Horse Racing Trainers to Follow in December

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

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

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 December 2025

As we head into the final month of the year, the flat racing on the turf is not down with, it's jump action going forward, along with some all-weather racing.

This month, we have three jump trainers to focus on and then two others for their all-weather runners as we look to finish the year strong!

The five of them combine for a strike rate of 36% over the last five seasons for the criteria listed below and an LSP over that time of +257.44.

Daniel Skelton

Dan Skelton will be looking for another strong season, and hopefully, he can have a decent December. We are focusing on his runners aged 5 to 9 who are running over Hurdles over a distance of 2m4f (or extended).

After a loss and no winners in 2020, he has now shown a profit in each of the last four seasons for this criteria for an overall strike rate of 36% and an impressive LSP of +87.21 from just 45 runners.

Here are the top three winners from Daniel Skelton from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Get A Tonic (28/1)
• Jacksbar (20/1)
• Don Hollow (14/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Daniel Skelton runners:

Karl Burke

Karl Burke is one of the two flat trainers to survive the list during the jump season. We are looking for his all-weather runners at Newcastle in races which are Class 2-5 run over 5f to 1m, and the runner was first 6 LTO or is making their debut.

The most criteria of any of the trainers this month, but it has produced a profit in the past with an LSP of +49.81 over the past five seasons, along with a 32% strike rate.

Here are the top three winners from Karl Burke from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Parallel World (18/1)
• Jahidin (18/1)
• Lord Of The Lodge (12/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Karl Burke runners:

David Marnane

Over in Ireland, we are looking to David Marnane to have a decent month; the criteria is his runners that are aged 3 or older and running at Dundalk over 6f or further.

He has been very consistent, he has had two winners in each of the last five seasons and shown a decent profit each year, too. Over those five seasons, he has a 37% strike rate with an LSP of +49.33.

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

• Jered Maddox (16/1)
• Tynamite (9/1)
• Freescape (8/1)

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

Mark Walford

We have a trainer/jockey combo for this month. We are looking for Mark Walford's runners that are aged 5 to 7 when Jamie Hamilton is booked to ride for the yard.

The pair really excelled last season with a 50% strike rate (5-10) and an LSP of 30.88, which was their fourth profitable return from the last five seasons. Hopefully, more of the same this year.

Here are the top three winners from Mark Walford from the past five years when using this criteria:

• Punxsutawney Phil (16/1)
• Chasingouttheblues (12/1)
• Orkan (6/1)

Here is a breakdown, season by season, for those Mark Walford runners:

Venetia Williams

Venetia Williams makes the list for the second month running. We are looking for her French-bred runners who are returning from a 21-25 25-day break in Class 1-3 races.

At this time of the year, a runner returning off that sort of break could have just made their seasonal debut and blown the cobwebs away, which is why this may be profitable for the year.

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

• Chambard (18/1)
• Cepage (11/2)
• Gemirande (11/2)

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

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 November 2025