WEST VIRTUAL - Racing Welfare
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VIRTUAL
WEST
Sunday 8th November 2020
Contents
5 Welcome 11 Paul Ferguson – West
Horses to Follow
7 Instagram Takeover
Timetable 15 Hear from our syndicate
partners
8 JoJo O’Neill – The West
Country 19 West Trainers & Racecourses
5 THINGS NOT TO MISS TODAY
1. Head over to Racing Welfare’s Instagram stories for six takeovers
2. Visit thirteen stable yards across the West and hear their horses to
follow
3. Go behind the scenes in a Point to Point and Pre-training operation
4. Watch Bangor on Dee Racecourse and Chepstow Racecourse highlights
5. Book your place on the Virtual Jumps Season Preview Evening on
Thursday 12th November
Welcome to the
Virtual West Open Day
COVID 19 Enjoy a virtual showcase of racing in the West as the National Hunt
Emergency Appeal
season jumps into action.
We are delighted to bring the best of West racing to you in the comfort of your
home and hope you enjoy all of the fabulous insights on offer. Our exclusive
content can be watched via www.racingwelfare.co.uk/westopenday, by
following @racingwelfare on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and on our
YouTube channel.
Proceeds generated from the Virtual West Open Day will be used to provide
a full range of support services to all of racing’s people and will go towards
local projects.
We are incredibly grateful for the continued support of Sporting Life, to the
organisations and their teams who have submitted their behind the scenes
footage and the individuals who have featured in the films and Instagram
Lives – without them today would not be possible.
I hope you enjoy the Virtual West Open Day and insight into this incredible
region and its people.
Dawn Goodfellow
Chief Executive, Racing Welfare
Help us to continue supporting the workforce behind the British horseracing industry. We are
facing a unique and challenging time in our lives. And your kindness truly does make a huge
impact and difference to these people’s lives, more than ever.
Donate at justgiving.com/campaign/RWEmergencyAppeal
5 |
INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER
ENTER THE
Follow @racingwelfare on instagram to view exclusive
content from racing organisations across the West
DRAW EVERY
FRIDAY 3PM
per ticket
RACEHORSE LOTTO
9.00 HELLO AND WELCOME
A welcome from Dawn Goodfellow, Chief
Executive of Racing Welfare
10.00 GETTING TO KNOW THEM
SOLE RACEHORSE
Hear from Jack Lander, Jonjo O'Neill Jr and Carl
Llewellyn
OWNERSHIP COULD 11.00 RACEHORSE FARRIER
BE YOURS FOR £3
Dan Hubbard, farrier of Kauto Star, Denman and
Big Bucks to name a few gives an insight
12.00 POINTING AND PRE TRAINING
Charlie Poste discusses his training operation
alongside his wife Francesca Nimmo
13.00 THE RACING TACKROOM
Andrea Kelly, travelling head girl at Tim Vaughan
Racing gives a tour of the racing tackroom
14.00 TOUR OF NEWTON ABBOT
Managing Director Pat Masterson gives a tour of
the popular Devonshire jumps track
15.00 SCHOOLING WITH THE SKELTONS
Enjoy a behind the scenes schooling session at
20% OF LOTTO TICKET SALES Dan Skelton Racing with jockeys Harry and Bridget
GOES TO RACING WELFARE EVERY MONTH 16.00 THAT'S A WRAP
Thanks for following the Virtual West Open Day
7 |
FIND OUT MORE AT RACEHORSELOTTO.COM
JoJo O’Neill –
The West Country
Jo O’Neill, often known as JoJo, has spent the last few years working as a groom element. The local race meetings at Cheltenham also mean the pubs are full and a
in horseracing. She currently working full time for Jonjo O’Neill in the Cotswolds, good night is guaranteed, especially after a winner!
having previously spent time at Robin Dickin’s and Nigel Twiston-Davies’, amongst
some other smaller trainers. In the horseracing industry, life is always busy – there is so much racing nowadays
that it is hard to get the time to have fun. The pace does not slacken much in the
JoJo loves the racehorses, the sport and the people. Through her website; Over summer for the National Hunt fraternity and for people in Flat, the winter months
The Stable Door, she highlights as many of these aspects as possible and gives us a also stay busy. If it is not racing, it is the sales or overnights, all accumulating in a lot
flavour of the racing community in the West. of early mornings and late finishes. Yet, seeing all my friends at these keep me going
– the quick conversations, the laughter, jokes and advice.
