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Natalia Lupini is an Italian-born trainer who currently resides in Banbridge, County Down.
Born in Milan, she started working with horses at the age of 16, mainly with riding centres and showjumping horses.
Lupini then got a placement working for Fiona Wilson, before returning to Italy to complete her studies. Coming back to Ireland in 2012, she took her license out two years later but didn’t have any runners until 2015.
Lupini has maintained a strike-rate of 10 per cent in Ireland during her career and anything in the double-digits is impressive. She has 68 winners from her 678 runners and you would imagine the trainer will have her sights set on crossing the 100 mark as soon as possible.
Her best year to date was undoubtedly 2022, as she had a strike-rate of 25 per cent, with 14 winners from just 56 runners. Dundalk has provided her with 20 of her winners and it’s also the track at which she has had the most runners, 188 in total.
Lupini has had just ten runners in Britain so far, which have yielded one winner. That success came at Wolverhampton, one of two runners for her there.
Lupini’s first winner came at Dundalk in 2016, two years after taking out her license. The Colin Keane-ridden Alnahar was prominent throughout and travelled well into the straight, before kicking clear to score by five and a half lengths.
Her love of horses was fostered from an early age, as her family took her to see the famous Palio di Siena as a six-year-old. The jockeys ride bareback around the central square of Siena and it’s one of the world’s most unique races.
Lupini studied psychology and sociology in Italy before returning to Ireland to pursue a career in horse racing.
Lupini trained her first Listed winner when Kitty Rose landed the Ballylinch Stud Irish EBF Ingabelle Stakes in 2023. She was a comfortable winner on her debut in maiden company beforehand and cruised clear to beat subsequent Yorkshire Oaks winner Content easily.
Rebel Diamond became her second Listed winner the following year, when winning the Ballyhane Blenheim Stakes at Fairyhouse in September 2024. Billy Lee’s mount kept on well to score by just shy of a length and has since won in Qatar for his new connections.
Dunum has been a star for the yard in the last couple of years and has provided the trainer with two major handicap successes. The first of those was the Irish Stallion Farms EBF "Ahonoora" Handicap at the Galway festival in 2023.
The seven-year-old came out on top in the COLM QUINN BMW Mile Handicap at the Galway festival again in July, bringing home a winning prize of more than €70,000. He made all the running and just held on to score by a head.
