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Trainer profile

Denis Hickey

106 runners in the lifetime window · 16 individual horses
As at 7 Nov 2026 · KTB archive: 2005–present, updated daily
Last runner 25 days ago 98% of runners over jumps
Last 5 seasons Lifetime (2008→)
from 1 Jan 2008 — the aggregate floor: every horse in the window has a complete captured career behind it
9–106
Wins / Runs
8.5%
Strike rate
n=106
26 (25%)
Placed
1.44
Fair A/E
n=106 · 1.14 incl. margin
−17.00
£1 level stake
n=106 at SP · −16.0%
£136k
Prize money (window)
Strike by season
0%
KTB Yard Profile

Sends out around 10 runners a season, almost all over hurdles and fences, winning with 9% of them — beating the margin-free market read across the lifetime window (Fair A/E 1.44).

Deterministic profile computed from 106 archived runs (lifetime window) · updated 7 Nov 2026
KTB at a glance Claiming riders: 8.9%
The read

The yard also reads well off a 15-30-day break (17.6%, n=34) and over 2m1f – 2m4f (13.6%, n=44). The record reads poorly over 1m5f – 2m — 4.5% over 44 runners, 4pts below the baseline. One Group or Graded win sits in the archive record — the biggest prize the yard has landed: the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park (Feb 2008, £32,550).

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

Yard patterns

the angles behind the record · vs 8.5% baseline
Fresh · 61+ days off
5.7%−2.8
n=35 · A/E 1.08 · £1 −12.00
Debutants · first career start
0%−8.5
n=14 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −14.00
First-time headgear · true-first definition
0%−8.5
n=6 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −6.00
Headgear returns · back on after a bare run
0%−8.5
n=2 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −2.00
When favourite
33.3%
n=3 · A/E 1.35 · £1 +2.00
Claiming riders · a claimer in the saddle
8.9%+0.4
n=45 · A/E 1.27 · £1 −11.75
Group / Graded races · pattern & listed
6.7%−1.8
n=15 · A/E 1.59 · £1 +19.00

Each tile is the record in that situation vs the 8.5% baseline — descriptive splits with the sample always shown, for you to weigh. 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. The same beliefs, tested across every yard and every GB and Irish race since 2005: Racing myths.

Notable angles

vs their own baseline
Off a 15-30-day break 17.6% vs 8.5% · n=34
Over 2m1f – 2m4f 13.6% vs 8.5% · n=44
Over 1m5f – 2m 4.5% vs 8.5% · n=44
On Heavy going 11.6% vs 8.5% · n=43
On Soft going 11.8% vs 8.5% · n=34
With a new jockey booking 6.5% vs 8.5% · n=46
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
Hurdle 73 5 6.8% −45.25
Chase 23 4 17.4% +38.25
NH Flat 8 0 0% −8.00
Flat 2 0 0% −2.00

Going

GoingRWSR£1
Heavy 43 5 11.6% −6.00
Soft 34 4 11.8% +18.00
Good 16 0 0% −16.00
Good to Soft 12 0 0% −12.00
Good to Firm 1 0 0% −1.00

Courses

CourseRWSR£1
Punchestown 25 1 4% −20.00
Gowran Park 15 3 20% +30.50
Clonmel 12 2 16.7% +8.75
Limerick 11 2 18.2% +3.00
Fairyhouse 10 1 10% −6.25
Naas 7 0 0% −7.00
Cork 6 0 0% −6.00
Navan 6 0 0% −6.00
Leopardstown 5 0 0% −5.00
Thurles 3 0 0% −3.00
Tramore 2 0 0% −2.00
Wexford 2 0 0% −2.00
Tipperary 1 0 0% −1.00
Kilbeggan 1 0 0% −1.00

Class

ClassRWSR£1
Class 1 14 1 7.1% +20.00

Market position

In the bettingRWSRA/E£1
Favourite 3 1 33.3% 1.35 +2.00
2nd–3rd fav 20 5 25% 1.97 +5.00
4th–6th fav 26 2 7.7% 1.23 +16.00
7th+ in betting 57 1 1.8% 0.76 −40.00
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.

