John Gosden lifted his fourth Flat Trainers’ Championship at the Racehorse Owners Association Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London last night.
The Newmarket-based trainer, 68, is out of reach of Aidan O’Brien after a whirlwind battle for the title. As it stands, O’Brien has no entries in Great Britain for the remainder of the year and with £259,119 separating the two, Gosden has amassed an unassailable lead.
Gosden’s prize money total of £7,942,573 (as of before racing on December 13) is his second highest yearly total – falling just short of last year’s tally, while his 187 winners this year is the most of his career so far.
And the Clarehaven Stables trainer paid tribute to connections, staff and his equine athletes for another outstanding season.
“All I can say is, as is inevitable for any trainer, thank you to the fantastic owners and breeders that send us the horses," Gosden said.
“To the amazing staff at Clarehaven, they work with me every day and we bounce ideas off each other, without them we are nothing.
"And to the horses themselves, the one thing that binds us is the wonderful horses that we are lucky enough to be around. No matter what level they win at, we have some champions at the yard, but when a little one that tries hard wins a small race, it’s very fulfilling for every owner, trainer and breeder."
Gosden won nine British Group 1s this year and two of those were Classics – Anapurna in the Investec Oaks at Epsom on 31st May and Logician in the William Hill St Leger Stakes on 14th September.
He also saddled his eighth QIPCO British Champions Day winner this year, with Star Catcher taking the QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes.
Remarkably, Frankie Dettori contributed to 71% of Gosden’s prize money total, and the Italian jockey’s fine season was recently rewarded by becoming Longines World’s Best Jockey for the third time.
Gosden’s most successful equine star in terms of prize money was the majestic Enable who, in the process of winning the Coral-Eclipse, King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes and the Darley Yorkshire Oaks brought home over £1.3 million, and she is set to remain in training next year as Gosden seeks his fifth Trainers’ Championship.
- The 2019 Flat Trainers’ Championship is based on total prize money from 1st January 2019 – 31st December 2019