Horseracing has been in Heather Dalton's blood for as long as she cares to remember and finishing second simply isn't an option. It took Heather just four races to win her first race as a jockey back in 1985 and when injury curtailed her blossoming riding career after 40 victories, she set out to take the training world by storm.
In 1998, Heather sent out 22 winners from just 33 runners that year with only one horse finishing out of the places.
From her Shifnal yard in the heart of Shropshire, Heather amassed 110 winners between the flags before taking out a license to train under rules.
Her tally of winners has risen each season in line with the number of horses in her care, culminating in a tally of 25 winners last term, while a further 87 were placed from just 189 runners.
Statistics for the past five seasons based on one hundred plus runners put Norton House as the ninth rated yard in the country.
2005/2006 Jumps Trainers Statistics
|
2005/2006 |
WINS-
RUNS |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
WIN
PRIZE |
TOTAL
PRIZE |
£1 STAKE |
|
P F Nicholls |
148-651 (23%) |
102 |
71 |
68 |
1,565,591 |
2,404,288 |
-113.02 |
|
N J Henderson |
85-390 (22%) |
44 |
43 |
36 |
791,736 |
1,058,137 |
+43.42 |
|
N G Richards |
59-277 (21%) |
41 |
31 |
19 |
322,242 |
566,026 |
-16.86 |
|
J Howard Johnson |
58-331 (18%) |
35 |
22 |
25 |
420,916 |
568,327 |
-46.71 |
|
P C Haslam |
28-157 (18%) |
19 |
17 |
12 |
108.056 |
188,174 |
-10.76 |
|
P J Hobbs |
112-659 (17%) |
82 |
79 |
66 |
1,058,393 |
1,631,939 |
-107.95 |
|
Evan Williams |
56-340 (16%) |
43 |
28 |
27 |
296,385 |
390,330 |
+97.90 |
|
Miss Venetia Williams |
77-475 (16%) |
67 |
42 |
41 |
432,630 |
662,814 |
-43.79 |
|
Heather Dalton |
23-154 (15%) |
9 |
12 |
19 |
104,306 |
125,275 |
+70.59 |
There are currently approximately one thousand licensed national hunt trainers in Britain.
The success story hasn't been overlooked by the press either, who have been quick to spot the talent and potential of one of racing's bright new stars........
"A glance at Heather's record is enough to support the view that this is a trainer on the up-and-up. In just her fourth season with a licence, she has already amassed 68 winners, the bulk of them in the last two seasons. Even so, you get the distinct impression that this is a trainer eager for even better things"
Express & Star newspaper March 13th 2004
