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Donald McCain

Donald McCain has been training racehorses for just four years, but he has packed a serious amount into that time. Since setting up in 2021, he has sent out 433 career winners — a number that takes some trainers a decade or more to reach. This season alone he has produced 55 winners from 513 runners, winning roughly 1 in every 9 races, which is a steady, professional return across a big string of horses.Based on TrackLab's AI analysis
Quick Facts
Role
Trainer
Based
Cholmondeley, Cheshire
Record
55 wins from 513 races
Win rate
10.7%
Top jockey
Best course
Musselburgh (20.8% from 24 races)
Best going
Good to soft

📊 Key Numbers

A snapshot of this trainer's performance over the last 12 months
513
Races
55
Wins
10.7%
Win rate
avg ~10%
41.7%
Place rate (top 3)
avg ~30%

🔍 Full Analysis

TrackLab's AI-generated assessment based on career data and recent form
TrackLab's Trainer Breakdown
Auto-Generated

What separates McCain from a competent journeyman is his record at the very top level. Five Class 1 victories — the elite tier of British racing — in just four years is genuinely impressive. Those wins have come at Haydock Park, Doncaster, and twice at Aintree, including as recently as December 2025. Aintree is one of the most famous racecourses in the world, home of the Grand National, and winning there at the highest level once is something many trainers never manage. McCain has done it twice in little over a year.

His most reliable working relationship is with jockey Theo Gillard, who has partnered his horses to 21 wins from 205 rides together — roughly 1 in every 10, which mirrors the yard's overall win rate and suggests a smooth, well-drilled partnership rather than one carried by the odd freak result. More eye-catching, though, is his association with a horse called Count Of Vendome, a pairing that has produced 4 wins from just 7 races together. That is winning more than half the time, which in professional horse racing is an extraordinary ratio and speaks to a trainer who clearly knows exactly what suits that particular horse.

Perhaps most encouragingly, McCain appears to be hitting a rich vein of form right now. Over the last two weeks his runners have won 4 from 20 — a 20% win rate, nearly double his season average of 11%. In training, that kind of short-term spike often means the horses in the yard are healthy, happy, and primed. Punters and racing insiders pay close attention to these windows of form, and right now McCain's name is one worth watching. Four years in, the trajectory is pointing firmly upward.

📈 Form Trend

How this trainer's win rate has changed month by month
Monthly win rate
2025–2026
5.6%
May
15.4%
Jun
14.7%
Jul
16.7%
Aug
14.7%
Sep
2.4%
Oct
13.8%
Nov
10.3%
Dec
8.9%
Jan
6%
Feb
12.3%
Mar
22.2%
Apr

🎯 Where This Trainer Thrives

Performance broken down by ground, class, and track type
🌧 Ground Conditions
Good to soft
Heavy (very wet)
Good to firm
Standard to slow
Good (firm-ish)
Ok
Soft (muddy)
Ok
Good to yielding
Standard (all-weather)
Avoids
🏅 Competition Level
Class 1
Ok
Class 2
Avoids
Class 3
Ok
Class 4
Class 5
Class 6
🏟 Track Shape
Left-handed, tight turning
Left-handed, wide and galloping
Right-handed, tight turning
Left-handed, tight
Left-handed, undulating
Ok
Wide and galloping
Right-handed, tight
Right-handed, undulating
Avoids
Right-handed, wide and galloping
Avoids

🏇 Jockey Partnerships

The riders they work with most, sorted by rides together
Theo Gillard First Choice
10.2%
Win rate
21/205
Won / Rode
16.0%
Win rate
19/119
Won / Rode
Charlie Maggs
10.1%
Win rate
7/69
Won / Rode
William Maggs
8.5%
Win rate
4/47
Won / Rode
9.1%
Win rate
1/11
Won / Rode
14.3%
Win rate
1/7
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/6
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/3
Won / Rode
Mr Toby McCain-Mitchell
0%
Win rate
0/3
Won / Rode
50%
Win rate
1/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
Fern O'Brien
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode

Top Horses

The strongest horses currently associated with this trainer
Form: 31-212
Form: 7-1242
Form: 1-332F
Form: /4-213
Form: -35522
Form: 6-1452
Form: 23-643
Form: F-2737
Form: 24
Form: -44311

🏟 Course Record

Win rate at each course, sorted by number of races
CourseRacesWinsWin rate
Bangor-on-Dee 82 14 17.1%
Carlisle 50 0 0%
Sedgefield 37 4 10.8%
Haydock Park 35 5 14.3%
Kelso 32 2 6.2%
Catterick Bridge 28 5 17.9%
Musselburgh 24 5 20.8%
Uttoxeter 24 2 8.3%
Wetherby 22 1 4.5%
Doncaster 21 3 14.3%
Newcastle 16 1 6.2%
Worcester 14 1 7.1%
Chester 11 2 18.2%
Aintree 11 2 18.2%
Ayr 10 1 10%
Market Rasen 9 0 0%
Stratford-on-Avon 8 2 25%
Southwell 8 1 12.5%
Cartmel 8 1 12.5%
Huntingdon 8 0 0%
Ludlow 5 1 20%
Cheltenham 5 0 0%
Perth 5 0 0%
Chepstow 4 1 25%
Warwick 4 0 0%
Kempton Park 4 0 0%
Ripon 4 0 0%
Hexham 4 0 0%
Leicester 3 0 0%
Sandown Park 3 0 0%
Hamilton Park 2 0 0%
Exeter 2 0 0%
Fakenham 2 0 0%
hereford 2 0 0%
Newmarket 1 1 100%
Ascot 1 0 0%
Newbury 1 0 0%
York 1 0 0%
Galway 1 0 0%
Thirsk 1 0 0%

📅 Recent Results

The last 20 results, most recent first
4 Apr
Haydock Park · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
6th
4 Apr
Haydock Park · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
Won
4 Apr
Haydock Park · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
4 Apr
Haydock Park · 1m6f – 2m · Good
10th
4 Apr
Haydock Park · 1m6f – 2m · Good
4th
4 Apr
Carlisle · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
5th
2 Apr
Chepstow · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
Won
2 Apr
Kelso · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
4th
1 Apr
Sedgefield · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
2nd
31 Mar
Bangor-on-Dee · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
3rd
31 Mar
Bangor-on-Dee · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
8th
31 Mar
Bangor-on-Dee · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
2nd
31 Mar
Newcastle · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
2nd
31 Mar
Bangor-on-Dee · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
4th
31 Mar
Bangor-on-Dee · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
2nd
31 Mar
Newcastle · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
Won
28 Mar
Uttoxeter · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
4th
28 Mar
Uttoxeter · 1m6f – 2m · Good_To_Soft
Won
27 Mar
Wetherby · Long Distance (2m+) · Good
26 Mar
Chepstow · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
3rd