Trainer Form / Timeform / 15 October 2009 / Leave a comment

Two hot, one not. Timeform rate the current form of a trio of trainers

"Rod Millman is enjoying a good year, with his recent spate drawing him within one winner of his second-highest total of 37, recorded in 2007. However, he still has some way to go to equal 2007's haul of 44 successes."

The first half of October has been a thoroughly-profitable time to follow Devon-based trainer Rod Millman, whose string have amassed seven wins between them from just twenty-one runs up to and including the 14th of the month.

The yard's profit to level stakes in that period makes particularly attractive reading - with all of Millman's winners returning at [6.0] or bigger, those to have placed £1 on each of his runners would have accumulated a handsome profit upwards of £60, Lucy's Perfect's victory in a Windsor claimer at 28/1 on the 5th making the most significant contribution to that total.

Overall, Millman is enjoying a good year, with his recent spate drawing him within one winner of his second-highest total of 37, recorded in 2007. However, he still has some way to go to equal 2007's haul of 44 successes. As was the case last year, most runners from the yard have been ridden by Millman's son James, who can actually boast a level-stakes profit this year when riding for his father, albeit a marginal one. The pair have twice teamed up this year to score with Cadeaux Fax, and that one holds entries at both Windsor and Yarmouth in the coming days, the 4-lb rise for his latest success at Kempton far from prohibitive.

After what had seemed like a lifetime in the doldrums, the return to the top table of Saeed bin Suroor's string under the Godolphin banner has been a welcome one in the second half of 2009, with the famous royal blue colours taking their first British Classic since 2004 when Mastery scooped last month's St Leger.

In the first two weeks of October, the operation saddled 17 winners in Britain alone, with the fact that nine of those successes came courtesy of eight separate juveniles certainly boding well for 2010. Despite these impressive statistics, the yard has still made a loss to level stakes in the month so far, [5.0] being the biggest SP returned of any one winner. Al Zir is one of the yard's most promising juveniles, making a splash in a maiden at Newmarket and minor event at Doncaster, and he looks like the stable's main hope in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday week.

Meanwhile, it has been a quiet season for Mick Easterby, with his current tally of 27 winners the lowest in a Flat campaign since 2003. Although his attentions seem to be turning more to the jumps at this stage, the veteran Sheriff Hutton handler has had little to cheer in the tail-end of his Flat string's campaign, being without a winner on the level since the 14th of September, during which time Jim Goldie has managed to win with former New House Farm inmate Hawkeyethenoo at Musselburgh.

Tags: Al Zir, Godolphin, James Millman, Mick Easterby, Rod Millman, Saeed bin Suroor