Karl Burke

Welcome to our profile of Yorkshire-based flat Trainer Karl Burke. 

We look at his current runners, recent form, big wins and history.

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Karl Burke Runners Today

Here are all the Karl Burke horses running today and future entries:

Karl Burke Recent Form

Key Stats – K.Burke

Name – Karl Richard Burke

Date of Birth – 17 May 1963

Racing Yard – Spigot Lodge, Middleham

Big Wins: Prix de Diane, Dante Stakes, Ayr Gold Cup, Commonwealth Cup, Prix Jean Prat, Prix Jean Romanet, Lowther Stakes, Chesham Stakes, Queen Mary Stakes, Duchess of Cambridge Stakes, Prix Rothschild, Sun Chariot Stakes, Flying Five, Matron Stakes, Bet365 Fillies Mile, Prix Morny, Sprint Cup, Mill Reef Stakes and many more top flat races.

Trainer Profile of Karl Burke

Karl first took in an interest in horse racing when watching it on TV with his Father in Rugby.

He met and married Elaine Jarvis, daughter of the Trainer Alan, for whom he rode his first winner as an apprentice.

Unable to maintain a lightweight for flat racing, Karl switched to the jumps where he rode 50 winners under rules.

Karl and Elaine then set up a livery yard in Newark, training a small string before renting a yard near Cheltenham.

He then moved to Ginge in 1990 from where he trained Ayr Gold Cup winner Daring Destiny.

In 1998 he moved to High Havens in the Hamilton Road, Newmarket and won a second Ayr Gold Cup with Always Alight but two years’ later was on the move again, this time to Spigot Lodge in North Yorkshire.

Karl Burke – Key Trainer Stats

Karl did not really make his mark as a trainer until the late nineties, chalking up his first half-century of winners in 1999.

Although he saddled 82 winners in 2006 it was not until 2021 that he achieved his first century in a season.

In 2022 he surpassed that figure with 117 winners and a massive £2.9 million in prize money.

Karl Burke’s Big Race Wins

Laurens provided Burke with many great moments during her racing career. A very game winner of the May Hill Stakes and the Fillies Mile as a juvenile, she was denied 1000 Guineas success only by 66-1 outsider Billesdon Brook. She then provided Burke with his first Classic in the Prix de Diane at Longchamp. Her other notable victories include the Matron Stakes and the Sun Chariot Stakes. She stayed in training at four where her only success came in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild.

Quiet Reflection was a dual Group 1 winner for Burke, taking the Commonwealth Cup at Ascot and the Haydock Sprint Cup in 2016.

Lord Shanakill was another great flag bearer for the stable, winning the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly in 2009.

Karl Burke – Most Famous Victories

Of all of Burke’s career victories, he still recalls the 1994 Ayr Gold Cup win of Daring Destiny with particular fondness. The mare won that race in first-time blinkers at 18-1 and would go on to win a Group 2 in Germany in 1996. She also won the Phoenix Stakes at Leopardstown, one of eight wins in her forty-race career.

Holloway Boy made a stunning debut to win the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2022 at odds of 40-1. Although beaten in his next four starts, he did finish third in the Group 1 Futurity Trophy and has Classic aspirations in 2023.

Lauren’s Classic win in the French Oaks was also a special moment, leading two furlongs out and showing her typical tenacity to repel Musis Amica by a neck with Homerique a nose away in third. The first five home were covered by half a length.

Summary of Flat Trainer Karl Burke

Karl Burke enjoyed a record breaking season in 2022 and the quality of his horses seems to improve year-on-year. He will be looking to continue the trend and add to his Group 1 winning tally.

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