March 24th, 2010 | 
Author: Sylvester Kirk's Cedar Lodge stable at Upper Lambourn has often been the home of a…
Ed McMahon
Horsely Brook Farm, Lichfield, is the headquarters of the talented Ed McMahon stables. Very much from the same mould of his father, few trainers have a more professional approach or eye for detail.
McMahan is an adept trainer of two-year-olds – with approximately 15 colts & fillies each season. His youngsters make an early start to their racing careers running from April and keeping busy until October. In the last five seasons he has total prize winnings in the region of £350,000. Many of his best juveniles are seen early season and capable sorts. Statistics reveal a general win rate of 18% and win and place of 50%. In recent years, debutants have featured slightly lower percentages but still illustrating that runners are capable of winning on their racecourse bow, often at fancy odds. McMahon is particularly good at placing horses on their second start, making the most of their experience and primed for a determined effort. Many of these candidates are well-backed individuals, especially when owned by John Fretwell. He has also done very well for owner R L Bedding with talents such as Noble Storm & Rainbow Mirage. In addition, juveniles in their own colours have the knack of winning.
McMahon is a very interesting trainer for punters as many of his juveniles feature a winning level of ability. With many runners being allegeable for auction events, often cherry picked with these capable types before racing at a higher level. Although horses struggle to win beyond Stakes class, Chin Wag & In Uniform contested Group events in recent years, while others raced at Listed level – Vauquelin & Aalsmeer both just failing to land the spoils with narrow losses.
Ed McMahon is a very consistent trainer and it is easy to see why money often follows his better two-year-olds. However, it is intriguing that a number of horses still win at speculative odds and he is worth a punt at any price when juveniles are competing at a lower level. On reviewing The Horses in Training 2010 publication, this year’s string of juveniles seems somewhat depleted, which would be a shame for such a polished trainer. However, there is little doubt that McMahon will have his share of winners this new Flat campaign and a certainly a trainer to follow.