John and Thady Gosden have won the 2023 Flat Trainers' Championship for the first time since taking out a joint license together.
This year's Trainers' Championship runs from Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023 and is based on prize money won in that period. The Gosdens currently have £7,133,618 worth of prize money, more than £700,000 ahead of their nearest challenger Aidan O'Brien, who is a further £2 million in front of the likes of Andrew Balding, Ralph Beckett and William Haggas. O'Brien has conceded the title to the Gosdens, as he is unlikely to have another runner in Great Britain this year.
John, 72, has previously won the Trainers' Championship on five occasions, most recently in 2020, however this is his first Championship win with his son Thady, 28. The pair joined forces in 2021 and finished third in their first two seasons together.
On winning the title with his son Thady, Gosden said: “It is fulfilling to have won the Championship. We have won it before here at Clarehaven Stables, but to win it with Thady, and do it together, I find that particularly fulfilling.
“We have to thank the horses, the Owners and the Breeders of those horses because without them there would be no racing stables and no racecourses. I think it's the most forgotten of all the truths of our industry that without the horses themselves and the amount of people who own and breed them we would be very lost.”
He continued: “I would also like to thank every single one of our staff members. At Clarehaven it is very much a team effort which is the same in any stable and stud farm across the industry. We have had a great year and its incredibly hard work, with racing seven days a week. It can be demanding on everybody, and you need plenty of staff working together so that you can spread the load, so from that point of view, without the team here of course this wouldn't have happened.”
Gosden discussed the emotions that comes with winning the Championship and his highlights of the year: “It's always the same in this game, the first thing you have is a sense of relief, the elation can come later and a little celebration. But it is always a deep sense of relief that things have worked out and it's going well.”
“I wouldn't name one highlight; I think overall it was an Owner Breeder horse [Courage Mon Ami] winning the Ascot Gold Cup which is a wonderful race to win. We have been very lucky to have some fabulous Owner Breeders that have got us where we are, and I am forever thankful to them.”
Among their 121 wins in Great Britain, from 571 runners at a strike rate of 21%, were 19 Group winners, eight QIPCO British Champions Series wins and seven Group 1s.
The pair contributed significantly to Frankie Dettori's whirlwind final season in the saddle in Europe, by providing his final British Classic winner in the shape of Soul Sister in the Betfred Oaks at Epsom and the incredible victory for Courage Mon Ami in the Ascot Gold Cup. Dettori then delivered a terrific ride on Mostadhaf to win the Juddmonte International at York in August and received similar praise for his efforts on Trawlerman in the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October, a victory that cemented the Trainers' Championship for the Gosdens as they moved further clear of O'Brien.
The jockeys with the most winners for John and Thady this year were Robert Havlin (38), Dettori (19) and Kieran Shoemark (15) while they've had winners at 25 different racecourses, their most prolific being at the Newmarket courses (17 winners).
The training duo have also had momentous success abroad this year, including big wins in the likes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, France and the US, with Inspiral capping a memorable year in the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita.
John has brought his years of expertise to the partnership, with 12 British Classics to his name (Soul Sister in the Oaks this year his first with his son). He has also trained up a number of superstars including the likes of Enable, Golden Horn, Kingman, Ravens Pass, Cracksman, QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Famer Stradivarius and a host more.
All this was not lost on Thady, who is extremely grateful to his father for giving him his first steps into the training ranks. On this he [Thady} said: “We are in a fortunate position where Dad has built up an exceptional, experienced and talented team over the eighteen years at Clarehaven. A lot of people have been there since the very start so we know them very well, and they have maintained the standards that are required here for the duration and will continue doing so.”
“It is a huge team effort and it's something that we couldn't achieve without a massive amount of support from the Owners and Owner Breeders that we have at Clarehaven, and of course the horses. We were lucky this year as some of the horses have stepped up from last year, they are building on their form and have run consistently throughout the year.”
Speaking on the Championship he continued: “There was slight tension during QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot as the prize money is huge, so it can tip the balance one way or the other. We are fortunate that Trawlerman fought on hard and won the first race, things didn't quite go as planned of the rest of the day, but it also didn't work out for the main challenger, so we were fortunate to stay ahead.”
“On the whole, we are fortunate this year that things have gone right. You can really feel a good buzz around the yard, and winning a Championship is a huge team effort and the team are all very thrilled about it.”
The full standings of the 2023 Flat Trainers' Championship can be viewed here.
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