Jumping record

completion over obstacles · same window as header
84.4% completed · 96 obstacle runners (chases & hurdles)
CodeRCompFURPUBDOth
Chase 23 69.6% 0 0 7 0 0
Hurdle 73 89% 3 1 4 0 0
Chases and hurdles only — bumpers have no obstacles, so completion is not a question there. F fell · UR unseated rider · PU pulled up · BD brought down · Oth covers refusals, slip-ups, run-outs and the rare disqualification. Non-runners are excluded throughout. Rows under n=30 are shown faded. A descriptive record, not a tip.

Horses trained

same window as header · most-raced first
HorseRWPlLast ran
Sonny May (IRE) 19 2 3 13 Oct 26
Countess Cathleen (IRE) 15 2 4 15 Mar 20
Rue Hill (IRE) 12 1 5 27 Apr 18
Mag Brady (IRE) 11 0 6 26 Dec 19
Ballistraw (IRE)from M W Hickey 11 2 3 21 Apr 10
Thehardandthewild (IRE) 6 0 0 15 Jan 26
Buckie Cullen (IRE) 5 1 1 16 Feb 19
Roaming Wild (IRE) 5 0 1 3 Jun 15
Shamrock Hall (IRE)from M W Hickey 5 1 1 17 Apr 11
Maid Of Steel (IRE) 4 0 0 6 May 12
Gladys Emmanuel (IRE) 3 0 0 16 Jan 22
Spider Cullen (IRE)then Evan Williams 3 0 0 13 Apr 21
All 16 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 16 horses listed, 2 arrived from another yard in our archive, most often from M W Hickey (2); 14 had their first archived run for this yard.

1 has since run for another yard; 15 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.

When the yard fires

strike by month, lifetime
JFMAMJJASOND
8276000···0149
A jumps yard: the season runs Oct–Apr. Muted months are small samples (under 30 runs) — read them with the caution they deserve.

Jockey bookings

same window · biggest samples first
Go-to riderSean O'Keeffe
34% of all rides
8.3% SR · A/E 1.46
RiderRWSR£1
Sean O'Keeffe 36 3 8.3% −22.25
Muted rows are under 30 rides and sit behind "Show all".

Career highlights

lifetime archive, 2007→
9
Archived wins
1
Pattern / graded wins
£136k
Prize money
2024
Best season · 2 wins
This card is the full archive census (2005→); the statistics in the header aggregate from 2008 — the floor that guarantees every horse a complete captured career — so this card can legitimately show more wins than the header.
Ballistraw (IRE) — Red Mills Chase (Grade 2) Gowran Park · Feb 2008 · Grade 2
£32,550
Sonny May (IRE) — Sherry Fitzgerald Brady O'Flaherty Supporting Longford GAA Novice Handicap Hurdle Punchestown · Nov 2024
£9,440
Sonny May (IRE) — GAIN Equine Nutrition Novice Handicap Hurdle Gowran Park · Nov 2024
£8,850
Notable horses
Sonny May (IRE) Countess Cathleen (IRE) Ballistraw (IRE) Rue Hill (IRE) Shamrock Hall (IRE) Buckie Cullen (IRE)

Sires in the string

progeny record · win % by ground and trip
Craigsteel (GB) 6.9% · 2–29
Progeny have won 10.1% of 3,393 runs since 2008 (262 horses). Strongest beyond 3m (all codes): 15.5% from 291. Weakest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 6.9% from 763.
Hillstar (GB) 8% · 2–25
Progeny have won 7.3% of 752 runs since 2021 (89 horses).
Yeats (IRE) 13.3% · 2–15
Progeny have won 11.9% of 9,845 runs since 2013 (707 horses). Weakest on Standard (AW) going: 6.9% from 204. Strongest beyond 3m (all codes): 15.2% from 820.
Carroll House (IRE) 18.2% · 2–11
Progeny have won 6.2% of 1,033 runs since 2008 (133 horses).
Kalanisi (IRE) 0% · 0–11
Progeny have won 10.5% of 6,751 runs since 2008 (648 horses). Strongest on Good to Firm going: 16.1% from 355.
Luso (GB) 20% · 1–5
Progeny have won 6.7% of 3,516 runs since 2008 (389 horses).
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 7 Nov 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 108 · newest first

The latest 50 of 108 archived runners, newest first. The full record runs from 6 December 2007 to 13 October 2026.

