Four trainers who achieved notable feats in 2022

Record 10 winners for Willie Mullins at Cheltenham

Willie Mullins broke the previous record for training the most winners at a single Cheltenham Festival in 2015 when sending out eight winners over the four days. That total was then matched by Gordon Elliott three years later but Mullins is out on his own again after raising the bar with a new record total of ten wins in March which made him leading trainer at the Festival for the ninth time.

Perhaps the most significant of Mullins’ ten wins was gained by Energumene in the Queen Mother Champion Chase who gave his trainer a very first win in that contest. Allaho won the Ryanair Chase for the second year running to secure another of the Festival’s main prizes over fences while Stattler (National Hunt Novices’ Chase), Sir Gerhard (Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle) and Facile Vega (Champion Bumper, Mullins’ twelfth winner of that race) were the stable’s other winners earlier at the meeting.

However, it was on the Friday of the Festival that Mullins hit top gear with a five-timer thanks to Vauban (Triumph Hurdle), State Man (County Hurdle), The Nice Guy (Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle), Billaway (Hunters’ Chase, replay below) and Elimay (Mares’ Chase). But that wasn’t even Mullins’ most successful day at a major meeting during 2022 as he topped that with a six-timer on the second day of Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival which included Grade 1 wins with Blue Lord and Facile Vega.

Record 41 British classics for Aidan O’Brien

Tuesday’s win in the Oaks broke a record that had stood since the nineteenth century when Malton trainer John Scott sent out the winners of forty British classics, among them the first horse to complete what is now known as the ‘Triple Crown’, West Australian.

Tuesday’s trainer Aidan O’Brien equalled Scott’s total when Snowfall won the 2021 Oaks but it was Tuesday’s narrow victory over Emily Upjohn a year later which clinched the record. Tuesday was O’Brien’s tenth winner of the Oaks, equalling his number of wins in the 2000 Guineas for which he holds the record. It was in the 1998 2000 Guineas that O’Brien opened his account in British classics when King of Kings was successful, a victory that was quickly followed by Shahtoush winning that year’s Oaks. O’Brien has also won the Derby a record eight times, his first winner Galileo in 2001 being Tuesday’s sire, along with seven wins in the 1000 Guineas and six in the St Leger.

O’Brien, who took his total of Irish classic wins to 47 in 2022 when Kyprios won the Irish St Leger, has Derby favourite Auguste Rodin among his leading classic hopes in 2023. That colt broke another record for his trainer last year when becoming O’Brien’s eleventh winner of what is now the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster, putting him one ahead of previous record holder in that race Sir Henry Cecil.

5,000 career winners in Britain for Mark Johnston

Britain’s winning-most trainer Mark Johnston reached a new landmark in his training career when Dubai Mile’s win at Kempton in August became his 5,000th winner in Britain. That came four years after setting a new record for training the most winners in Britain when Poet’s Society became his 4194th winner, taking him past the record formerly held by Richard Hannon senior.

Johnston began training on a small scale in Lincolnshire in 1987, with Hinari Video at Carlisle becoming his first winner in July of that year, but his career took off following the move to Kingsley House in Middleham a year later. In 2009 Johnston became the first Flat trainer to send out more than 200 winners in a season, a feat he has failed to repeat only three times since, with his best year numerically being 2019 with 249 winners.

Whilst perhaps best known for training 1994 2000 Guineas winner Mister Baileys and 2004 1000 Guineas winner Attraction, as well as the hugely popular stayer Double Trigger, Johnston himself nominates Shamardal, who won the 2004 Dewhurst Stakes whilst under his care as a two-year-old, as the best horse he trained.

As well as reaching a significant landmark, it was also a year of transition in Johnston’s training career as he recently announced that he would be handing over the reins at Kingsley House to his son Charlie with whom he held a joint licence during 2022. Therefore, Dubai Mile, who went on to win the Criterium de Saint-Cloud in October, will also go down as the final Group 1 winner of Mark Johnston’s career.

Other trainers who passed important milestones in 2022 included Gordon Elliott, who saddled his 2000th winner in Britain and Ireland when Ted Hastings won at Ayr in May (Elliott’s first winner also came in Scotland when Arresting won at Perth in 2006), and Charlie Appleby who had his 1000th winner in Britain when Glory Lily won at Lingfield in December at the end of a year in which he became champion trainer for the second time since sending out his first winner Expressly at Ascot in 2013.

13th King George for Paul Nicholls

2022 was the year in which Paul Nicholls became champion jumps trainer for the thirteenth time and he wrapped up his latest championship in some style on the final day of the season at Sandown in April by completing a five-timer thanks to Knappers Hill, Saint Calvados, Greaneteen, McFabulous and Samarrive.

Nicholls also ended the year with another noteworthy thirteenth success, in the King George VI Chase at Kempton. It was a race he first won in 1997 with See More Business who was to be the first of his several winners to be successful more than once, returning to win it again in 1999 having also won a Cheltenham Gold Cup in the meantime.

Kauto Star became Nicholls’ most successful King George winner, winning five of the six runnings between 2006 and 2011, while Silviniaco Conti (2013/2014) and Clan des Obeaux (2018/2019) are the others so far to have won it twice for Ditcheat.

Frodon took Nicholls’ record total to twelve wins in 2020 and finished third in the latest edition behind stablemate Bravemansgame who made it four wins for the trainer in the last five editions when successful last month.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.