Nowadays, the online community goes beyond any county boundaries. On the whole,
Horseracing is often centred on the three hotspots of Newmarket, Lambourn and social media brings yards together virtually by sharing photos, achievements and
Middleham, yet there are yards that are situated all around the country, everywhere winners, advertising jobs and sharing snippets of our daily lives. Often, an individual
in between! These yards are not nestled as closely together but there is still a feeling of achievement becomes one for a whole yard, and thus every individual feels part
a racing community; it’s just more spread out geographically. I work in the Cotswolds, of the team. Stable staff always message each other in celebration or sometimes,
Gloucestershire and after the 2010 Gold Cup and Grand National, which were both commiseration in the sad times. Once, I heard us all be described as a ‘racing family’,
won by nearby yards, we partied for weeks afterwards. In my first full time job, I a phrase that I’ve adopted and it describes working in racing perfectly. We look after
remember the yards playing football matches against each other, in indoor schools one another, we’re all a large, quirky family.
or on five-aside pitches. The casual matches grew into a competitive tournament
and helped pass the dark winter evenings. Within the Cotswolds, the racing yards Racing is a great life, with great people and great times. I hope you enjoy this virtual
are spread out, smaller ones as well as bigger ones but we are all connected by this open day and that it gives you a glimpse of our racing lives, a small insight into
sport, which is more often than not our social life too. how it is. It is a tough life but it’s also the best sport that you can be involved with.
Please look at my new website www.overthestabledoor.com for further insights,
A lynchpin between the yards is the local pubs, where we celebrate winners, socialise interviews and a monthly blog all to do with horseracing.
and eat out. At a time, there would be certain cheesy discos put on once a month, or
Irish music nights and a lot of the yards would come together at these. There were
also hunt balls or dinner dances at Cheltenham Racecourse, often with a charitable
| 8 9 |
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for the racing fan in your life, or spoil yourself - why not? Paul Ferguson -
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See Bear Ghyll’s future entries with Sporting Life.
B U N D LE
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AVA I L A B L E
AC ROS S MUCKAMORE (Nigel Twiston-Davies)
THE RANGE
Another former Irish Point-to-Point winner, Muckamore won once from three starts
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beginning the campaign on an appealing looking mark of 125. The son of Sholokhov
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who relishes testing ground, and could be seen at his best when allowed to dominate
Jumps Season from the bettrends team over an intermediate trip. He bumped into a nice horse on each of his first two starts
for current connections, before winning easily at Taunton, and he is one who might
just go under the radar.
See Muckamore’s future entries with Sporting Life.
MUCKAMORE
With our expert help across our wide range of services, we’ll keep you ahead of the bookies! 11 |
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&B E Y O N D
Hot to Trot
Racing Syndicate
FIVE MINUTES WITH HEATHER ROYLE, A MEMBER OF THE HOT TO TROT RACING
SYNDICATE.
What got you interested in becoming an owner and joining a syndicate?
Having enjoyed watching racing since a child, I decided to support my friends Harry
and Christina Dunlop by joining their Windsor House Partnership in 2011. This was a
20 share syndicate, though a few more people were involved as there were some part
shares. We had an enormous amount of fun as a group with our filly, Red Mischief. I
then formed a syndicate with some fellow members to buy her when she left racing
at three and we bred five foals who we have taken great pleasure in following in their
careers. Sadly we lost Red in 2018, but are now racing her filly.
