Formerly assistant trainer to Roger Charlton and Luca Cumani, since December 2016, Edward ‘Ed’ Walker has been based at Kingsdown Stables in Upper Lambourn, near Hungerford, Berkshire, where he holds a dual-purpose training licence. That said, his emphasis is very much on Flat racing.
Walker started training in his own right in October 2010 from a small, rented yard at St. Gatien Cottage Stables in Newmarket, whence he sent out his first winner, Riggins, at the first time of asking in the Listed Hyde Stakes at Kempton on November 27, 2010. Thereafter, Walker lived a nomadic existence, relocating four times to yards in Newmarket, including the former base of the late Sir Henry Cecil, Warren Place, before finally settling in Upper Lambourn.
Walker enjoyed his most successful season, numerically, in 2024, when he saddled 74 winners from 440 runners, at a strike rate of 17%. His seasonal tally dropped to 68 winners in 2025, but he nonetheless amassed a career-high total of £2.1 million in prize money, thanks in no small part to half a dozen Pattern winners on British Soil, including Royal Fixation in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes at York.
Walker saddled his first Group 1 winner, Starman, in the July Cup at Newmarket on July 10, 2021. He has since added five more to his career tally, notably including Ten Bob Tony, who sprang a 50/1 surprise when winning the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 16, 2026. Of his unlikely victory, Walker said, “Of course it wasn’t expected. We came here to scoop up some prize-money and finish as close as we could. He’s just a legend.” His four other winners at the highest level have all come overseas, three at Longchamp, including Makarova in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp on October 6, 2024, and one at the Curragh.
