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TRAINER · 121st BY BIG-RACE WINS

John Shirreffs

43 wins in the world's richest races between 1994 and 2025, across 29 different races. The biggest is the Breeders' Cup Classic, worth £5,263,158.

Rolls of honour are kept race by race, so a trainer's big-race record only exists once every one of them on this site has been read and turned sideways.

BIG-RACE WINS 43
BIGGEST WIN £5.3m
RACES WON 29
FIRST AND LAST 1994 to 2025
COUNTRIES 1

When the wins came

43 wins from 1994 to 2025, in 3-year spells

Best spell: 2007-09, 12 wins

A list of winners sorted by date reads as one long run. Drawn, it has a shape: John Shirreffs took 12 of these 43 in 2007-09 alone.

The races John Shirreffs keeps winning

By number of wins

7 won more than once

Beholder Mile Stakes 5 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes 4 Santa Anita Derby 3 Breeders' Cup Distaff 2 Apple Blossom Handicap 2 Goodwood Stakes 2 Del Mar Derby 2 Breeders' Cup Classic 1 Kentucky Derby 1 Pennsylvania Derby 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes 1 Hollywood Derby 1

Every big race John Shirreffs has won

43 winners, newest first

29 different races

Year Race Horse Jockey Country Worth
2025 Pennsylvania Derby Baeza Hector Iassc Berrios United States £751,880
2022 Santa Anita Handicap Express Train Victor Espinoza United States £225,564
2021 Hollywood Derby Beyond Brilliant Kent Desormeaux United States £300,752
2020 Santa Anita Derby Honor A. P. Mike E. Smith United States £375,940
2019 Del Mar Derby Nolde Victor Espinoza United States £187,970
2019 La Brea Stakes Hard Not to Love Mike E. Smith United States £225,564
2017 Robert B. Lewis Stakes Royal Mo Victor Espinoza United States £150,376
2017 Santa Anita Derby Gormley Victor Espinoza United States £375,940
2017 Sham Stakes Gormley Victor Espinoza United States £75,188
2016 American Pharoah Stakes Gormley Victor Espinoza United States £225,564
2013 Twilight Derby Rookie Sensation Victor Espinoza United States £150,376
2011 Mathis Mile Stakes Mr. Commons Mike E. Smith United States £150,376
2011 Matriarch Stakes Star Billing Victor Espinoza United States £225,564
2010 American Oaks Harmonious Martin Garcia United States £225,564
2010 Apple Blossom Handicap Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £939,850
2010 Beholder Mile Stakes Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £375,940
2010 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £300,752
2010 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Harmonious Joel Rosario United States £601,504
2009 Beholder Mile Stakes Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £375,940
2009 Breeders' Cup Classic Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £5,263,158£5.3m
2009 Breeders' Cup Distaff Life Is Sweet Garrett K. Gomez United States £1,503,759£1.5m
2009 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £300,752
2008 Apple Blossom Handicap Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £939,850
2008 Beholder Mile Stakes Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £375,940
2008 Breeders' Cup Distaff Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £1,503,759£1.5m
2008 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Zenyatta Mike E. Smith United States £300,752
2008 Del Mar Derby Madeo Mike E. Smith United States £187,970
2007 Goodwood Stakes Tiago Mike E. Smith United States £225,564
2007 Los Alamitos Derby Tiago Mike E. Smith United States £75,188
2007 Santa Anita Derby Tiago Mike E. Smith United States £375,940
2006 Beholder Mile Stakes Hollywood Story David R. Flores United States £375,940
2006 La Jolla Handicap A. P. Warrior David R. Flores United States £112,782
2006 San Felipe Stakes A. P. Warrior Corey Nakatani United States £300,752
2005 Kentucky Derby Giacomo Mike Smith United States £3,759,399£3.8m
2003 Will Rogers Stakes Private Chef Victor Espinoza United States £75,188
2000 Cinema Stakes David Copperfield Victor Espinoza United States £75,188
2000 Oklahoma Derby Performing Magic Shane Sellers United States £300,752
2000 San Miguel Stakes Swept Overboard Eddie Delahoussaye United States £52,632
1999 Beholder Mile Stakes Manistique Chris McCarron United States £375,940
1999 El Camino Real Derby Cliquot David R. Flores United States £75,188
1997 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Radu Cool Chris McCarron United States £300,752
1994 Goodwood Stakes Bertrando Gary L. Stevens United States £225,564

The figure on each row is what that race puts up today, which is the number that says how big a day it was. The prize itself goes to the owner and the trainer takes a percentage of it, set by the rules of the country the race is run in.

The trainers either side

Ranked 121st of 187 on big-race wins

# Trainer Wins Races Span Biggest win
111 Steve Asmussen 45 31 1996 to 2026 £9,022,556£9.0m
112 Mikel Delzangles 45 38 2003 to 2026 £5,291,005£5.3m
113 Bob Turnell 45 23 1956 to 1982 £646,880
114 Mick Channon 45 34 1995 to 2020 £650,000
115 Jimmy Jones 44 26 1947 to 1964 £3,759,399£3.8m
116 Michael Jarvis 44 36 1970 to 2010 £4,273,504£4.3m
117 Jack Jarvis 44 17 1922 to 1968 £1,500,000£1.5m
118 Maurice Zilber 44 31 1970 to 2001 £1,500,000£1.5m
119 Nicolas Clément 44 37 1990 to 2022 £4,273,504£4.3m
120 François Rohaut 44 33 1986 to 2021 £854,701
122 Scotty Schulhofer 43 33 1966 to 2000 £1,503,759£1.5m
123 John Oxx 43 26 1988 to 2012 £4,273,504£4.3m
124 Karl Burke 43 34 1996 to 2026 £854,701
125 Ben Jones 42 17 1938 to 1952 £3,759,399£3.8m
126 Henry de Bromhead 42 28 2009 to 2026 £1,000,000£1.0m
127 Harry Thomson Jones 42 34 1962 to 1990 £700,000
128 Mitri Saliba 42 33 1979 to 1987 £512,821
129 Michael J. Maker 41 29 2006 to 2025 £2,631,579£2.6m
130 Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson 41 21 2000 to 2026 £581,400
131 David Pipe 41 25 2006 to 2026 £375,000

Frequently asked questions

How many big races has John Shirreffs won?

43, across 29 different races between 1994 and 2025. That is 121st of the 187 trainers on this site.

What is the biggest race John Shirreffs has won?

the Breeders' Cup Classic, worth £5,263,158 and run in the United States. John Shirreffs won it in 2009.

Which race has John Shirreffs won most often?

the Beholder Mile Stakes, 5 times at Santa Anita Park. 7 of these races have gone to John Shirreffs more than once.

How much prize money has John Shirreffs won?

The prize goes to the owner, and the trainer takes a percentage of it set by the rules of the country the race is run in. What this page holds is the races themselves: 43 wins, the biggest of them worth £5,263,158.

When did John Shirreffs win these races?

Between 1994 and 2025. The busiest spell was 2007-09, with 12 of them.

Where to next

The races John Shirreffs has won, and the trainers around them

The races John Shirreffs has won

The trainers either side

Elsewhere in racing