We are a very sociable group which I was also a member of Million in Mind for several years and joined two of the three
brings together like-minded people MEMBERSHIP TO EITHER GROUP Hot to Trot Racing syndicates having raced one of my fillies with them in 2014. I have
also had 25-50% ownerships in flat and jumping horses. I must say, I have taken
from around the UK to enjoy the INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:
immense pleasure from the camaraderie of the syndicates, in particular, Hot to Trot
excitement of having horses in • At least 5 horses in training with where Sam Hoskins does such a good job of the social side as well as the racing.
training with some of the leading leading trainers.
trainers around. What has been your highlight since joining your syndicate?
• A diverse events calendar featuring
Probably Million in Mind’s Le Prezien looking as if he was going to beat Yorkhill at
a number of unique events as well
Aintree but then coming a gallant second so we were in the winners enclosure on
Our members have had plenty of as multiple trainer visits.
Grand National Day. Also Red Mischief’s win, the first I experienced as an owner.
memorable days in recent times with • Regular news updates on all the
dual Group 2 winner HEARTACHE horses including videos and Favourite Racecourse and why?
storming home at Royal Ascot and photographs. Sandown - the scene of some great racedays on the flat and over jumps, particularly
KURIOUS winning the Group 3 Coral when H2T’s Kurious and Heartwarming got a 1-2, and when Kurious won her Group 3.
Charge Stakes at Sandown providing • Complimentary badges for members
us with celebrations dreams are made of. when we have runners. On popular
If you could own any racehorse past or present, which would it be?
days, a ballot will take place.
Next year will see our two flat Dawn Run.
syndicates, Hot To Trot1 and • All members receive a pro-rata
2 Hot To Trot, continue whilst our dividend of the prizemoney won. What advice would you give to anyone who was thinking about becoming an
National Hunt Syndicate enters owner and joining a syndicate?
• A maximum of 80 members.
its third year so why not take Go for it! Joining a syndicate is a great way to try ownership. The cost of many, like
the plunge and race with us. Hot to Trot, is fixed, so you know from the start how much you are investing in your
hobby. You can also join one like Hot to Trot or Million in Mind where there are a
group of horses so all your eggs aren’t in one basket. When one is ‘off games’ you still
have others racing, or you have horses covering a range of race types and distances.
The annual cost of membership to one of our syndicates an all-inclusive £2,095. The social side of things is great, both meeting up with fellow members and learning
Why not join today and take your interest in the sport to an entirely new level? loads through the trainer and other visits.
15 |
Contact Sam Hoskins Tel: 077 91 746119
sam@hottotrotracing.com • www.hottotrotracing.com
We are delighted to be supporters of RACING WELFARE and thank
them for the marvellous work that they do.
What a brilliant idea to showcase racing
from the West Country with this event!
Middleham Park Racing
2020 is Middleham Park Racing’s 25th anniversary and our National
Hunt string has grown this year, with our sights on Festival winners! FIVE MINUTES WITH RICHARD DIX, A MEMBER OF THE MIDDLEHAM PARK RACING
Even with a smaller string in our early days though, we did manage SYNDICATE.
to win the Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival with JUNIOR and
the Scottish Grand National, with BESHABAR. What got you interested in becoming an owner and joining a syndicate?
Growing up in South Wales as a teenager and following my dad round the P2P scene
We have a super selection of young horses being primed to debut (Wales & West Country), I often dreamt of becoming an owner and having returned
for us in the new year and are delighted to launch shares in this son from working in the Far East back in 2015, I decided to turn those dreams into reality
of SOLDIER OF FORTUNE, with Middleham Park Racing.
in training with PAUL NICHOLLS OBE.
Paul is renowned and revered for his big, strapping chasers; the list What has been your highlight since joining your syndicate?
of which is too endless to even begin to cite, so we thought a A couple of highlights spring to mind, firstly Dogon (Paul Nicholls) running in the
lovely, chasing type like him would be ideal for Ditcheat. Fred Winter at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival and more recently Ventura Diamond
Paul has started the season in fine form too!
(Richard Fahey) winning a hot nursery at the 2020 Goodwood Festival.
Favourite Racecourse and why?
It would have to be Wincanton, my local track, due to ease of access, great viewing
and highly personable – everyone is so friendly and the Boxing Day meeting every
year is a highlight!
