BRITISH 2YO RACING
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Article 05_014_1
31st December, 2005
Multiple winners in a season, the reasons for them
and the trainers that excel in producing them
  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. 2005 WINNERS OF 3 OR MORE RACES
  3. TRAINERS
  4. APPENDIX A : 2005 MULTIPLE WINNER LIST

1. INTRODUCTION

    A brief detour along dimly lit 'Memory Lane' - what do the names Provideo, Timeless Times and Spindrifter mean to you? If you are old enough it will set off recollections of 2yos winning 13, 14, even 16 races in a season. Almost daily runs in later season as they tried to break the record for the number of wins. Endless, small-field, Conditions races at Northern racecourses with these horses carrying double penalties but still beating the other two runners. It will also bring memories of two trainers in particular - WA (Bill) O'Gorman and M Prescott.

    Mr O'Gorman trained a host of multiple winning 2yos from the 70s onwards including Provideo and Timeless Times. We could bore on at enormous length about Manor Farm Boy, Abdu, Brondesbury, Superlative, Mac's Imp, etc. but ought to be stopped. Mr O'Gorman is now mostly retired and only has the occasional 2yo runner. Gone with him seems to be the regular set of 2yos that can win 5 or more races in a season.

    Mr Prescott trained Spindrifter who was one of the last examples of 2yos that won umpteen races in a year. He is still very active with 2yo runners and also very prominent in producing what now passes for 'multiple winning 2yos'. The number of multiple winners in the last four seasons is detailed in the '2yo Racing 2002-06 Stats' section on this site. In the last 4 seasons only one horse has won more than five races and only 6 have won as many as five with none in 2005. 75% of winning 2yos are successful in just one race and around a further 20% win two races. Which leaves a very small set of 2yos that win between 3 to 5 races.

    Before going further it is worth considering where the 2yos like Provideo and Spindrifter have gone. Perhaps the 2yos are just less robust that they used to be and do not run as many times? This does not appear to be the case and there are still plenty of examples of 2yos running 12 or more times in the season. The fundamental reason has been the restructuring of racing undertaken as a result of the various 'Competitive Racing' initiatives over the last decade and more. Bookmakers want to maximise turnover and 3 runner conditions races with Spindrifter taking on two opponents while pot-hunting round the Northern tracks does not do that.

    The outcome has been a structure of race types and penalties for previous winners that makes winning four races very difficult, 5 very rare and winning 16 races impossible. However, we can look at the horses that currently win three, or more, races to see whether there are any worthwhile patterns that show up. These will be covered in the next section but it is worth mentioning Mr Prescott again because he provides a link with the past. 2005 saw him produce two four time (out of a total of 6) and two triple winners. He has also produced two of the six 5-time winners in the three years 2002-4. So, the opportunities are still there to produce multiple winners if the trainer has the ability but a 4 time winner is as difficult as an seven or eight time one of 15 years ago.

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2. 2005 WINNERS OF 3 OR MORE RACES

    The table in Appendix A lists the 41 horses, out of 768 winners in total, that won 3 or more races in 2005. It was a notably moderate year for multiple winners with no horse winning more than 4 races and the lowest number of 3+ winners in the last four years. The table includes the type of races that the 2yos won in date order which helps to identify what factors are involved. Assessing the table it is possible to identify a number of these factors as being important for these multiple wins.

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3. TRAINERS

    Before the article was written it was intended that this section would identify the trainers that excelled at producing multiple winners. This would include trying to identify the strategies that they used. This has proved to be one of those cases where drawing together the information to produce the article has changed the overall impression. It is actually difficult to say that a wide range of trainers show real strategies for getting 3-time winners or more if we assume that having high quality horses in the stable is already in place.

    The obvious exception is M Prescott who was responsible for two of the six 4-time winners and two of the 3-timers. He clearly has a plan for each of his 2yos before they run and plans their development to ensure they work their way through the race types to maximise wins. At a lesser level JL Spearing (who gets a 3-time winner every season) and WGM Turner (gets at least on 3-time claimer/seller winner in cheekpieces) deserve a minor note because they identify the horses capable of multiple wins.

