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Trainer profile

M Halford

285 runners in the last 5 seasons · 60 individual horses
As at 15 Oct 2026 · KTB archive: 2005–present, updated daily
Last runner Feb 2023 95% of runners on the flat
Last 5 seasons Lifetime (2008→)
from 1 Jan 2022
27–285
Wins / Runs
9.5%
Strike rate
n=285
72 (25%)
Placed
1.03
Fair A/E
n=285 · 0.83 incl. margin
−143.88
£1 level stake
n=285 at SP · −50.5%
£461k
Prize money (window)
Strike by season
13.6%
KTB Yard Profile

Sends out around 60 runners a season, almost all on the flat, winning with 10% of them — beating the margin-free market read across five seasons (Fair A/E 1.03).

Deterministic profile computed from 285 archived runs (last 5 seasons) · updated 15 Oct 2026
KTB at a glance Ronan Whelan: 11.2% from 178
The read

The record is strongest at Dundalk (AW) (16%, n=119), clear of the yard's 9.5% baseline. Debutants struggle at 0% (n=34, Fair A/E 0.00). Ronan Whelan rides 62% of the entries and matches the yard's average almost exactly (11.2%, A/E 1.10) — the partnership beats the margin-free market read. The yard also reads well over 1m2f – 1m4f (18.1%, n=72) and on Standard (AW) going (15.8%, n=120). The record reads poorly on Good going — 0% over 68 runners, 9.5pts below the baseline. 53 Group and Graded wins sit in the archive record — the biggest prize the yard has landed: the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster (Oct 2010, £140,790). The stable star of the record: Surrounding (IRE) — 11 wins from 43 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 9.5% baseline
Fresh · 61+ days off
4.8%−4.7
n=42 · A/E 0.67 · £1 −28.50
New recruits · first run for the yard
0%−9.5
n=1 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −1.00
Debutants · first career start
0%−9.5
n=34 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −34.00
First-time headgear · true-first definition
0%−9.5
n=17 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −17.00
Headgear returns · back on after a bare run
0%−9.5
n=4 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −4.00
When favourite
39.1%
n=23 · A/E 1.31 · £1 +4.76
Claiming riders · a claimer in the saddle
5.3%−4.2
n=38 · A/E 0.83 · £1 −26.00
Group / Graded races · pattern & listed
12.5%+3.0
n=16 · A/E 1.47 · £1 +2.00

Each tile is the record in that situation vs the 9.5% 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 0% vs 9.5% · n=68
Over 1m2f – 1m4f 18.1% vs 9.5% · n=72
With debutants 0% vs 9.5% · n=34
With N G McCullagh 0% vs 9.5% · n=32
At Dundalk (AW) 16% vs 9.5% · n=119
On Standard (AW) going 15.8% vs 9.5% · n=120
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 271 27 10% −129.88
Hurdle 7 0 0% −7.00
NH Flat 7 0 0% −7.00

Going

GoingRWSR£1
Standard (AW) 120 19 15.8% −35.96
Good 68 0 0% −68.00
Soft 64 4 6.3% −33.50
Good to Soft 18 1 5.6% −7.00
Heavy 11 3 27.3% +4.58
Good to Firm 4 0 0% −4.00

Courses

CourseRWSR£1
Dundalk (AW) 119 19 16% −34.96
Curragh 39 1 2.6% −33.50
Gowran Park 27 1 3.7% −14.00
Leopardstown 20 0 0% −20.00
Naas 14 1 7.1% −5.50
Cork 8 1 12.5% −5.25
Galway 7 2 28.6% +8.33
Navan 7 0 0% −7.00
Limerick 6 0 0% −6.00
Fairyhouse 5 0 0% −5.00
Killarney 5 2 40% +7.00
Roscommon 5 0 0% −5.00
Punchestown 4 0 0% −4.00
Bellewstown 3 0 0% −3.00
Tipperary 3 0 0% −3.00

