Being a horse trainer
can be a tough old slog. It's not simply a matter of turning up on
the day. The very best trainers know exactly how to select and get
the best out of their horses, through an almost forensic approach to
racing. Dietary factors (much like their fellow humans – lots of
fibre!), exercise plans and old fashioned TLC to avoid injury are all
required to get the very best performance out of a horse. Then of
course there are differences in approach based on the flat, or jumps,
the going, and keeping track of the financial side of things is no
mean feat either. It's all geared towards that one specific task of
being
a winner of Gordon Elliot proportions rather
than an 'also ran' over the course of a season.
And make no mistake,
winning any race of far from a formality and with that in mind, when
as a punter, you manage to latch onto a horse trainer that knows his
or her stuff, it can very much lead your betting bank in the right
direction. While many punters limit their examination of a potential
bet to the horses and jockeys involved, others pay keen attention to
the trainer, an such factors as 'how well their horses perform first
time out', 'at what betting odds they tend to excel at' (short prices
vs outsider bets win rate etc) and so on. There is often a fine line
between winning and losing and as such it pays (quite literally) to
take into consideration as many relevant factors as possible before
placing your bet. Some trainers are especially hard to bet against
and oppose on the big occasion, such as Cheltenham or the Grand
National.
Willie Mullins for example is a win machine at the Cheltenham
Festival with a staggering 61 successes (and seven winners last
year). Punters betting on his selections will have certainly made a
pretty penny or two over the years. The Mullin's trained winner of
the 2019 Cheltenham Gold Cup, Al Boum Photo is going for the double
this year, and is currently 7/2 joint favourite along with Nicky
Henderson's Santini. Even at relatively short odds, it's important to
find good value bets, so is worth checking various bookmakers in
order to choose
where to bet on Cheltenham. Henderson and
Mullins both have an exemplary record at the Festival and so it's no
surprise that the betting public favour their horses to stand out
from the rest of the field. The same applies to all big races and
events, such as the Grand National and Royal Ascot. Don't overlook
past form of not only the horses, but trainers too, when placing your
bets.
If you ever take the
time to delve into the data, it's actually quite surprising how few
truly 'successful' trainers like Willie
Mullins there actually are. That's in part due
to the expenses and infrastructure needed to reach that point. The
life of a small trainer on the other hand is not often an easy one,
or one with many magic moments where everything just falls into
place. On the other hand, when you're at the top of your game, like
Michael Appleby on the flat, and in national hunt racing Dan Skelton
(who has an impressive 40% place rate from over 3000 runs this
season), you have the ingredients, know-how and track record for how
to stay top of the pile. Even when all is equal between two horses,
that trainer influence can very often be the deciding factor in
winning or losing.
