"I'm not giving up on it" - Wallis still in the Trainer of the Year hunt
Although Mark Wallis is only third in the current Trainer of the Year standings, he is still searching for competition winners as well as looking ahead to 2027.
Wallis still fighting for 2026 whilst looking forward to 2027
Mark Wallis is not quite resigned to relinquishing the Trainer of the Year title but has vowed to return even stronger next year.
"I'm not giving up on it but we're not quite as strong as we were," said the 16-time champion in reference to the likes of New Destiny and Mongys Wild now retired, and Proper Heiress being in the twilight of his career.
"There's been a changing of the guard here, for sure, but we're still going for the competitions as we always did. Last year was incredible for us. We got 16 Cat One wins, made an Irish Derby final, won Trainers' Judgement Night, and also won an unbelievable Juvenile Championship.
"This year we've notched five Cat One wins.
"That isn't bad, but might not be enough. Then again I'm not too concerned. Competitions have always been the goal. Trainers' titles look after themselves if you're winning events, and to be honest no-one knows how many I've won now - 15? 16? 17? It's not actually high on my agenda, although making sure we're consistently in the top six definitely is.
"However it pans out - and good luck to both Maxine (Locke) and Paul (Young) - we will be back rearmed and ready to go again in 2027!"
The latest Trainer of the Year standings sees Central Park trainer Maxine Locke lead the way with 936 points ahead of Romford's Paul Young (791) and Wallis (766) in third.
