'We go under the radar a lot' - meet the trainer with a 55 per cent strike-rate this jumps season

Six winners from 11 runners, a 55 per cent strike-rate, a £1 level-stake profit of +£27.25. These remarkable jumps season statistics speak for themselves for dual-purpose trainer Lydia Richards.

Richards, who is based in the West Sussex village of Funtington, has nine horses in training and only three have run over jumps this season, with the homebred brothers Certainly Red and Good News recording noteworthy success.

It is no one season wonder either, with Richards boasting a 27 per cent strike-rate over the past five jumps campaigns. Punters will have made a profit backing her horses for the last four seasons.

Victory for Certainly Red on the Tolworth Hurdle card at Sandown in January provided some exposure on ITV for Richards, who has space for three more horses at her yard and feels they punch considerably above their weight.

Richards, who trained a career-best seven Flat winners in 2021, said: “I feel we go under the radar a lot. People don’t really take a lot of notice of the very small yards but that’s just life. It’s been going very well and we have a really good team. We work very hard, pay attention to a lot of detail with all our horses and it pays off.

“Our horses are quite often overlooked just because it’s us and they would go off much shorter prices if they were with the bigger yards. In some ways that’s quite nice for us!”

Certainly Red: won four of his last five startsCredit: Mark Cranham

Certainly Red, who is out of Venetian Lass, has won four of his last five starts, with his latest Wincanton victory taking him to a career-high rating of 142.

Richards has taken great enjoyment from seeing his rise through the ranks and he might well have more to come, with the trainer waiting on rain before making a plan.

“He’s come out of his last race very well and it entirely depends on the weather as to where he goes next,” said Richards. “The arrival of some rain would be very helpful.

“He was a very late developer and a very slow learner. His messages between brain and legs were a bit slow for a long time but once he gets the hang of something he’ll do it all day. It’s taken him a while to really get his act together but he’s doing very well now and has to go and take on some of the big boys off his new mark.

“We have his half-sister at home – we’re going to breed with her – and he’s the last of the geldings to come from that family, and seems to be the best. It’s lovely and very exciting.”

Shishkin: beat Certainly Red by eight lengths when they made their rules debuts at Kempton in March 2019Credit: Alan Crowhurst

Certainly Red made his debut in a bumper at Kempton in March 2019, belying his 33-1 odds to finish second. He was beaten by a horse called Shishkin.

She said: “If we had known back then how good Shishkin was, we probably wouldn’t have been there! It makes you laugh looking back now.”

Richards’ eyecatching statistics could be boosted on Friday with recent recruit Capstan entered for his hurdling debut at Newbury. The four-year-old was bought from Sir Michael Stoute for 35,000gns in October and beaten a length when fourth at 28-1 at Kempton on his stable earlier last month.

Richards said: “I was very pleased with his first run and we’ll just keep an eye on the ground for Friday – he would be fine on good ground but I wouldn’t run him on anything firm. He’s been schooling very well and he’s a very nice horse. I like him a lot.”

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Upping The Ante star Johnny Dineen joins the Racing Post roster for a weekly Saturday column throughout the jumps season. He'll offer a guide to the weekend action, highlight the key horses and races to watch and share his punting wisdom. Read it every Saturday in the Racing Post or online from 4pm every Friday, exclusively for Members' Club subscribers. Sign up to Members' Club here for more top jumps season insight.