What is Des Donovan's strike rate?

Des Donovan has won 12 of 233 runners since 2022, a strike rate of 5.2% (as at 20 October 2026). Figures are computed from our own results archive.

Which course does Des Donovan do best at?

Wolverhampton (AW) by strike rate: 1 wins from 34 runners (2.9%) since 2022. Read from the 15 courses with the most runners on the same basis, and only those with at least 30 — a small sample cannot top the list, and a rarely-visited course is not in the comparison.

Is Des Donovan in form?

Too few runners in the last 14 days to read — 4 runners, which is not a sample we will draw a conclusion from.

What is Des Donovan's Fair A/E?

0.83, from 231 runners with a computed fair probability since 2022. Fair A/E compares actual wins with a margin-stripped market expectation, so 1.00 is par: above it the wins came at bigger prices than the margin-free market implied, below it they did not.

Trainer profile

Des Donovan

233 runners in the last 5 seasons · 39 individual horses

As at 20 Oct 2026 · KTB archive: 2005–present, updated daily

Last runner yesterday 94% of runners on the flat

Last 5 seasons Lifetime (2009→)

from 1 Jan 2022

12–233

Wins / Runs

5.2%

Strike rate

n=233

37 (16%)

Placed

0.83

Fair A/E

n=231 · 0.70 incl. margin

−118.05

£1 level stake

n=233 at SP · −50.7%

£113k

Prize money (window)

Strike by season

8.2%

KTB Yard Profile

Sends out around 50 runners a season, almost all on the flat, winning with 5% of them — a touch below the margin-free market read across five seasons (Fair A/E 0.83).

Deterministic profile computed from 233 archived runs (last 5 seasons) · updated 20 Oct 2026

The read

The yard also reads well on Good going (13.2%, n=38) and at trips under 6f (8.9%, n=45). The market has consistently overbet the yard over 6f – 7f: Fair A/E 0.50 across 104 runners (2.9% strike, −75.00 to a £1 stake) — runners there underperform what the price implies. The stable star of the record: Tevez (GB) — 7 wins from 67 runs for the yard.

Written from the figures on this page — every claim carries its sample. Descriptive, not a tip.

Yard patterns

the angles behind the record · vs 5.2% baseline

Fresh · 61+ days off

4%−1.2

n=25 · A/E 0.94 · £1 −18.00

New recruits · first run for the yard

5.9%+0.7

n=17 · A/E 1.24 · £1 +17.00

Debutants · first career start

4.8%−0.4

n=21 · A/E 2.80 · £1 −6.00

First-time headgear · true-first definition

6.7%+1.5

n=15 · A/E 1.84 · £1 −8.00

Headgear returns · back on after a bare run

7.1%+1.9

n=14 · A/E 1.04 · £1 +20.00

When favourite

20%

n=10 · A/E 0.71 · £1 −5.55

Claiming riders · a claimer in the saddle

2.6%−2.6

n=39 · A/E 0.41 · £1 −33.00

Group / Graded races · pattern & listed

0%−5.2

n=2 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −2.00

Each tile is the record in that situation vs the 5.2% baseline — descriptive splits with the sample always shown, not tips. Tiles under 30 runs render muted. Headgear figures use the true-first definition (first gear appearance in the captured career); returns are gear back on after a bare run. Claiming riders are runs where the booked rider carried a weight claim. Group / Graded covers pattern and listed races.

Notable angles

vs their own baseline

On Good going 13.2% vs 5.2% · n=38

At trips under 6f 8.9% vs 5.2% · n=45

Over 6f – 7f 2.9% vs 5.2% · n=104

In Class 6 7.4% vs 5.2% · n=94

With claiming riders up 2.6% vs 5.2% · n=39

On Standard (AW) going 3.4% vs 5.2% · n=118 · A/E 0.62

Descriptive splits ranked by divergence × sample — insight, not instruction. Every angle carries its N; nothing under 30 runs qualifies. Rows within 2pts of the baseline appear only when the market-relative read (Fair A/E) diverges, and show it.

