Home to the opening two Classics of the season in the 2,000 and the 1,000 Guineas and seven further Group 1 contests, Newmarket is well-respected as one of the finest racecourses in Britain and one of the most famous in the world.
In addition to the iconic Rowley Mile and July courses, this area of Suffolk is also home to a bustling training community. With 70 licenced trainers in the area, Newmarket boasts more training establishments per square mile than anywhere else on British shores.
Recent years have witnessed a slight change in the average age of the trainers in the area. Whilst John Gosden (now training in partnership with son Thady) and William Haggas continue to dominate the big stages, the recent retirements of Sir Michael Stoute and Luca Cumani created a vacuum which needs to be filled.
Happily, for the future of racing in the area, a plethora of young guns have emerged to help plug this gap, many of whom are well on their way towards making a huge splash on the flat racing scene. If there is a future Stoute, Gosden, or Haggas amongst this emerging crop of training talent, they may be found amongst the following five handlers.
George Boughey
- Age – 33
- Career Prize Money – £6,886,891
- Most Wins in a Season – 136 (2022)
The flagbearer for the new generation. George Boughey set out as a trainer in 2019 with only three horses under his care. To say he has made rapid strides would be something of an understatement.
Fast forward to 2025, and the hard-working trainer has bagged 100+ wins in each of the past four seasons, rocketed past the £6.5 million prize money mark, and saddled three Group 1 winners. Included in that number was the star filly Cahcet, who handed Boughey a first Classic success in the 2022 1,000 Guineas. A star firmly on the rise.
Alice Haynes
- Age – 33
- Career Prize Money – £1,900,519
- Most Wins in a Season – 56 (2024)
With experience working under the guidance of Mick Channon, David Simcock, and Henrietta Knight, former jockey Haynes had a thorough grounding in the game before setting up a pre-training yard in 2017.
Setting out as a trainer under rules in 2021, she shot out of the traps with a solid 20 wins and has built on that total every year since. Already a Listed/Group winner in Britain, Ireland, France, and Italy, Haynes isn’t afraid to travel for success and is well worth watching in the seasons to come.
George Scott
- Age – 36
- Career Prize Money – £2,014,470
- Most Wins in a Season – 42 (2024)
Having launched as a trainer in 2015, Scott is one of the more experienced trainers on our list. Starting slowly but steadily, he failed to pass the 25-winner mark in each of his first seven seasons. However, things began to take off for George in a 37-winner 2022.
Posting a career-best tally of 42 in 2024, Scott now has five Group 3 wins and four Group 2 successes. If he continues on his current trajectory, a first career in Group 1 may not be long in coming.
James Ferguson
- Age – 35
- Career Prize Money – £2,002,457
- Most Wins in a Season – 33 (2024)
As the son of John Ferguson, who served as Godolphin’s Chief Executive, James hails from a family with strong racing connections. A direct contemporary of Boughey, having also set out as a trainer in 2019, he bagged a Listed success in his very first season. Five Group class triumphs have followed since then, headlined by El Bodegon’s victory in the 2021 edition of the Group 1 Criterium de Saint Cloud.
A first Group 1 victory for @jamesferguson89 👏
El Bodegon lands the Prix Criterium de Saint-Cloud under Ioritz Mendizabal! pic.twitter.com/I1bTMwPbPl
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 23, 2021
Arriving on the back of a career-best win total in 2024, he is another name to follow in 2025.
Charlie Fellowes
- Age – 39
- Career Prize Money – £2,605,463
- Most Wins in a Season – 41 (2021)
At 39, Charlie Fellowes is the old man amongst our young guns. Learning his trade with James Fanshawe, Nicky Henderson, and Australia-based Lee Freedman, Fellowes set up shop at Saffron House Stables in 2014. Now based at the former home of Luca Cumani, Bedford House Stables, he has registered notable successes at Royal Ascot and seven Group class wins. This year saw the handler come oh so close to a first Classic in the French 1,000 Guineas, only for the Stewards to intervene and demote his filly to second.
Stoute and Cumani may now be enjoying a well-earned retirement, but if the above quintet are any guide, the future of racing in Newmarket is in safe hands.
