Horse Racing Trainers to Follow in January

Selection Process

With all things horse racing, personal preference is different for everyone, whilst we may find an interesting angle for a trainer, others might disagree and think another trainer would be better listed!

How Do We Pick the Trainers?

All of our research is done on HorseRaceBase, a site that we have used for many years, with key features in helping find the trainers every month.

There is a feature called 'Dig' where you can combine queries to find those profitable trainers, and then it's just a case of query after query looking for the right ones.

It's not all about profit either. We could put up trainers with bigger profits, but that is not what this is about; we want a trainer who has shown results year after year.

You could have a trainer who hits a 100/1 winner, which kind of skews the numbers, and we have to be careful, as the likelihood of them hitting another is low.

We would much rather have a trainer who hits a 25%-33% strike rate and makes a profit, so a winner every 3-4 runners, this is a more consistent trainer.

Nothing is Certain

Nothing is certain either, as things can drastically change within twelve months, let alone five years, so please do your own research into any picks that we put up on here.

A quick example of this would be Simon Crisford (July 2025), who had 4 out of 5 profitable months for the criteria, yet in 2025 returned 0-10 (0%) -10.00 for his picks!

Henry Daly is another (Feb 2025) who had strike rates of 22%, 27% & 30% for the previous three seasons, yet in 2025 saw just 1 winner from 20 (5%)!

Finding Consistency

Sometimes you have to dig deep to find the right formula of criteria, and by doing so, you hope to rule out as many losers as possible, which is as important as finding the winners.

The last thing you want is to be hitting winners but getting that profit wiped out by the losers, so it's about finding consistent trainers.

Between February & September, nine of the trainers listed returned a better strike rate in 2025 than they did in the previous five seasons combined, which is what we want!

Those nine trainers alone returned an LSP of +87.34, so if we can find consistency with the trainers we pick, then hopefully we can find more like those nine!

Monthly Statistics - Full List of Runners

Here is a full list of runners who have run under these conditions this month.

Monthly Statistics - Trainer Breakdown

This is a breakdown of how each trainer has performed in the current month.

Year in Review

Here is a breakdown of how well the picks have gone over the past year. (Updated on the 1st of each month)

Horse Racing Trainers to Follow January 2026

You would expect plenty of jump trainers at this time of the year; however, three flat trainers on the list will be looking to kick 2026 off in style on the all-weather tracks.

Whilst the overall numbers below are impressive, a +409.13 LSP for the past five seasons with a 35% strike rate, last year's numbers alone are also remarkable!

The five trainers combined with an LSP of +109.94, achieving 25 winners from 52 runners, which is a 48% strike rate. If we can get anywhere near that this year, we will be happy!

Tony Carroll

Tony Carroll is the first of the trainers we are looking at. Here, we are focusing on his 4-8 year olds, which are GB-bred and are running over 5f - 7f at Wolverhampton.

2021 wasn't a great year with 0-8; however, each of the last four years has shown healthy profits and a decent strike rate, so let's hope that trend continues.

Here are the top three winners from Tony Carroll from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Red Alert (40/1)
• City Cyclone (20/1)
• Cinque Verde (18/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Tony Carroll runners:

Hugo Palmer

Sticking with the all-weather runners with Hugo Palmer and a pretty simple filter of his 3yo runners over 7f or further.

Again, like Carroll, he drew a blank in 2021 (0-4), but since has hit a profit each year and a strike rate of 33% or better each year.

Here are the top three winners from Hugo Palmer from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Sweet Talkin Sue (66/1)
• Sweet Fantastic (6/1)
• Swordstick (6/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Hugo Palmer runners:

Richard Hannon

The third and final flat trainer is Richard Hannon Jnr. We are looking for his 3-5 year old Geldings or Fillies who are running in a Handicap.

He has hit a profit in four of the previous five years with these runners, 2024 being the off year, but has hit multiple winners each year and healthy profits in three of those.

Here are the top three winners from Richard Hannon from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Ciao Adios (26/1)
• Rebel Empire (20/1)
• Kodias Sangarius (12/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Richard Hannon runners:

Olly Murphy

Finally, on to a jumps trainer and that is Olly Murphy, here we are looking for his 7-8 year old runners who are in a NH Class 4 race.

Four of the five years have returned profitable LSPs, three of those with 20+ and in 2025, he hit a perfect 6 from 6 with an LSP of +22.23!

Here are the top three winners from Olly Murphy from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Spirit Of Waterloo (25/1)
• Clay Rogers (18/1)
• Best Trition (12/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Olly Murphy runners:

Sue Smith (& Joel Parkinson)

Last on the list is Sue Smith, who now holds a dual license with Joel Parkinson, and we are looking for their runners' Class 5 races in Yorkshire. That means we are looking for local entries, given that the yard is based in Yorkshire.

