Michael Dods took over the training licence at Denton Hall in Piercebridge, near Darlington, Co. Durham in 1990, following the death of his father, Dickie. After a modest start, Dods increased his winning tally season-by-season and is now established as one of the most consistent trainers in the North of England. He has saddled at least 39 winners in each of the last ten seasons and, in 2017, enjoyed his best season so far, numerically, with 62 winners.
Dods saddled his first Pattern race winner, Barney McGrew, in the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle in 2010. He recorded his first Group 1 victory courtesy of Mecca's Angel in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in 2015 and his second courtesy of the same horse in the same race the following year. Two seasons later, Dods saddled Mabs Cross to win the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp for the third Group 1 victory of his career. Indeed, in 2018, won over £827,000 in prize money domestically and over £1 million worldwide.
In recent seasons, Dakota Gold has been the standard bearer
for the yard, winning two Listed races in 2019 and three more in
2020, plus the Group 3 Bengough Stakes at York. Now a 7-year-old,
Dakota Gold has been an excellent servant to connections down the
years, winning 13 of his 39 starts and nearly £370,000 in prize
money.
