In horse racing many individuals can have a significant impact on a horse’s development and eventual success, but none are more important than trainers.
Trainers lay the foundations for racehorses to be able to compete at a high level. They constantly look for areas of improvement and also play a huge part in deciding what races their horses should enter for the greatest chance of victory.
There have been many famous trainers over the years who have seen their horses win an abundance of major races. Here we will look at the greatest-ever training masterminds on record.
Willie Mullins
Willie Mullins is regarded as one of the most successful trainers of all time due to his unprecedented domination at the Cheltenham Festival which is one of the most prestigious events on the planet.
Mullins has seen his horses accumulate a total of 94 wins at the annual March event so far, which included three Gold Cups and could this year become four. Cheltenham race betting offers the Mullins-trained 2023 winner as the 5/6 favourite to retain the honour.
The Irishman is also the favourite in the Cheltenham top trainer odds as many of his horses will be competing this year with a strong chance of winning. Mullins could make history this year by reaching 100 race wins at the festival.
😍 The Willie Mullins Cheltenham Squad is incredible!
Dysart Dynamo
Kilcruit
Blue Lord
Galopin Des Champs
Appreciate It
Gaelic Warrior
Stattler
Sir Gerhard
Chacun Pour Soi
Energumene
Facile Vega
Redemption Day
Allaho
Klassical Dream
Dinoblue
Vauban
Elimay#Cheltenhamfestival 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2bD7AbwmSi— Stephen R Power (@racingblogger) March 14, 2022
His horses have maintained stunning records at a variety of events across the course of his career which makes it tough for anyone to argue he is not the greatest ever jump racing trainer.
The winning strike rate of all of his entries combined throughout his career sits at 23.4% ahead of Cheltenham 2024 – a remarkable figure considering his horses have run over 16,000 races.
Mullins has guided his racehorses to securing more than £68 million in prize money since he began training in 1988 and that figure is sure to grow significantly before he eventually retires.
Aidan O’Brien
Aidan O’Brien is another successful Irish trainer although he has contrastingly found his success in flat racing. He took over at Ballydole Racing in 1994 and has turned the stable into a talent factory ever since.
O’Brien has trained winners in practically every single flat racing event in the United Kingdom and Ireland and his entries have also found success in the United States and France.
The Wexford-born man holds several impressive records on British and home soil including being the most successful trainer in the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby with nine and eight wins respectively.
2000 Champion Hurdle Winning Trainer Aidan O’Brien
pic.twitter.com/8fvH49iBDw— History of Horse Racing (@horsevault) February 23, 2024
His all-time record is also incredibly impressive with a strike rate of 20% when it comes to winning horses from over 14,000 entries overall.
O’Brien has not necessarily dominated specific festivals to the extent that Mullins has but he has set records in various regions of the world which is arguably just as impressive.
Ultimately, they lead the pack when it comes to the greatest trainers of all time due to their shared trait of longevity across different formats of the sport.
They have consistently led horses to record-breaking success for decades and for that reason, their names are well-known by horse racing fans all over the world.
