Our latest ‘trainer form’ table
Nicky Richards 30% (10)
Nicky Henderson 27% (33)
Dan Skelton 25% (40)
Malcolm Jefferson 25% (8)
Colin Tizzard 22% (41)
Donald McCain 22% (37)
Fergal O’Brien 22% (23)
Kim Bailey 21% (28)
Warren Greatrex 21% (24)
Emma Lavelle 20% (20)
Sue Smith 20% (20)
Peter Bowen 20% (15)
Dr Richard Newland 20% (5)
Ben Pauling 19% (21)
Nigel Twiston-Davies 17% (35)
Paul Nicholls 15% (47)
Jonjo O’Neill 14% (28)
Nick Williams 14% (14)
David Pipe 13% (24)
Brian Ellison 13% (16)
Tom George 11% (27)
Ian Williams 11% (18)
Kerry Lee 11% (9)
Evan Williams 10% (30)
Tim Vaughan 10% (21)
Gary Moore 9% (34)
Alan King 9% (32)
Harry Fry 8% (13)
Rebecca Curtis 8% (12)
Charlie Longsdon 7% (27)
Lucinda Russell 5% (20)
Oliver Sherwood 5% (20)
Venetia Williams 5% (20)
Philip Hobbs 4% (26)
Neil Mulholland 3% (38)
Each Monday through the core jumps season, we’ll monitor the relative success of 35 major jumps stables. The percentage figure is their win strike-rate for the last fortnight, while their total number of runners in that time is shown in brackets.
It’s a good time to be called Nicky. Mr Richards had been having a thin time of it but three hurdles wins in the past 10 days, from just a handful of runners, have sent him to the top of our table. By contrast, Harry Fry, who had been soaring, has dropped a long way, Overtown Express having been his only success in the past fortnight, admittedly from just 13 runners; he will surely be back among the winners soon. The Henderson, Tizzard and Skelton camps continue in fine form, while Donald McCain is having his best run for years. But the powerful yards of Hobbs and Mulholland seem disappointingly quiet. Venetia Williams has not yet hit her stride, despite a couple of false dawns, but January is often a fruitful time for her.
Today’s tips have been provided by John O’Hara, whose nap has, alas, become a non-runner. In that one’s absence, Archie Stevens (3.30) could be the pick of the Southwell card at odds of 7-2. He carries a penalty for his course and distance success last week, which still leaves him a stone below the mark he had at the start of the year.
Jump racing fans must make do with Fontwell, where Roksana (1.45) is backable at 7-4. Dan Skelton’s mare gives weight away to all rivals but was quite a taking winner at Plumpton last month and could have a fitness advantage over The Vocalist, making her hurdles debut for Nicky Henderson after landing a bumper for Stuart Crawford in April.
Tips for all Monday races by John O’Hara
Fontwell
12.45 Comrade Conrad 1.15 Goosen Maverick 1.45 Roksana (nb) 2.15 Get On The Yager 2.45 Born Legend 3.15 Stoical Patient 3.40 Llantara
Southwell
12.30 Dorian Gray 1.00 Bernie’s Boy 1.30 On The Warpath 2.00 Alternate Route 2.30 Monteverdi 3.00 Dellaguista (nap) 3.30 Archie Stevens
