There are very few scenarios in which Andrew Balding can be referred to as an underdog.
The son of a legendary trainer, he took over the licence at Park House Stables in 2003 and has gradually built the yard up to be one of the biggest in Britain.
This year’s Horses In Training book has the handler overseeing a string of 243 horses, the second highest number in the UK behind Charlie Appleby’s 263.
It’s a story of growth not just in terms of quantity but quality as well. Balding has trained over 100 winners every season since 2018, 2025’s 192 was his best score to date. He’s only 13 short of it going into Wednesday’s racing with a couple of months left to break the 200 barrier for the first time.
Prize-money is increasing too, from £2,602,019 for that 2019 campaign to £7,246,798 last year and £8,742,668 and counting this time around.
And it’s by that metric that the champion trainer is measured. It’s not about the total number of winners like the jockeys’ crown, if it was Balding could already have put the cue away. He’s trained over 50 more than anyone else in the country, his 179 playing against 123 for William Haggas and Karl Burke, 121 for James Owen and Tony Carroll’s remarkable 120.
