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The 2016 British Flat Trainers Championship concluded on 31st December with Aidan O’Brien confirmed the runaway winner with £8,130,756 in accumulated win and place prize money.
O’Brien ended the year with a record prize money haul that was more than double the tally of his closest pursuers. His tally means the record has been broken for the third year running, following John Gosden’s 2014/15 total which surpassed £5 million for the first time and which in turn eclipsed Richard Hannon’s record set the previous Championship season.
In 2016, Gosden came second after accumulating £3,462,784, with Richard Fahey third on £3,156,728.
You can view the full table here.
Trainer • Prize Money Won
Aidan O’Brien • £8,130,756
John Gosden • £ 3,462,784
Richard Fahey • £ 3,156,728
(as at 28.12.16)
President of the National Trainers Federation, Seamus Mullins, praised his fellow-countryman: “Through his unparalleled performance as Champion Trainer, Aidan is continuing to keep up the tradition of Ballydoyle producing champions on the track. Many congratulations to him and all his team on their fantastic, record breaking season.”
Aidan O’Brien’s 2016 Championship was won with 28 winners from 133 runners. Emphasising quality over quantity, there were 22 triumphs at Group 1, 2 and 3 from 108 runners at that level. Inevitably, Minding, who won four British Group 1’s during the season, including the QIPCO 1,000 Guineas, the Investec Oaks and most recently, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on QIPCO British Champions Day was the leading money earner, accounting for £1,563,084 of the total.
Other highlights were the victories of Order Of St George (Gold Cup at Royal Ascot), Highland Reel (QIPCO-sponsored King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes), The Gurkha (Qatar Sussex Stakes) and Seventh Heaven (Darley Yorkshire Oaks).
The bad news for O’Brien’s rivals is that he has made a habit of winning back-to-back championships, with his previous triumphs being in 2001 and 2002; and then 2007 and 2008 and he has plenty of fire power to look forward to in 2017 with this year’s two-year-olds set to shine for him including Churchill, Caravaggio, Rhododendron, Brave Anna and Roly Poly.
The last Irish trainer other than Aidan O’Brien to win the Championship was Vincent O’Brien in 1977 from the same Ballydoyle base. Only 41 individual trainers have won the Flat Championship since 1900.
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Sarah Elsley is a freelance editor and proofreader who is the Junior News Editor for Eclipse magazine. She has a degree in English Literature and is a keen horse rider with an interest in fashion at the races and fiction writing.
