Five Lesser-Known Jumps Trainers To Follow

This is a great time of year for National Hunt fans as many of the superstars make their respective seasonal reappearances – all bidding for further glory in the 2019/20 campaign.

Rolling on from our five jumps conditionals to follow this season article, which was published earlier in the week, we are now focusing on five lesser-known jumps trainers that could be worth keeping track of throughout the remainder the season.

Below, Joe Eccles has identified five of his trainers to follow.

Karl Thornton

Since receiving his license in 2012, Karl Thornton has sent out a steady stream of winners from his base on the outskirts of Dublin.

The yard does particularly well with their British raiders, having sent out four winners from their ten runners so far this season – resulting in a profit of +4.12 to a £1 stake.

The six-year-old Home Place will bid to enhance that record if taking up his engagement in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase at Wetherby on Saturday.

Peter Atkinson

With just a handful of horses currently in training, Peter Atkinson is not seen too frequently on racecards, but when he does send a runner out, it is wise to pay attention.

A pig farmer by trade, Atkinson managed a career-high total of five wins in the 2017/18 season – with four of those victories coming from his stable star Irish Roe.

Picked up for just €2,000 as a three-year-old, she has already amassed over £80,000 in earnings in her career to date, and her yard will be hoping that she can provide them with further success this campaign.

Nicky Martin

Having sent out seven winners from her Minehead base last season, Nicky Martin will be aiming to build on that tally in 2019/20.

The yard currently train horses primarily for owners the ‘Bradley Partnership’ whose silks have been seen carried to victory aboard the likes of Colonel Custard, Sykes and The Two Amigos, but to name a few.

Winner of the Sussex National with the aforementioned The Two Amigos in January, they will be hoping that seven-year-old gelding can become somewhat of a stable flag-bearer this campaign.

D J Jeffreys

Having only sent out his first winner in June, D J Jeffreys has already added a further four victories to that tally, including with Petrucci at Stratford in August– who was returning from a 489-day absence.

Their Gerolamo Cardano finished a fine fourth in a bumper at Aintree on his debut last weekend, and the yard has another few nice horses to send out over the winter months, including Lively Citizen – who is a half-brother to the Paul Nicholls-trained Getaway Trump.

Noel Williams

Having spent ten years as assistant trainer to Alan King, Noel Williams took out his own training license in 2013 and has sent out winners in every season since then.

Recent £42,000 purchase Vinnie Dev made a winning debut for the stable in a novice hurdle at Uttoxeter at the start of this month, and the talented hurdler Sensulano got off the mark at just the second attempt over fences when running out a wide-margin winner of a beginners’ chase at Fontwell just a week later.

Those two both look exciting prospects for the yard this campaign, along with Breaking Waves, who finished a fine fourth on last month’s handicap hurdle debut at Cheltenham and currently holds an entry in next weekend’s Betfair Best Odds On ITV Races Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle at Haydock – won last year by Paisley Park.