Over the last four seasons, the strike rates have been impressive with 40%, 50%, 33% & 46% along with decent LSPs too. The yard obviously targets the local races at this time of the year.

Here are the top three winners from Sue Smith from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Edgar Allan Poe (28/1)
• Prairie Wolf (14/1)
• The Paddy Pie (11/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Sue Smith runners:

Horse Racing Trainers to Follow February 2026

For the second month of the year, things can be a bit quiet with Cheltenham on the horizon, although other yards will be looking to get a run in before the festival.

Having said that, it is therefore no surprise to see two of the trainers on the list for February, with the other three being jump trainers.

The five of them combined over the last five years, they had a 39% strike rate with 74 winners from 192 runners, which returned an LSP of +228.42.

Ian Williams

The first trainer we are focusing on is Ian Williams for his runners on the all-weather in Class 5 races, which are open to runners aged 4yo+, and we are only going with the GB or IRE-bred runners.

Here are the top three winners from Ian Williams from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Trojan Storm (18/1)
• Buxted Too (12/1)
• Kitaab (11/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Ian Williams runners:

Ben Pauling

Next up is Ben Pauling and a rather simple filter of only going with his runners when Ben Jones is booked to ride.

Here are the top three winners from Ben Pauling from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Honor Grey (14/1)
• Samuel Spade (14/1)
• Mambonumberfive (10/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Ben Pauling runners:

Rebecca Menzies

Sticking with the national hunt trainers and this time Rebecca Menzies who we will be concentrating on her 7yo runners over Fences or Hurdles.

Here are the top three winners from Rebecca Menzies from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Curley Finger (16/1)
• High Moon (9/1)
• Edgewell (7/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Rebecca Menzies runners:

Andrew Balding

Back to the all-weather for this and concentrating on runners in Class 5 race but not at Wolverhampton for trainer Andrew Balding.

Here are the top three winners from Andrew Balding from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Stateira (28/1)
• Hold Fast (17/2)
• Hold Fast (7/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Andrew Balding runners:

Stuart Edmunds

Finally, another fairly simple one, we are looking at Stuart Edmunds runners who are at a left-handed track.

Here are the top three winners from Stuart Edmunds from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Getaway Theatre (11/1)
• Outer Banks (9/1)
• Feivel (11/2)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Stuart Edmunds runners:

Horse Racing Trainers to Follow March 2026

A big month ahead for the jump yards with the Cheltenham Festival, although the festival can have a negative impact on their figures as many will throw a lot of runners at the big races without success.

This month we have three jump trainers and two on the all-weather, both Dermot McLoughlin and Nicky Richards were on the list last year and continue under the same filters after being profitable.

The five trainers this month have combined for an LSP of +308.64 over the last five seasons in March under the criteria listed below, along with a 31% strike rate (55-180).

Dermot A McLoughlin

Carried over from last year, we are once again focusing on Dermot McLoughlin's mares in NH races, 2023 & 2024 were bumper years, and he did just about enough in 2025 to stay on the list.

Here are the top three winners from Dermot A McLoughlin from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Mousey Brown (33/1)
• Trickey Trix (33/1)
• Mousey Brown (25/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Dermot A McLoughlin runners:

David Thompson

David Thompson's yard is only an hour's drive from the Newcastle racecourse, so it is no surprise to see them do well there. For March, we are concentrating on their runners at Newcastle in races over 7f to 1m2f.

Here are the top three winners from David Thompson from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Danielsflyer (25/1)
• Coramento (16/1)
• Martins Brig (11/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those David Thompson runners:

George Boughey

For the George Boughey yard, we are focusing on his runners in Class 4 races, which are run over 5f to 1m2f. He has shown a profit in each of the last four years under this criterion.

Here are the top three winners from George Boughey from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Navello (22/1)
• Maid In Kentucky (16/1)
• Eleutheromania (12/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those George Boughey runners:

Nicky Richards

The second of the trainers to survive the list from last year is Nicky Richards, and once again, we are concentrating on his runners in NH races when the runners are either 7yo & 8yo.

Here are the top three winners from Nicky Richards from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Upagainstit (12/1)
• Onthefrontfoot (6/1)
• Blueberry Wine (6/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Nicky Richards runners:

Donald McCain Jnr

Donald McCain Jnr in Handicap Novice Chases is the final trainer on the list. He has produced an excellent strike rate of 57% over the last five years and has shown a profit in each of those years.

Here are the top three winners from Donald McCain Jnr from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Nells Son (16/1)
• Universal Folly (11/1)
• Coniston Clouds (11/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Donald McCain Jnr runners:

Horse Racing Trainers to Follow December 2025