Paul Nicholls retained his trainers title in 2011-12 by a margin of £556,349 indicating that he would have won the title even without the Grand National winning contribution of Neptune Collonges (£547,268). Tim Vaughan hitting one hundred winners for the first time and the continuing rise of the McCain stable were also noteworthy.The top ten UK National Hunt trainers for 2011-12 are:
| TRAINER | WINS | RUNS | % | WIN PRIZE | TOTAL PRIZE | £1 STAKE | G1 WINS |
| Paul Nicholls | 138 | 598 | 23.1% | £2,577,195 | £3,297,804 | -61.12 | 7 |
| Nicky Henderson | 167 | 627 | 26.6% | £2,073,910 | £2,741,455 | -5.94 | 11 |
| Donald McCain | 153 | 717 | 21.3% | £849,027 | £1,248,262 | 17.65 | 3 |
| Jonjo O’Neill | 97 | 649 | 14.9% | £685,165 | £1,144,902 | -109.52 | 1 |
| Alan King | 82 | 523 | 15.7% | £726,399 | £1,135,082 | -134.1 | 2 |
| David Pipe | 101 | 632 | 16.0% | £686,358 | £996,492 | -149.28 | 1 |
| Philip Hobbs | 73 | 512 | 14.3% | £492,420 | £959,802 | -145.8 | 2 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 70 | 579 | 12.1% | £324,111 | £666,758 | -185.66 | 0 |
| Evan Williams | 88 | 579 | 15.2% | £342,144 | £588,367 | -112.79 | 0 |
| Tim Vaughan | 102 | 592 | 17.2% | £341,776 | £547,817 | -100.97 | 0 |
Check out our forum thread if you are looking for the latest Nicholls v Henderson standings in the race for the 2012-13 NH Trainers Title.
As the graphic below illustrates Nicholls reversed his fall in total prize money earned in 2009-10 and 2010-11. He needed to as Nicky Henderson continues to strenghten his stable. Henderson’s 2011-12 total winnings of £2,741,455 was his highest ever and almost three times his 2006-7 tally of £990,763. He also outscored Nicholls by 11 to 7 in Grade 1 races this year and was top trainer at the Cheltenham Festival.
Analysis suggests that Nicholls secured the 2011-12 by coaxing significant performances (and earnings) from his older horses and by astute placing of the likes of Celestial Halo. The contributions of Kauto Star, Neptune Collonges and Tidal Bay were significant. Both Nicholls and Henderson had 14 horses ( tabled below) who earned more than £50,000 in prize money. These horses accounted for almost two thirds of the total prize money each trainer earned. Henderson has lost Bellvano from his list but seems to have more horses on an upward curve and a stronger hand for 2012-13.
| Nicholls | Henderson | ||||
| Horse | Age | £ | Horse | Age | £ |
| Neptune Collonges | 11 | 547,268 | Finian’s Rainbow | 9 | 328,736 |
| Big Bucks | 9 | 292,469 | Riverside Theatre | 8 | 232,458 |
| Rock on Ruby | 7 | 222,105 | Sprinter Sacre | 6 | 164,160 |
| Kauto Star | 12 | 216,094 | Long Run | 7 | 152,465 |
| Tiday Bay | 11 | 115,213 | Oscar Whisky | 7 | 130,260 |
| Celestial Halo | 8 | 112,421 | Binocular | 8 | 112,957 |
| Brampour | 5 | 98,995 | Simonsig | 6 | 104,707 |
| Zarkandar | 5 | 96,765 | Grandouet | 5 | 99,059 |
| Silviniaco Conti | 6 | 73,934 | Bobs Worth | 7 | 97,490 |
| Edgardo Sol | 5 | 66,563 | Quantitativeesaing | 7 | 89,005 |
| Al Ferof | 7 | 60,600 | Burton Port | 8 | 64,861 |
| Sanctuaire | 6 | 58,335 | Darlan | 5 | 64,548 |
| Aerial | 6 | 57,421 | Une Artiste | 4 | 57,260 |
| The Minack | 8 | 56,697 | Bellvano | 8 | 52,500 |
| 2,074,880 | 1,750,466 | ||||
| 3,297,804 | 2,741,455 | ||||
| % of Total Earnings | 63% | % of Total Earnings | 64% |
Check out 2012-2013 National Hunt Stable Tours here and track the battle for the 2012-13 NH Trainers Title on our forum thread.