Record by conditions

same window as header

Race type

TypeRWSR£1

Flat 220 10 4.5% −141.25

Hurdle 9 2 22.2% +27.20

Chase 2 0 0% −2.00

NH Flat 2 0 0% −2.00

Going

GoingRWSR£1

Standard (AW) 118 4 3.4% −100.25

Good to Firm 46 3 6.5% −14.00

Good 38 5 13.2% +27.20

Good to Soft 15 0 0% −15.00

Soft 11 0 0% −11.00

Heavy 4 0 0% −4.00

Firm 1 0 0% −1.00

Courses

CourseRWSR£1

Wolverhampton (AW) 34 1 2.9% −31.75

Kempton (AW) 25 3 12% −9.50

Chelmsford City (AW) 23 0 0% −23.00

Lingfield (AW) 18 0 0% −18.00

Southwell (AW) 17 0 0% −17.00

Yarmouth 16 1 6.3% −10.00

Lingfield 13 2 15.4% +21.00

Newmarket 11 0 0% −11.00

Bath 10 2 20% +6.50

Leicester 8 0 0% −8.00

Nottingham 7 1 14.3% −2.50

Brighton 6 0 0% −6.00

Newmarket 6 0 0% −6.00

Doncaster 5 0 0% −5.00

Redcar 4 0 0% −4.00

Class

ClassRWSR£1

Class 6 94 7 7.4% −43.25

Class 5 87 3 3.4% −59.00

Class 4 37 2 5.4% −0.80

Class 2 6 0 0% −6.00

Class 3 5 0 0% −5.00

Class 1 2 0 0% −2.00

Market position

In the bettingRWSRA/E£1

Favourite 13 2 15.4% 0.59 −8.55

2nd–3rd fav 30 4 13.3% 0.88 −6.50

4th–6th fav 59 3 5.1% 0.84 −40.00

7th+ in betting 131 3 2.3% 1.03 −63.00

Fair A/E per band is the tell: near 1.00 the market had it priced right; well above, the wins came where the market didn't expect them.

Rows below n=30 are shown faded — a small sample is a fact, not a trend. Every figure carries its N.

Horses trained

same window as header · most-raced first

HorseRWPlLast ran

Daretobedifferent (IRE) 20 1 4 19 Oct 26

Kinetic Force (GB)then Ruth Carr 15 2 6 30 Sep 25

One Hart (IRE)from Denis Quinn 15 1 4 1 Jul 24

Squires Treaty (IRE) 13 0 4 27 May 25

Take The Boat (IRE)then Georgina Nicholls 12 3 3 1 Jun 25

Platinum Jubilee (IRE)from Andrew Balding 12 0 0 9 Jan 25

Miss Magic Dragon (GB) 10 1 1 26 Jul 26

Hazy Cosmic Jane (IRE) 10 0 2 9 Apr 26

Wild Embers (IRE)from Daniel McLoughlin 8 0 0 16 Oct 25

Alkuwarrior (IRE)then Christopher Mason 8 1 2 21 Jun 25

Malacanne (IRE)from J P Murtagh 8 1 3 1 Jun 24

Mart (GB)from Dylan Cunha 7 0 1 15 Oct 26

All 39 horses sent out in this window. Runs, wins and places only: a strike rate or a return on a handful of runs is noise, so none is quoted per horse — each horse's full record is on its own page.

Where they came from · where they went next

Of the 39 horses listed, 16 arrived from another yard in our archive, most often from Archie Watson (2) and Denis Quinn (2); 23 had their first archived run for this yard.

6 have since run for another yard; 33 have no later run for another yard in our archive.

Read from each listed horse's whole archived career (2005 onwards), not only this window, and counted over the horses listed above, not the whole string. “First archived run” means our archive holds nothing earlier, not that the horse was unraced. A horse with no later run elsewhere may still be here, be off the track, or have run somewhere our archive does not cover — none of that is asserted.

Current form

significance-gated

Last 14 days

Small sample

0 from 4

Only 4 runners in the last 14 days — too few to read against the baseline (gate: n≥15). The card states the sample and stays neutral.

When the yard fires

strike by month, 5 seasons

JFMAMJJASOND

03001267008000

A flat yard: the season runs Mar–Oct. Muted months are small samples (under 30 runs) — read them with the caution they deserve.

