UK Flat Racing Season: Four Trainers Set to Thrive in 2025
Flat racing is a test of both speed and stamina with contests held over various distances ranging from five furlongs to two miles. Tactical nous is required from the jockeys, with riders often tasked with identifying the best position in a congested field as well as knowing the exact moment to put their foot down on the metaphorical accelerator.
The UK has many successful flat trainers who are adept at finding the right race for their stable stars. Household names include Charlie Appleby, Sir Michael Stoute and Saeed Bin Suroor, however, there are always a handful of lower-profile handlers who don’t necessarily receive the same level of publicity. We’ve picked out four trainers we’re expecting to prosper throughout the summer of 2025.
George Boughey
George Boughey has been at the top of his game for several seasons and the Newmarket-based trainer has already landed one of the Classics with Cachet winning the 1,000 Guineas back in 2022. Regarded as one of Britain’s most dynamic and exciting trainers, the recent purchase of Craven House, a state-of-the-art training complex, can be viewed as a big step forward for the 32-year-old.
He racked up 105 wins throughout 2024 and has kept hold of impressive filly Believing, a Group 2 winner in Ireland, following its recent acquisition by Coolmore.
He has confirmed that in-form jockey Billy Loughnane will be the first-choice rider this season and the pair are likely to surpass the previous season’s totals.
Ollie Sangster
Ollie Sangster began training in 2023, and although it may only be a small sample size, his numbers have improved year-on-year. Last season, he bagged 29 winners from his 211 runners, earning prize money of £500,000. Although his family is steeped in racing history, the young trainer has forged his own path, working under the masterful Wesley Ward at Keeneland before spending time with Joseph O’Brien in Ireland and David Hayes in Melbourne.
He is highly respected by his peers and he has several promising runners who are likely to progress significantly throughout 2025. Punters are always keen to latch onto an up-and-coming trainer as they aim to find value ahead of the flat season’s marquee events and Sangster is likely to have a runner in the majority of these prestigious contests.
Simmering enjoyed a highly successful twelve months, whereas Celestial Orbit has already won two of his three starts under Sangster. The talented three-year-old has been entered for the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket this summer, a race which has already been priced up by the majority of horse racing betting sites.
James Owen
James Owen is a dual-purpose handler who hails from a family of point-to-point trainers. Although he wasn’t able to train a Cheltenham Festival winner in March 2025, he has several high-profile targets in mind, including Burdett Road’s potential assault on the Melbourne Cup later this year.
Although his Green Ridge Stables was initially founded in 2014, it wasn’t until January 2023 that Owen obtained his full UK training license from the BHA. Within 18 months, he had trained more than 150 winners across both codes including the aforementioned Burdett Road and Wimbledon Hawkeye, who was victorious in the Group 2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes last season. The latter has been entered for the Epsom Derby, which takes place at the beginning of June and has been priced up at around 25/1.
Mark Loughnane
Unlike many other successful trainers, Mark Loughnane wasn’t born into racing. Keen to avoid education, the Irishman taught himself to ride whilst lending a hand at his local racing yard. En route to becoming a trainer, he held a variety of positions including head lad and assistant trainer before finally taking out his Irish license in 2002. His decision to take the plunge immediately paid dividends when he saddled an unlikely winner at the Galway Festival.
Following a move to the UK in 2011, he relocated his base to Worcestershire’s 120-acre purpose-built Rock Farm Racing Stables, and his operation has continued to go from strength to strength ever since.
Having exceeded his previous best in 2023, he took that fine form into 2024, amassing 17 wins and 42 places from 102 runners and he is expected to surpass that total in 2025. Although it’s a small sample size, he has a 66% strike rate on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket.
Although he may lack an obvious stable star, Loughnane’s operation is all about consistency and improvement and we can expect to see his runners outrun their odds on both the turf and the all-weather this summer.