Our 3yo gelding, shown on the left, is by
the rising Coolmore stallion star If you could own any racehorse past or present, which would it be?
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE. He stands at
Denman without a doubt, I was at Newbury back in 2009 when he won the Hennessy
a mighty 16.3hh, but you’d never guess
with 11st 12lb on his back! Brave and strong he brought a tear to my eye that day and
that, given the way he moves and
conducts himself, he’s so easy in the eye
who would not want to own such a superstar.
and so very fluent in his gaits.
What advice would you give to anyone who was thinking about becoming an
owner and joining a syndicate?
GO FOR IT! Syndicate ownership is not that expensive in today’s world, I only ever
We think you’d struggle to find a more imposing individual than this fellow and given he hails from a
family packed with Grade 1 & Grade 2 performers, you could be forgiven for beginning to dream of
invest 2.5% in each horse so that I have interest across a number of different trainers
Cheltenham glory, as his career builds! (NH & Flat) and visits to the racing stables/meeting up with fellow like-minded
owners is one of the highlights of ownership.
He looks a thoroughly imposing and potentially high class prospect for his owners to enjoy over the
coming seasons and he’s not hugely expensive to jump aboard, either, with shares starting at £1,000, for a
To find out more about Middleham Park Racing visit: middlehamparkracing.net
full ownership 2.5% share, which comes with one free owners badge. There are no other upfront payments
to make during his career & larger shares are available on our website-including the option to name him!
Physically and genetically, you get a lot of bang for your bucks with this impressive individual. His
training is going well and he is making some nice shapes in the schooling ring. He is being primed to make
his debut in a Bumper after Christmas and comes highly recommended.
Contact our National Hunt manager Tom Palin if you would like to take a share or have any questions:
tom@middlehamparkracing.net or on 07909 915079.
Read all about us and see full details of all our horses, across both codes, on our website shown below. 17 |
https://www.middlehamparkracing.net/
Racegoers Club
FIVE MINUTES WITH MERVYN BROOM, A MEMBER OF THE RACEGOERS CLUB.
What got you interested in becoming an owner and joining a syndicate?
I have all sorts of problems but racing keeps me alive. I am in several syndicates at
the moment and I have 35 horses, my wife passed away nearly nine years ago and
I’ve been going racing for 85 years. My wife and I were always involved in horses ever
since I married her. We made enquiries for buying a racehorse and realised it was
going to cost too much and might not even get to a racecourse so we decided to get
a share with Martin Pipe when he started training. Martin Pipe was a member of the
South West Racing Club which my wife and I joined when they started and he had a
gathering and said he was going to start a syndicate. The first horse we ever won with
was a horse called Zulu, it was a marvellous experience and since my wife passed
away I thought I would spend all my time now on my passion of racing.
What has been your highlight since joining your syndicate?
Pentland Hills for the Owners Group - winning the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham
The Official Club of British Horseracing Fans Festival – two Grade 1s he won. He won by 19 lengths in a Class 4 at Plumpton and
I thought what on earth is he going to do now! The experience of seeing him win
Support British horseracing and share your love of the sport with fellow enthusiasts. From
that race by that far was a brilliant experience and then he went on to the Doom Bar
just £2.92 a month, a Racegoers Club membership provides you with access to a range of
Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree and won that, he picked up £125,000 in three races. I have
exclusive benefits, including:
over 20 horses at the moment with Paul Nicholls. My best horse with him is Stage Star
• Monthly e-magazine filled with latest Club & industry news who won first time out a few weeks ago and Getaway Trump.
• Zoom calls with leading racing personalities
• Access to an online racing community with Virtual Club social events Favourite Racecourse and why?
• Affordable racehorse ownership with capped owners’ groups of up to 150 people I’ve been to over 75% of the racecourses in this country and in Ireland and I’ve
• Tailored offers with our partners including Racing TV and Rewards4Racing been to the Cheltenham Festival on many occasions, I was there when Arkle won
• Access to the Club’s legendary Ten to Follow competition in the 60s. There are so many first class racecourses. Of course Cheltenham above
• Yard & Stud visits, and exclusive racecourse packages & events (When Covid-19 re- everything else. Newton Abbot is a marvellous family course and they do a very, very
strictions allow) good job there.