Jockey bookings

same window · biggest samples first

RiderRWSR£1

Rob Hornby 23 5 21.7% −0.75

Connor Planas 12 0 0% −12.00

Darragh Keenan 12 0 0% −12.00

Benoit De La Sayette 12 0 0% −12.00

Tom Eaves 10 0 0% −10.00

Shane Gray 10 0 0% −10.00

Tom Queally 10 1 10% +9.00

Pat Cosgrave 9 1 11.1% +0.50

Kieran O'Neill 9 0 0% −9.00

David Probert 9 0 0% −9.00

Hollie Doyle 8 0 0% −8.00

Luke Morris 6 0 0% −6.00

Muted rows are under 30 rides.

Career highlights

lifetime archive, 2009→

Archived wins

£485k

Prize money

2010

Best season · 18 wins

Severus (GER) — K Club Handicap Curragh · Jul 2017

£15,990

Dandyman Port (IRE) — Follow Tipperary On Facebook Handicap Tipperary · Aug 2018

£15,375

Severus (GER) — Racing Again June 23rd Handicap Limerick · Jun 2017

£7,084

Notable horses

Tevez (GB) Liberty Lady (IRE) Catherines Call (IRE) Menelik (IRE) Indus Valley (IRE) Weardiditallgorong (GB)

Sires in the string

progeny record · win % by ground and trip

Starman (GB) 2.9% · 1–35

Progeny have won 11.8% of 1,110 runs since 2008 (182 horses). Weakest over 1m – 1m1f (all codes): 8% from 163.

Land Force (IRE) 10% · 2–20

Progeny have won 7.6% of 1,452 runs since 2008 (155 horses).

Gutaifan (IRE) 6.7% · 1–15

Progeny have won 8.9% of 3,747 runs since 2008 (301 horses).

Shaman (IRE) 0% · 0–13

Progeny have won 6.8% of 513 runs since 2008 (66 horses). Weakest on Standard (AW) going: 3.8% from 186.

Belardo (IRE) 25% · 3–12

Progeny have won 10.2% of 3,700 runs since 2008 (280 horses).

Oasis Dream (GB) 0% · 0–12

Progeny have won 11.8% of 17,999 runs since 2008 (1,509 horses). Strongest on Firm going: 17.3% from 150. Weakest on Heavy going: 8.5% from 482. Weakest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 7.1% from 790.

Top line: the yard's own record with each sire's runners (win %, wins–runs), same window as the header; faded under 30 runs. Beneath it: every run by that sire's progeny in our archive since 2008, as at 20 Oct 2026 — what they have done, not a forecast. A going or a distance is named only where at least 100 progeny runs sit 3 or more points from the sire's own win rate. Distance bands cover Flat and jumps together.

The record

latest 50 of 1,167 · newest first

The latest 50 of 1,167 archived runners, newest first. The full record runs from 28 April 2009 to 19 October 2026.

DateCourseHorseRaceFinishSP

19 Oct 26 Southwell (AW) Daretobedifferent (IRE)J: Ryan Kavanagh bettingsites.co.uk New Betting Sites Handicap StakesClass 6 · 8f · Standard · 14 ran 14th 66/1

15 Oct 26 Brighton Mart (GB)J: Rob Hornby Racing Value At bet365 Handicap StakesClass 6 · 6f · Good · 9 ran 9th 18/1

14 Oct 26 Wetherby Virtual Rock (IRE)J: Adam Wedge Over The Rainbow Alison Stretton Birthday Handicap Hurdle RaceClass 3 · 19.5f · Good To Firm · 5 ran 2nd 6/4F

08 Oct 26 Bath Daretobedifferent (IRE)J: Kieran O'Neill Find My Hospitality Handicap Stakes (Div I)Class 5 · 10f · Good · 9 ran 9th 50/1

22 Sep 26 Fontwell Virtual Rock (IRE)J: Shane Fenelon Download The At The Races App Conditional Jockeys' Handicap HurdleClass 4 · 17.5f · Good · 5 ran 1st 6/5F

15 Sep 26 Uttoxeter Virtual Rock (IRE)J: Jonathan Burke Pip & Chris Emerald Wedding Anniversary Handicap Hurdle RaceClass 4 · 20f · Good · 12 ran 1st 33/1

