Best British National Hunt trainers

This year's Cheltenham festival seems to belong to the Irish trainers. Yet the British have still had some fantastic efforts

This year's Cheltenham festival seems to belong to the Irish trainers. Yet the British have still had some fantastic efforts, and a host of the best horses have come from UK yards. Using statistics taken from April to April of last year, we discuss the three most successful British jump racing trainers.

Paul Nicholls

Paul Nicholls is statistically the best British trainer currently in the UK. From April to April, he had 485 horses running in UK events. His resume has previously included luminaries such as Kauto Star and the current wonder horse Neptune Collanges. This has managed to bag him 137 wins and 242 prizes. This has netted him a fund of around £2.7 million.

Cheltenham has not been his playground over the last few years and he has often found himself pushed out by Willie Mullins. However, he is not a bad bet and you can often get great prices for him if you look around. The Cheltenham top trainers betting odds had him at 129/1 to scoop the prize for the best trainer at this year's festival, with Mullin's being 1/20.

This year, his horse to look out for is Bravemansgame in the Gold Cup. Unbeaten only once in seven starts, it is a horse that has much improved and still has great odds. One to watch for the future is Il Ridito, which is still young but may make a scene in the Magners Plate.

Dan Skelton

Dan Skelton is the second-best jump trainer in the UK by wins and prizes. He has had 589 runs, with 291 prizes and 108 wins. This has managed to bag him just over £2 million in prize money.
This season, he has had some fantastic horses to follow. Protektorat has improved massively, especially when it comes to his jumping ability. All he needs is softer ground and he will come through strong in any race. Le Milos is a new horse to the stable, and this seven-year-old won the Masters Handicap Chase at Sandown the year before. It is a horse undoubtedly on the road to the Grand National.

Nicky Henderson

Nicky Henderson is the third most successful jump trainer this year. He has had 344 runs, 178 prizes and 78 wins. All of this has gained him just over £1.6 million in prize money.

His most famous racehorses to date have been Buveur d'Air and Altior. This season he has had some outstanding rides, including Jonbon, Shishkin and the superb Constitution Hill. If anyone has any doubt over his ability as a trainer, it will be hard to retain it when this horse runs. Winning comfortably at this year's Cheltenham Festival, it is certainly a contender for the National, with very little seeming to phase it.

There are many more. Fergal O'Brien and Donald McCain are two. These yards also train a lot of horses, so there will be much smaller ones who have just as successful training-to-win ratios. With some great horses, the future looks bright for British racing.