Adam Houghton picks out three jumps trainers who have enjoyed notable success in recent weeks and should be noted with the busy Christmas period just around the corner.
*Statistics based on results up to and including Friday 8 December
Matt Sheppard
- Winners/runners (strike rate): 5/11 (45.45%)
- Run-to-form percentage: 54.55%
- Percentage of rivals beaten: 78.09%
November was a fine month for the Matt Sheppard stable, a small outfit that often punches above its weight. Admittedly, the 2022/23 season was an exception as Sheppard saddled only six winners, but it’s fair to say that the yard has bounced back in no uncertain terms with 10 winners already on the board since the start of the current campaign, half of which came in the month of November alone.
Those five winners came from only 11 runners and Sheppard’s strike rate of 45% is unequalled among all National Hunt trainers in Britain and Ireland who have saddled 10 or more runners since November 1. The second half of that month was particularly productive as Sheppard sent out four winners from his last eight runners, a sequence which kicked off with two wins in as many days when Passing Kate and Mactavish struck at Leicester and Hereford, respectively.
Sheppard might count himself rather fortunate given the fine margins involved – both those victories were achieved by a nose – but it was a still a memorable run of form for the trainer as he sent out five winners in a single calendar month for just the second time in a training career spanning nearly three decades.
James Moffatt
- Winners/runners (strike rate): 5/13 (38.46%)
- Run-to-form percentage: 46.15%
- Percentage of rivals beaten: 61.46%
James Moffatt ended November with eight straight losers, but his five runners before that were all successful in what was another fruitful month for the stable. Now up to 14 winners (from 69 runners) for the campaign, Moffatt is ticking along nicely at a 20% strike rate and a couple more months like the one he just enjoyed will put him on the brink of bettering his career-best haul of 24 winners in 2022/23.
Only Matt Sheppard has a better strike rate since November 1 than Moffatt (38%), who somehow squeezed his five winners into a 48-hour window when everything he touched turned to gold. He kicked things off with a 41/1 treble at Hexham and then followed it with a 9.5/1 double at Kelso the very next day, with all five winners being ridden by the stable's conditional jockey, Charlotte Jones.
Though unable to add to his tally in November – and yet to have a runner in December following the recent spate of abandonments – Moffatt can still reflect on a productive start to the season which he'll be hoping to continue as we head into the busy Christmas period.
Venetia Williams
- Winners/runners (strike rate): 18/61 (29.51%)
- Run-to-form percentage: 52.46%
- Percentage of rivals beaten: 64.33%
Venetia Williams hasn't been firing in the winners so far in December, but she can be forgiven a bit of a quiet spell given what came before it in November when she saddled 17 winners from 51 runners at an excellent 33% strike rate. Paul Nicholls (25/104, 24%) and Nicky Henderson (18/65, 28%) were the only two National Hunt trainers in Britain to saddle more winners during that period, while Williams was also ranked third on strike rate behind Matt Sheppard and James Moffatt.
The undoubted highlight came at Haydock when Royale Pagaille finally made the breakthrough at the top level in the Betfair Chase, while Djelo has quickly proved himself a smart young chaser in winning both his starts over fences, first making a successful debut at Aintree a few weeks ago and then defying a 7lb higher mark to follow up at Newbury's Coral Gold Cup meeting.
Incidentally, Jamie Snowden is another trainer who deserves a mention and not just because he won the feature race at Newbury with Datsalrightgino. He is operating at a 30% strike rate since November 1, though he hasn't had quite the same volume of winners as Williams with 12 from 40 runners.
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