James Fanshawe

This season the numbers show a slight step back — 47 winners from 361 runners, which works out at roughly 1 in every 8 races, down from 1 in every 6 last year. On its own that sounds like a dip, but context matters. Forty-seven winners from 361 runners in a single season is a serious body of work, and the most recent form suggests the yard is warming up rather than cooling down. In the last two weeks alone, Fanshawe has sent out 7 winners from just 24 runners — a win rate of 29%, more than double his seasonal average. When a trainer's short-term numbers suddenly outpace their long-term average by that margin, it usually means the horses are in good nick and the team is placing them well.

His most trusted ally in the saddle is jockey Daniel Muscutt, who has ridden 148 times for the yard and brought home 19 winners — 13 in every 100 rides, a ratio that reflects a steady, well-managed partnership rather than a high-risk, high-reward arrangement. These two clearly know how to work together. The partnership with Club Class has been less fruitful — one win from nine races together — though that alone does not tell the whole story of what that horse means to the stable.

Lingfield Park appears to be something of a happy hunting ground. Fanshawe has won there twice in recent months, in November 2025 and again in February 2026, and it features among the venues where he has claimed top-level honours. A trainer who can perform at Ascot and also keep winning through the winter at all-weather tracks like Lingfield and Newcastle is a versatile operator — one who understands that keeping winners coming year-round is just as important as chasing the big-occasion headlines.