The quality is there alongside the volume. Derham has won six top-level races — the kind that matter most in British racing — at venues including Cheltenham, Ascot, and Wincanton. February 2026 alone brought two of them, with Class 1 wins at Wincanton on the 14th and Huntingdon on the 5th. Winning one of those in a month is a good month. Winning two suggests a yard operating with real confidence.
His partnership with jockey Paul O'Brien is the engine room of the operation. Across 187 rides together they have combined for 40 wins — that's 21%, or better than 1 in every 5 races — which is the kind of number that speaks to genuine understanding between a trainer and a jockey. When you find a jockey who gets what you're trying to do, you stick with them, and these two clearly work.
There are smaller details that are just as telling. At Stratford-on-Avon, Derham has turned out 3 winners from just 7 runners — nearly half of everything he sends there wins, which suggests he picks his spots carefully at that track rather than using it as a place to fill entries. And his standout horse Norn Iron has won 3 of their 9 races together, a partnership that has clearly produced some of the yard's better days.
For a trainer only three years in, the picture is striking. The big-race wins are not accidents — six Class 1 victories across Cheltenham, Ascot, and Wincanton is a proper record, not a lucky afternoon. Derham appears to be building something methodical and durable, and if the next three years look anything like the last three, he will not be a name that stays under the radar for long.
| Course | Races | Wins | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newbury | 24 | 3 | 12.5% |
| Kempton Park | 21 | 5 | 23.8% |
| Chepstow | 21 | 3 | 14.3% |
| Doncaster | 15 | 1 | 6.7% |
| Ludlow | 13 | 0 | 0% |
| Warwick | 12 | 3 | 25% |
| Ascot | 11 | 2 | 18.2% |
| Haydock Park | 10 | 4 | 40% |
| Musselburgh | 10 | 3 | 30% |
| Huntingdon | 10 | 3 | 30% |
| Cheltenham | 10 | 1 | 10% |
| Wincanton | 9 | 2 | 22.2% |
| Sandown Park | 8 | 2 | 25% |
| Market Rasen | 8 | 0 | 0% |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 7 | 3 | 42.9% |
| Uttoxeter | 7 | 2 | 28.6% |
| Taunton | 7 | 1 | 14.3% |
| Lingfield Park | 7 | 1 | 14.3% |
| Bangor-on-Dee | 7 | 0 | 0% |
| Fontwell Park | 7 | 0 | 0% |
| Plumpton | 6 | 1 | 16.7% |
| Exeter | 6 | 0 | 0% |
| Carlisle | 5 | 2 | 40% |
| Punchestown | 5 | 1 | 20% |
| hereford | 5 | 1 | 20% |
| Ffos Las | 5 | 1 | 20% |
| Newcastle | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| Wetherby | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| Newton Abbot | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Leicester | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Kelso | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Hexham | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| Worcester | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| Southwell | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| Ayr | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Aintree | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Fakenham | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Windsor | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Catterick Bridge | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Fairyhouse | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Sedgefield | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Salisbury | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Epsom Downs | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Wolverhampton | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Redcar | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Thirsk | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Perth | 1 | 0 | 0% |