With the jump season now concluded, top trainers in the UK and Ireland look to Punchestown this week and to summer campaigns. In 2026, Herefordshire’s own Venetia Williams endured a pretty rough start to the campaign, and her season was really only redeemed by a Festival success.

In the Grand Annual, Williams saw a superb run from the 66/1 Martator end in a winning photo finish to begin a bit of a late hot streak. Then, at Fontwell days later, Catch On Me made good on their favourite odds of 10/11 after the stewards gave them the win after the placings were reversed.
Having celebrated a mighty milestone last year, Williams enjoyed a stronger end to the 2026 jump season to further cement her place among the nation’s smartest trainers.

Climbing the Trainers’ Championship

As noted, it was quite a rough start to the season for Venetia Williams. The jump scene certainly opened competitively, but the Williams stable just never fired, amassing just 15 winners by the close, a miserable 8% strike rate. This, along with the 90 places for £563,039, landed the trainer 29th in the standings at the time of writing.

A dry start to the autumn produced a single runner for the yard, whilst the fertile months of December, January and February produced just 9 winners, including a blank month in December, generally a hotspot for the stable.

That sum put Williams under £100,000 behind Irish raider Henry de Bromhead in 24th, who had collected his fifth win and 30th place by that same point. Frankly, given her high standards, Williams will be disappointed with her worst result in winners since she began training in 1995. She’s regularly topped £1m in prize money in each of the past five seasons, but as she remarked herself, her star horses are reaching the end of their careers and a process of renewal is underway.

While the results haven’t been as strong as in the past, there are still some top-tier horses in the Williams stable. L’Homme Pressé headlines the names, but Grade 1 Haydock Park Chase winner in back-to-back seasons, Royale Pagaille (now retired), Victtorino, Djelo, and Gemirande can all catch the eye on any given race day.

So, overall, Williams is still in a pretty good place. She celebrated her 30th year in horse racing last year and can look forward to the autumn with confidence. Many will be vying for her to secure yet another major victory, extending her legacy as she goes.

Already a big time winner

Since landing the double of the King George VI Chase and Hennessy Gold Cup with Teeton Mill in 1998, Williams has gone on to add several more majors to her collection. Chief among them, however, has to be Mon Mome in the 2009 Grand National. In 2009, the 100/1 shot flew over the finish line to shock everyone watching.

That win with Mon Mome made Williams only the second female trainer to ever win the Grand National after Jenny Pitman. The fact that the triumph came only 11 years into her training career only helps to make it more impressive. More recently, the likes of Golden Goal, L’Homme Pressé, and Royale Pagaille have helped to end a majors drought with five top-tier wins between them since 2022.

Rising 67, Williams has time and a strong stable to further build her legacy in the sport. One day, given her notoriety and the quality of her best horses, she may even suit an officially licensed game at the casino online UK players can access, a path that Frankie Dettori has taken. The legendary jockey has become a draw at online casinos thanks to his official game series, with Frankie Dettori’s Jackpot Roulette being a headline act as it stands. In the game, there’s a progressive jackpot that increases with each bet, while there’s also a racetrack feature to unlock.

Given her time in the sport, her impact, and the collection of major winners from her stable, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Venetia Williams one day got her own official collection of games. She’s from the Tim Forster school of racing however, so don’t expect her to field runners over the summer. Only when there’s give in the ground will runners appear from Kings Caple.