DateCourseHorseRaceFinishSP
13 Oct 26 Punchestown (IRE) Sonny May (IRE)J: Mr J J Berry William Hill Challenge Series Handicap Hurdle16f · Good · 11 ran 5th 14/1
14 May 26 Clonmel Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Clonmel Racecourse Supporters Club Handicap Hurdle16.5f · Good To Yielding · 11 ran 9th 40/1
01 May 26 Punchestown Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe FRS Fencing Handicap Hurdle16f · Yielding · 24 ran 15th 100/1
15 Jan 26 Fairyhouse Thehardandthewild (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe William Hill Each Way Extra Challenge Series Handicap Hurdle (0-100) (Div 2)20f · Soft · 15 ran PU 18/1
15 Jan 26 Fairyhouse Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Book Your Easter Festival Early Bird Tickets Beginners Chase16f · Soft · 11 ran PU 33/1
07 Dec 25 Cork Thehardandthewild (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Greenvalley Transport Novice Handicap Hurdle (In Memory Of M.J. O'Connor) (0-100)20f · Soft To Heavy · 24 ran PU 28/1
02 Dec 25 Clonmel Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Clonmel Racecourse Supporters Club Only 100 To Join Beginners Chase17.5f · Heavy · 15 ran 9th 16/1
16 Nov 25 Navan Thehardandthewild (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Gaeil Colmcille GAA Kells 'Day At The Races' Handicap Hurdle (0-100)16f · Heavy · 24 ran 15th 33/1
29 Apr 25 Punchestown Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle (Listed)16.5f · Yielding · 17 ran 13th 28/1
03 Apr 25 Naas Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Colm White Bookmakers Rated Novice Hurdle16f · Good To Yielding · 8 ran F 9/1
29 Dec 24 Leopardstown Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe SIS Supporting Irish Racing Irish EBF Novice Handicap Hurdle (80-130)20f · Good To Yielding · 12 ran 5th 20/1
24 Nov 24 Punchestown Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Sherry Fitzgerald Brady O'Flaherty Supporting Longford GAA Novice Handicap Hurdle17f · Soft · 8 ran 1st 4/1
15 Nov 24 Punchestown Thehardandthewild (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe 50,000 Euro BetVictor Graduation Bonus Series Maiden Hurdle15.5f · Good · 18 ran 11th 125/1
09 Nov 24 Gowran Park Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe GAIN Equine Nutrition Novice Handicap Hurdle16f · Yielding · 11 ran 1st 4/1F
24 Oct 24 Clonmel Thehardandthewild (IRE)J: Brian Hayes Crottys Lake Maiden Hurdle16.5f · Good To Yielding · 7 ran 4th 12/1
12 Oct 24 Fairyhouse Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Powerscreen New England Supporting Louth GAA Handicap Hurdle (80-116)16f · Good · 13 ran 4th 28/1
04 Oct 24 Gowran Park Thehardandthewild (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Gowran Park Racing Club Maiden Hurdle16f · Good · 15 ran 9th 50/1
12 Dec 23 Punchestown Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Full Circle Series At Punchestown Festival 2024 Qualifier Handicap Hurdle19.5f · Heavy · 17 ran 13th 28/1
25 Nov 23 Punchestown Sonny May (IRE)J: J J Slevin Colm Quinn BMW Novice Handicap Hurdle16.5f · Soft · 10 ran 10th 13/2
12 Mar 23 Naas Sonny May (IRE)J: Sean O'Keeffe Bar One Racing 'Guaranteed Multiples All Shops' Maiden Hurdle19f · Soft · 14 ran 3rd 28/1

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 Denis Hickey's strike rate?
Denis Hickey has won 9 of 106 runners since 2008, a strike rate of 8.5% (as at 7 November 2026). Figures are computed from our own results archive.
What is Denis Hickey's Fair A/E?
1.44, from 106 runners with a computed fair probability since 2008. 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.
Fair A/E compares wins with a margin-stripped market expectation. Favourite-heavy samples — top yards, leading riders — naturally read a few points warm, so 1.05 means "beat the margin-free market read", not "the market underrates this by 5%". Three sample sizes are reported and never blended: runs (n), the ROI basis (n at SP), and the fair-A/E basis (n with a computed fair probability).

Strike rate is wins over all runs (n). ROI is £1 level stakes at SP over runs with a parseable price (n at SP). Fair A/E is wins over margin-stripped market expectation, over runs with a computed fair probability (n fair). The three Ns can legitimately differ and are always shown. Figures as at 7 November 2026, computed from our own results archive (2005 onwards; aggregates from 2008).