Nationality: Australia

Background:
Age: 57. Renowned for a diligent and patient approach to training his horses, Mark Newnham's career in racing spans over 30 years and includes stints under Australian Racing Hall of Fame trainers Bart Cummings and Gai Waterhouse. Alongside Cummings, Newnham worked with turf superstars such as Campaign King, Beau Zam, Tristanagh, Sky Chase and 1990 Melbourne Cup winner Kingston Rule. Newnham spent time in Europe but returned to Australia to begin a riding apprenticeship with Gai Waterhouse in the late 1990s. Their relationship thrived and after short riding stints overseas, Newnham went on to work full-time with Waterhouse where he played a vital role in her continued success. He rode the great Pierro in trackwork before winning the 2012 Golden Slipper and he did the same for Fiorente in the lead-up to his 2013 Melbourne Cup win. Newnham took out his licence to train in 2016 and was stabled in Sydney, Australia before switching to Hong Kong to continue his career ahead of the 2023/24 season. The handler has been a regular figure in the ultra-competitive Sydney championship's top 10 with his stable producing standout performers Shadow Hero, Maid Of Heaven, Nakeeta Jane, Splintex and Quackerjack among over 400 career wins, including over 40 at black type level. He closed out his maiden season in Hong Kong with 31 wins before returning in 2024/25 to add a further 44 to his score. His biggest success to date came in the 2025 Hong Kong Classic Mile with My Wish, who was also second in the Hong Kong Classic Cup and Hong Kong Derby in his subsequent starts. My Wish was also crowned Most Improved Horse (2024/25) following his 51-point rating-rise across nine appearances.

Achievements:
Thoroughbred Excellence Award (2015).

Notable Race Wins Include
Hong Kong Classic Mile (2025 My Wish), Spring Champion Stakes (2018 Maid Of Heaven, 2019 Shadow Hero), Randwick Guineas (2020 Shadow Hero), Surround Stakes (2019 Nakeeta Jane).

Hong Kong Career Wins
(at start of 2025/26 season): 75 (win strike rate: 9.2%).