Class

ClassRWSR£1
Class 1 16 2 12.5% +2.00

Market position

In the bettingRWSRA/E£1
Favourite 28 10 35.7% 1.28 +4.09
2nd–3rd fav 54 13 24.1% 1.50 +14.03
4th–6th fav 75 3 4% 0.50 −47.00
7th+ in betting 128 1 0.8% 0.27 −115.00
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
Arcanears (IRE)then M Halford & T Collins 16 1 2 10 Feb 23
Doctor Grace (IRE)then M Halford & T Collins 9 1 3 15 Feb 23
Havana Pearl (IRE) 9 1 1 27 Jan 23
Riccardi Medici (IRE) 9 1 5 21 Dec 22
Zileo (GB)from C Laffon-Parias · then M Halford & T Collins 9 0 0 16 Dec 22
Kampala Beach (IRE)then M Halford & T Collins 9 1 3 16 Dec 22
Ceallach (IRE)then M Halford & T Collins 9 3 5 2 Dec 22
Elzaamsan (IRE)then M Halford & T Collins 8 0 3 15 Feb 23
Slieve Bearnagh (IRE)then M Halford & T Collins 8 0 0 8 Dec 22
Miss Abby Jools (IRE)then C Byrnes 8 1 4 18 Nov 22
Cosmic Vega (IRE)from Mrs John Harrington · then M Halford & T Collins 8 2 4 6 Nov 22
Golden Twilight (IRE)then M Halford & T Collins 8 2 4 28 Oct 22
All 60 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 60 horses listed, 2 arrived from another yard in our archive; 58 had their first archived run for this yard.

39 have since run for another yard, most often for M Halford & T Collins (26) and Adrian McGuinness (2); 21 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, 5 seasons
JFMAMJJASOND
51270807514172214
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
Go-to riderRonan Whelan
62% of all rides
11.2% SR · A/E 1.10
RiderRWSR£1
Ronan Whelan 178 20 11.2% −77.38
N G McCullagh 32 0 0% −32.00
Muted rows are under 30 rides and sit behind "Show all".

Career highlights

lifetime archive, 2005→
780
Archived wins
53
Pattern / graded wins
£14.6m
Prize money
2005
Best season · 62 wins
In our archive from its very first year (2005), so this career almost certainly began earlier than our record does. The figures above count 2005 onwards only — what the archive holds, not a full-career total. 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.
Casamento (IRE) — Racing Post Trophy (Group 1) (Str) Doncaster · Oct 2010 · Group 1
£140,790
Portage (IRE) — Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap) (Str) Ascot · Jun 2016 · Class 2
£108,938
Quinmaster (USA) — Tote Galway Mile EBF Handicap Galway · Aug 2006
£90,800
Notable horses
Surrounding (IRE) Russian Soul (IRE) Banna Boirche (IRE) Rummaging (IRE) Snaefell (IRE) Invincible Ash (IRE)

Sires in the string

progeny record · win % by ground and trip
Elzaam (AUS) 0% · 0–25
Progeny have won 9.2% of 4,508 runs since 2008 (371 horses). Weakest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 4.7% from 322.
Lope De Vega (IRE) 30.4% · 7–23
Progeny have won 13.8% of 12,119 runs since 2008 (1,097 horses). Weakest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 9.3% from 952.
Arcano (IRE) 6.3% · 1–16
Progeny have won 10.6% of 4,646 runs since 2008 (262 horses). Weakest over 2m1f – 2m4f (all codes): 6.8% from 146.
Belardo (IRE) 7.1% · 1–14
Progeny have won 10.2% of 3,683 runs since 2008 (279 horses).
Kodiac (GB) 14.3% · 2–14
Progeny have won 10.4% of 23,515 runs since 2008 (1,664 horses). Strongest on Firm going: 14.3% from 147. Weakest over 2m1f – 2m4f (all codes): 7.1% from 252.
Zoffany (IRE) 0% · 0–11
Progeny have won 9.9% of 10,758 runs since 2008 (799 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 15 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 7,629 · newest first

The latest 50 of 7,629 archived runners, newest first. The full record runs from 2 January 2005 to 17 February 2023.

