Martin Todhunter

Over the last twelve months, Todhunter has sent out 9 winners from 97 runners — roughly 1 in every 11 races, which sits a little below the industry average but is entirely respectable for a trainer at this stage of their career. What matters more than the overall number is where and how those winners are coming. At Hexham, a tight, undulating track in the Northumberland hills that suits horses with a particular kind of agility and stamina, Todhunter has won 3 races from just 9 runners. That is a 1-in-3 hit rate, and it is the sort of statistic that should make anyone following his runners at that track sit up and pay attention. When a trainer cracks a specific track like that, it is rarely an accident — it usually means they know the course well and are placing their horses there deliberately.

There is also a ground preference worth noting. On slightly soft, damp underfoot conditions, Todhunter's yard wins 4 from 23 races — nearly 1 in 6, which is almost double his overall rate. If you are watching the weather forecast ahead of a race and one of his horses is declared, a bit of overnight rain is very much your friend.

His most regular partnership with jockey Mark Winn — 16 rides together producing 1 win — is a working relationship still building momentum rather than one that has clicked into gear yet. More eye-catching is the combination with Powerofjet, a horse Todhunter has run 15 times, winning twice. That might not sound spectacular, but the fact that this partnership keeps returning to the track together suggests a team that believes in the horse and is patient enough to find the right opportunities.

Todhunter is not yet a name that will shorten the odds the moment it appears on a racecard. But the Hexham record, the soft-ground sharpness, and a solid foundation of 45 winners in four years all point to a trainer who knows what he is doing and is quietly getting better at it.