4,194 winners, thereby breaking the previous record set by Richard Hannon Snr., who retired from the training ranks in November, 2013.

Johnston began his training career in 1987 and saddled over a hundred winners in a season for the first time in 1994. Remarkably, he has achieved that feat in every season since, surpassing the 200-winner mark in 2009, 2010, 2012-2015 and 2017-2019. Indeed, in 2019, Johnston sent out 249 winners, thereby setting a new record for the number of winners trained in a single season – Flat or National Hunt – in Britain.

Johnston has never won the trainers’ championship, which is decided on prize money won during the season, and it would be fair to say that, compared with the likes of John Gosden and Aidan O’Brien, truly top class horses have been few and far between. Nevertheless, at the time of writing, Johnston has 26 Group 1 victories, in Britain, Ireland, France and Germany to his name. He won the 2,000 Guineas with Mister Baileys in 1994 and the 1,000 Guineas with Attraction in 2004.

Which horse was Tim Easterby’s only Classic winner?

At the time of writing, Tim Easterby is enjoying his most successful season ever, with 129 winners and £1.85 million in prize money, so far, in 2021. His seasonal highlight was, undoubtedly, Winter Power, whose victory in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York was his first at Group 1 level since Somnus won the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp in October, 2004. To his credit, Easterby has saddled at least 50 winners in every season, bar the first two, since taking over the training licence at Habton Grange Stables, near Malton, North Yorkshire from his father, the legendary Miles Henry ‘Peter’ Easterby, in 1996. However, prior to 2021, he had saddled over a hundred winners in a season just twice, in 2018 and 2019.

Despite the paucity of winners at the highest level in recent years, Easterby has won a total of 10 Group 1, or Grade 1, races during his career. His sole Classic success came in the St. Leger at Doncaster in 2002, when Bollin Eric, ridden by Kevin Darley, stayed on well to beat Highest and Bandari by 1¼ lengths and 2 lengths. Owned by long-standing patrons Sir Neil and Lady Westbrook, Bollin Eric was winning for the first time in his three-year-old campaign. Neverthless, he became the first Yorkshire-based horse to win the St. Leger since Peleid in 1973. Easterby later reflected on his victory, saying, ‘It was very important for me; it’s what every trainer wants to do.’

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