DateCourseHorseRaceFinishSP
17 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) One Aim (IRE)J: N G McCullagh Dundalk Stadium Maiden8f · Standard · 13 ran 9th 28/1
15 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) Elzaamsan (IRE)J: Ronan Whelan DKITSU Race Day Handicap (47-65) (Div 1)12f · Standard · 13 ran 3rd 16/5F
15 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) Doctor Grace (IRE)J: N G McCullagh Irishinjuredjockeys.com Handicap7f · Standard · 7 ran 6th 10/3
15 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) Barney's Joy (IRE)J: N G McCullagh Join Us On Instagram At dundalk_stadium Handicap (47-65) (Div 2)6f · Standard · 14 ran 12th 12/1
10 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) Arcanears (IRE)J: Sam Ewing DundalkStadium.com Apprentice Handicap (47-65) (Div 1)8f · Standard · 11 ran 1st 4/1F
03 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) Cherry Pink (IRE)J: N G McCullagh Book Online At DundalkStadium.com Handicap (47-65)7f · Standard · 11 ran 3rd 33/1
03 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) Doctor Grace (IRE)J: W J Lee Book Online At DundalkStadium.com Handicap (47-65)7f · Standard · 11 ran 1st 5/2
03 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) Rhythm And Tyne (IRE)J: Sam Ewing Join Us On Instagram At dundalk_stadium Maiden8f · Standard · 14 ran 9th 11/1
01 Feb 23 Dundalk (AW) Arcanears (IRE)J: W J Lee Crowne Plaza Dundalk Race & Stay Handicap (47-65) (Div 1)7f · Standard · 12 ran 3rd 11/8F
27 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Jazz Forever (IRE)J: W J Lee Book Online At Dundalkstadium.com Handicap8f · Standard · 8 ran 5th 3/1F
27 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Havana Pearl (IRE)J: Wayne Lordan Crowne Plaza Dundalk Race & Stay Handicap (47-80)10.5f · Standard · 12 ran 9th 12/1
27 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Elzaamsan (IRE)J: Mikey Sheehy Crowne Plaza Dundalk Race & Stay Handicap (47-80)10.5f · Standard · 12 ran 8th 11/1
18 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Ninth Life (USA)J: Rory Cleary Floodlit Fridays At Dundalk Race7f · Standard · 5 ran 4th 2/1
18 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Arcanears (IRE)J: Mikey Sheehy Book Online At DundalkStadium.com Handicap8f · Standard · 13 ran 5th 15/2
18 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Havana Pearl (IRE)J: W J Lee Dundalk Winter Series Leading Trainer & Jockey Championship Handicap (47-65) (Div 2)10.5f · Standard · 14 ran 1st 11/2
13 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Jazz Forever (IRE)J: Sam Ewing Book Online At DundalkStadium.com Maiden8f · Standard · 13 ran 5th 18/1
13 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Rhythm And Tyne (IRE)J: N G McCullagh Book Online At DundalkStadium.com Maiden8f · Standard · 13 ran 4th 17/2
13 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Barney's Joy (IRE)J: Jake Coen View Restaurant At Dundalk Stadium Apprentice Handicap7f · Standard · 13 ran 7th 18/1
13 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Doctor Grace (IRE)J: Siobhan Rutledge View Restaurant At Dundalk Stadium Apprentice Handicap7f · Standard · 13 ran 3rd 8/1
06 Jan 23 Dundalk (AW) Cherry Pink (IRE)J: N G McCullagh DundalkStadium.com Maiden7f · Standard · 11 ran 9th 100/1

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 M Halford's strike rate?
M Halford has won 27 of 285 runners since 2022, a strike rate of 9.5% (as at 15 October 2026). Figures are computed from our own results archive.
Which course does M Halford do best at?
Dundalk (AW) by strike rate: 19 wins from 119 runners (16%) 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.
Who rides most for M Halford?
Ronan Whelan, with 178 runners since 2022 — 62% of the total. That pairing has won 20 (11.2%).
What is M Halford's Fair A/E?
1.03, from 285 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.
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 15 October 2026, computed from our own results archive (2005 onwards; aggregates from 2008).