The top performing trainers of the flat season so far
The 2026 Flat season is only a couple of months old, and Aidan O’Brien has already landed two of the four British Classics run so far. His Ballydoyle yard set the early pace, and the trainers behind him have plenty of ground to make up over a championship that runs right through to October.
The trainers’ championship is settled on prize money rather than total winners, so the major Group 1 contests carry real weight in the standings. Plenty of punters spend the spring backing the market leaders at the track, and the leading yards have rewarded that approach through the Classic season.
The Flat campaign runs from spring through to October, and for many who bet on horse racing, this is the stretch of the calendar they look forward to most. In this article, we reflect on three trainers who have made the strongest starts to 2026.
George Boughey
Boughey claimed one of the biggest prizes of the colts’ season when Bow Echo won the 2,000 Guineas. The Newmarket trainer had already taken the 1,000 Guineas with Cachet back in 2022, so success at the Rowley Mile completed the set of both Guineas.
Bow Echo went into the 2,000 Guineas as the favourite, unbeaten as a two-year-old, and confirmed that standing with a clear-cut win under Billy Loughnane. He has since followed up at Royal Ascot, holding off Gstaad, the colt he beat at Newmarket, by a short-head in the St James’s Palace Stakes to keep his unbeaten record intact and hand Boughey a first Group 1 at the Royal meeting.
For a yard without the spending power of the biggest operations, landing a colts’ Classic and backing it up at Ascot with one of its best horses has been a high point of the season so far, and a sign that Boughey can compete with the established stables when he has the right horse.
Aidan O’Brien
O’Brien has been the dominant force once again. He took the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket with True Love, then landed the Derby a month later when Christmas Day came out on top at Epsom. It was a record-extending 12th Derby for the Ballydoyle handler and the 50th British Classic of a remarkable career.
The strength in depth was the headline. O’Brien saddled four runners in the Derby, and it was one of his less-fancied colts who came home in front, with Ronan Whelan riding his first Classic winner. That form carried into Royal Ascot, where O’Brien reached 100 winners at the meeting, becoming the first trainer to bring up a century there and extending his record as the most successful handler in its history. With two Classics and that landmark behind him, he has made a commanding start to his season.
Joseph O’Brien
The Oaks went to Joseph, who has taken clear strides forward as a trainer this season. Thundering On ran out a wide-margin winner at Epsom under Dylan Browne McMonagle, going several lengths clear and being eased down before the line.
It was one of the standout training performances of the spring and a first Oaks for the yard. Having father and son each land a Classic at the same Epsom meeting was a notable family story, and Joseph looks well placed to add further Group 1 success before the autumn. His operation in Ireland has been building for a few seasons, and 2026 has the look of a breakthrough year at the top level.
Where the title race stands
Two months in, Aidan O’Brien leads the prize-money standings with more than £3.4 million, over £1 million clear of his nearest rival. What stands out is how he has done it, with that total coming from just 11 winners. Andrew Balding sits second on the strength of 92, while John and Thady Gosden and William Haggas are close behind. George Boughey and Joseph O’Brien both sit inside the top 10, lifted by their big-race wins. With the likes of Goodwood and York still to come, there is a long way to run before the title is settled, but it looks to be going one direction.