The race for the 2011-12 UK Jump Trainers title between Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson was effectively decided at the 2012 Grand National meeting. The two had a ding dong battle winning 10 races between them. Henderson landed the prize for top trainer at the meeting but Nicholls victory in the Grand National proved decisive in securing the bigger prize. We have been tracking the 2012-13 race for the trainers title on our forum.
Nicholls was previously the leading trainer at the Aintree Festival in 2011 and 2008. Henderson won it for the first time in over a decade last term and did have three winners at the 2008, 2010 and 2011 meetings. Jonjo O’Neill does well at this meeting he has been top trainer at Aintree four times since 2002.
Peter Bowen is an unlikely winner of the leading trainer award at the meeting but his presence in the top four trainers twice in the last six years ( from a low number of overall runners) highlights the case for keeping on the right side of his runners.
Here are the top trainers at the Grand National meeting since 2002:
| Year | Trainer | 1st | 2nds | 3rds |
| 2012 | Nicky Henderson | 6 | 4 | 1 |
| Paul Nicholls | 4 | 2 | 6 | |
| Alan King | 2 | 1 | – | |
| Malcolm Jefferson | 2 | – | – | |
| 2011 | Paul Nicholls | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Nicky Henderson | 3 | 1 | – | |
| Gordon Elliott | 2 | – | – | |
| Howard Johnson | 2 | – | – | |
| 2010 | Jonjo O’Neill | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Paul Nicholls | 3 | – | 5 | |
| Nicky Henderson | 3 | – | 1 | |
| Peter Bowen | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2009 | Alan King | 3 | 1 | – |
| Jonjo O’Neill | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Paul Nicholls | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| John Kiely | 1 | 1 | – | |
| David Pipe | 1 | 1 | – | |
| Venetia Williams | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2008 | Paul Nicholls | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Nicky Henderson | 3 | – | – | |
| David Pipe | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Alan King | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2007 | Jonjo O’Neill | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| John Quinn | 2 | – | – | |
| Paul Nicholls | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Peter Bowen | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2006 | Philip Hobbs | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Paul Nicholls | 2 | – | 4 | |
| Jonjo O’Neill | 2 | – | 1 | |
| Alan King | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2005 | Nicky Richards | 3 | – | – |
| Paul Nicholls | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Howard Johnson | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Alan King | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Martin Pipe | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Jonjo O’Neill | 2 | 2 | – | |
| Paul Nicholls | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| Nicky Henderson | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Sue Smith | 1 | – | 2 | |
| 2003 | Jonjo O’Neill | 4 | 2 | – |
| Martin Pipe | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| Paul Nicholls | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Henrietta Knight | 1 | – | 1 | |
| Venetia Williams | 1 | – | 1 | |
| 2002 | Jonjo O’Neill | 4 | 1 | – |
| Martin Pipe | 3 | 6 | 3 | |
| Willie Mullins | 2 | – | 1 | |
| Paul Nicholls | 2 | – | 1 | |
| Philip Hobbs | 1 | 2 | – |