    If we then look at the other trainers with more than one multiple winner in the table we can put most of them down to the trainer having high class runners. MR Channon and R Hannon run such large numbers of 2yos and start so many of them early in the season that they get a number of multiple winners by sheer persistence and high numbers of individual runs.

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4. APPENDIX A : 2005 MULTIPLE WINNER LIST
 
2yo Trainer Number of Wins [Runs] Race Types
Flashy Wings MR Channon 4  [6] Mf, Cnd F, Gp2, Gp2
Close To You TG Mills 4  [7] M, Nov, Cnd, Gp2
Violette M Prescott 4  [9] Mf, Nov, Nur F (OR88), Gp3
Outlook M Prescott 4  [8] Auc, Nur (OR80), Clm, Clm
Sir Percy MP Tregoning 4  [4] M, Cnd, Gp2, Gp1
Saxon Saint MDI Usher 4  [13] Nur (OR61), Nur (63), Nur (67), Nur (72)
Skhilling Spirit TD Barron 3  [11] Auc, Nur (OR76), Sales
Rising Cross JR Best 3  [11] Auc F, Nur (OR80), Cnd
Triskaidekaphobia KR Burke 3  [10] M, Nur (OR85), Nur (OR87)
Yankee George MR Channon 3  [12] M, Nov, Nur (OR79)
Wovoka MR Channon 3  [15] M, Nur (OR76), Nur (85)
Give Me The Night EAL Dunlop 3  [10] Auc F, Nov, Nov
Qusoor JL Dunlop 3  [8] Mf, Nur (OR80), Nur (85)
Bow Bridge MW Easterby 3  [8] Auc F, Nov, Lst F
Anna Pavlova RA Fahey 3  [5] Mf, Nur (OR79), Nur (85)
Nannina JHM Gosden 3  [5] Mf, Gp3, Gp1
Godfrey Street R Hannon 3  [11] M, Nov, Gp2
Nasheej R Hannon 3  [5] Mf, Gp3, Gp2
Cool Creek R Hannon 3  [8] Cnd, Cnd, Gp2
The Snatcher R Hannon 3  [11] M, Nov, Nur (OR85)
Hot R Hannon 3  [9] M, Nov, Cnd
Red Clubs BW Hills 3  [9] M, Nov, Gp2
Figaro Flyer M Channon/P Howling 3  [11] M, Sllr, Nur (OR73)
Prince Of Light M Johnston 3  [5] M, Nur (OR85), Gp3
Manston BJ Meehan 3  [6] M, Nur (OR83), Lstd
Donna Blini BJ Meehan 3  [4] Mf, Gp2, Gp1
Strike Up The Band D Nicholls 3  [6] M, Lstd, Gp3
Under My Thumb EJ O'Neill 3  [6] M, Nur (OR79), Nur (87)
Shermeen JA Osborne 3  [9] Mf, Nur (OR84), Nov
Zaal JA Osborne 3  [6] Auc, Nur (OR86), Cnd
Quince AM Balding/J Pearce 3  [7] Nur (OR57), Nur (68), Nur (78)
Dream Fantasy M Prescott 3  [5] Auc, Nov, Nov
Confidential Lady M Prescott 3  [6] M, Nov, Lst F
Angus Newz M Quinn 3  [11] Clmr, Nov F, Nur (OR74)
Amadeus Wolf KA Ryan 3  [5] M, Gp2, Gp1
Palace Episode KA Ryan 3  [5] M, Lstd, Gp1
Sir Xaar B Smart 3  [9] Auc, Cnd, Lstd
Titus Alone B Smart 3  [6] Auc, Nov, Lstd
Valentino Swing JL Spearing 3  [6] Sllr, Nur (OR64), Nur (66)
Mulaqat MP Tregoning 3  [6] M, Nur (OR84), Cnd
One Trick Pony WGM Turner 3  [10] Clmr, Clmr, Sllr

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