PURPLE PATCH: How Irish trainer Henry de Bromhead has made Britain a home from home


Henry de Bromhead’s record when he sends runners to Britain is exceptional.

A Plus Tard’s victory in the Betfair Chase at Haydock last weekend was a 12th Grade One success and a 23rd winner in Britain in the last five years for the Irish trainer.

In that time he has had only 139 runners in Britain, which works out at a strike rate of 16.5% – impressive when you consider the majority of those horses are running at the highest level.

Had you placed a pound on each of those runners you would have turned a healthy profit of +50.14, suggesting that his horses may still not be over-bet.

It has been a remarkable 2021 for the County Waterford-based trainer, who took the Cheltenham Festival by storm when winning six races, including the Gold Cup, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Champion Hurdle.

More success followed on the biggest stage of all, when Minella Times won the Grand National, with the brilliant Rachael Blackmore in the saddle.

De Bromhead now has 15 Cheltenham Festival winners to his name, 13 of which have come in the last five years, and with his horses seeming to relish a trip across the Irish Sea, he looks sure to add to that tally in 2022.