James Tate

 

A qualified veterinary surgeon, James Tate spent eight years in that capacity, two in mixed practice and six working for North Yorkshire trainer Mark Johnston. He subsequently moved to his current base, Jamesfield Place in Newmarket, and took out a training licence in his own right in October, 2011. Shortly afterwards, he became a private trainer for Rabbah Bloodstock, the company founded by Sheikh Mohammed to manage the racing interests of his friends and associates/

Tate saddled his first winner, Dark Falcon, for high-profile Emirati owner Saeed Manana at Southwell in December, 2011. After just one winners from five runners in his inaugural season, he increased his winning tally to 21 in 2012 and 62 in 2013. He would not surpass that seasonal total until 2019, when he enjoyed his most successful season so far, with 72 winners and over £926,000 in prize money. That year, he expanded his training operation with the purchase of Cavendish Stables, formerly occupied by Alan Bailey, in Newmarket.

By that stage Tate had already saddled his first Pattern race winner, Invincible Army, in the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes at Kempton in September, 2017. Invincible Army would also become the first Group 2 winner for the yard, in the Duke of York Stakes at York in May, 2019. All told, Invincible Army won six of his 19 races and over £371,000 in prize money. Tate has yet to saddle a Group 1 winner, but his career tally, so far, is over 400 winners and over £4 million in prize money in ten seasons, the last of which is far from over.

Michael Dobs

Michael Dods took over the training licence at Denton Hall in Piercebridge, near Darlington, Co. Durham in 1990, following the death of his father, Dickie. After a modest start, Dods increased his winning tally season-by-season and is now established as one of the most consistent trainers in the North of England. He has saddled at least 39 winners in each of the last ten seasons and, in 2017, enjoyed his best season so far, numerically, with 62 winners.

Dods saddled his first Pattern race winner, Barney McGrew, in the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle in 2010. He recorded his first Group 1 victory courtesy of Mecca's Angel in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in 2015 and his second courtesy of the same horse in the same race the following year. Two seasons later, Dods saddled Mabs Cross to win the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp for the third Group 1 victory of his career. Indeed, in 2018, won over £827,000 in prize money domestically and over £1 million worldwide.

In recent seasons, Dakota Gold has been the standard bearer for the yard, winning two Listed races in 2019 and three more in 2020, plus the Group 3 Bengough Stakes at York. Now a 7-year-old, Dakota Gold has been an excellent servant to connections down the years, winning 13 of his 39 starts and nearly £370,000 in prize money.

David Loughnane

Originally based in Nawton, North Yorkshire, David Loughnane started his training career in early 2016 and moved to his current base, Helshaw Grange, in Market Drayton, Shropshire later that year. Loughnane, 34, spent five years in Australia in his early twenties, where he worked in various roles, including for the late Bart Cummings and his son, Anthony, in Sydney and Paul Messara in Scone, a.k.a. 'The Horse Capital of Australia'.

A dual-purpose trainer, who counts former Grand National winning trainer Steve Brookshaw as a member of his staff, Loughnane has made a succesful start, gradually increasing his winning tally season-by-season. Indeed, he enjoyed his most successful season, numerically and financially, in 2020, with 41 winners and over £362,000 in prize money. The highlight of that season, and his career so far, was the victory of the 2-year-old filly Santosha in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Betfred Stakes at Ascot in July.

In 2021, his highest-rated horse, and highest single earner, so far, has been the 5-year-old mare Fizzy Feet, who has won handicaps at Lingfield and Windsor and was only beaten three-quarters of a length in the All-Weather Fillies' And Mares' Championships, also at Lingfield. Another horse to note is the 5-year-old gelding Tranchee, who is 1-2 on the all-weather so far in 2021, but whom Loughnane believes has 'a big pot on him'.