12 Sep 26 Lingfield (AW) Mart (GB)J: Ashley Lewis Follow @attheraces On X Handicap StakesClass 6 · 6f · Standard · 10 ran 9th 4/1J

10 Sep 26 Lingfield (AW) Mart (GB)J: Rob Hornby Sid Sims, Explosive Staging & Events Handicap StakesClass 6 · 5f · Standard · 8 ran 6th 18/1

10 Sep 26 Epsom Daretobedifferent (IRE)J: Tom Queally Under Starters Orders For Fit Show 2027 Handicap StakesClass 6 · 12f · Good To Soft · 14 ran 14th 25/1

01 Sep 26 Lingfield (AW) Mart (GB)J: Ryan Kavanagh Tips For Every Race At raceday-ready.com Handicap StakesClass 6 · 5f · Standard · 5 ran 2nd 7/2

20 Aug 26 Newcastle (AW) Mart (GB)J: Luke Morris Mini Golf At High Gosforth Park Handicap StakesClass 6 · 6f · Standard · 14 ran 11th 33/1

11 Aug 26 Nottingham Daretobedifferent (IRE)J: Marco Ghiani Oddschecker Free Bets Handicap StakesClass 6 · 10f · Good To Firm · 8 ran 5th 9/1

07 Aug 26 Brighton Mart (GB)J: Darragh Keenan Bet In Over 200 Shops Nationwide With JenningsBet Handicap StakesClass 6 · 6f · Good To Firm · 7 ran 6th 5/2F

02 Aug 26 Yarmouth Mart (GB)J: Ryan Kavanagh Price Bailey Llp Norwich "confined" Handicap Stakes (For Horses Which Have Not Won A Flat Race In 2026)Class 6 · 5f · Good To Firm · 7 ran 3rd 6/1

02 Aug 26 Yarmouth Daretobedifferent (IRE)J: Marco Ghiani Bodhi Solutions - Constructing Champions Handicap StakesClass 6 · 8f · Good To Firm · 6 ran 4th 9/2

26 Jul 26 Pontefract Miss Magic Dragon (GB)J: Clifford Lee Roy Winstanley Memorial Raising Encephalitis Awareness Handicap StakesClass 6 · 6f · Good To Firm · 11 ran 9th 14/1

13 Jul 26 Lingfield (AW) Taseem (GB)J: Paddy Bradley Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 EBF Restricted Maiden Stakes (GBB Race)Class 4 · 7f · Standard · 9 ran 9th 200/1

10 Jul 26 Newmarket Daretobedifferent (IRE)J: Gina Mangan Jockey Club Estates HandicapClass 4 · 7f · Good To Firm · 11 ran 9th 50/1

07 Jul 26 Wolverhampton (AW) Miss Magic Dragon (GB)J: Pat Cosgrave Follow AtTheRaces On X Handicap (Div 2)Class 6 · 6f · Standard · 10 ran 5th 40/1

07 Jul 26 Wolverhampton (AW) Dontwaryboutathing (IRE)J: Pat Cosgrave Book Hotel & Conferencing At Wolverhampton Classified StakesClass 6 · 5f · Standard · 7 ran 6th 33/1

Drawn from the whole archive (2005 onwards), so it can include runs outside the window the header statistics cover. Non-runners are not listed. A finish shown in letters is a non-completion (F fell · UR unseated · PU pulled up · BD brought down).

Quick answers

What is Des Donovan's strike rate?: Des Donovan has won 12 of 233 runners since 2022, a strike rate of 5.2% (as at 20 October 2026). Figures are computed from our own results archive.
Which course does Des Donovan do best at?: Wolverhampton (AW) by strike rate: 1 wins from 34 runners (2.9%) since 2022. Read from the 15 courses with the most runners on the same basis, and only those with at least 30 — a small sample cannot top the list, and a rarely-visited course is not in the comparison.
Is Des Donovan in form?: Too few runners in the last 14 days to read — 4 runners, which is not a sample we will draw a conclusion from.
What is Des Donovan's Fair A/E?: 0.83, from 231 runners with a computed fair probability since 2022. Fair A/E compares actual wins with a margin-stripped market expectation, so 1.00 is par: above it the wins came at bigger prices than the margin-free market implied, below it they did not.