You are invited to redeem a special £5 discount* on 2021 membership when you join the If you could own any racehorse past or present, which would it be?
Racegoers Club: It would have to be my horse Pentland Hills! I’m so lucky to have a share in him.
£5 off 2021 Racegoers Club subscription: £35 individual membership (normally £40) What advice would you give to anyone who was thinking about becoming an
or £60 joint membership (normally £65) – to receive the discount, please type owner and joining a syndicate?
RPM2021 in the voucher box when you subscribe. I would suggest they have one share in one horse which has good breeding, I go by
the sires and I find that a number of my favourite horses over the years have now
(*This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer).
produced some of the really top horses. To find out more about the Racegoers Club
visit: racegoersclub.co.uk
To join the Racegoers Club or for more information please visit: 19 |
www.racegoersclub.co.uk or call us on 07741629393Alastair Ralph Bangor on Dee
Racecourse
alastairralphracing.co.uk bangorondeeraces.co.uk
See Alastair Ralph’s future runners with Sporting Life. Bangor on Dee is a left handed jumps racecourse set in glorious countryside and
overlooked by the Welsh hills. Bangor has a unique character, amplified by the fact
Born into a family steeped in the traditions of horses and horseracing, Alastair Ralph that it is the only racecourse in the country that doesn’t have a grandstand! The first
began his racing career when he left school working initially for Michael Scudamore. steeplechase meeting took place at Bangor on 25th February 1859 over much the
After this he moved to Ditcheat to work for the legendary National Hunt trainer Paul same course as the races are held on today.
Nicholls, before moving on to ride out for the 2014 Grand National winning trainer Dr
Richard Newland. Today, many of the top trainers send their horses to race at Bangor as part of their
education. Paul Nicholls, Donald McCain, Alan King, Philip Hobbs, Nicky Henderson
Following his time spent with Dr Richard Newland, Alastair then moved to the and Jonjo O’Neill all have regular runners.
Downton Estate in Shropshire where he served as Assistant Trainer to Henry Daly
for five seasons. In addition, Alastair also ran his own yard of point to pointers which
grew from strength to strength each season. In 2015, Alastair obtained his trainer’s
licence and now runs a dual purpose yard, training both National Hunt and Flat
horses.
BIND FARM, SHROPSHIRE
Set in the rolling Shropshire hills with 250 acres of both farmland and woodland,
facilities include; 6-furlong woodchip all weather gallop, schooling grounds, 3 bay
starting stalls with a 3-furlong turf straight gallop, outdoor school 60ft x 40ft, stabling
for 32 horses in a large American barn with monarch stables, a lunge pen and turnout
paddocks.
Alastair says, “the facilities enable us to add a touch of variety to the horse’s weekly
routine. This allows us to give our horses a varied workout from slow, steady, stamina
building work to short, sharp explosive bursts, from flat land to steep banks, there is
something to tone every muscle in the horses’ body.”
| 22Chepstow Racecourse Dan Skelton
chepstow-racecourse.co.uk danskeltonracing.com
Chepstow Racecourse opened its gates in the early 1920’s and has since blossomed See Dan Skelton’s future runners with Sporting Life.
into a bustling track that is home to the Welsh Grand National.
Dan has worked with horses for his whole life and spent nine years as Assistant
FROM A PARK … Trainer to Paul Nicholls before setting out on his own in 2013.
When a group of ten South Wales worthies gathered together in the early 1920s and Notable winners that Dan has trained since establishing the facility at Lodge Hill
formed a company to purchase Chepstow’s picturesque Piercefield Park, little did include early success at Grade 3 level with the likes of Willow’s Saviour, Shelford,
they know just how successful their plan to build a racecourse in its 370 undulating What A Warrior and Grade 2 victories with Three Musketeers, Blue Heron, Al Ferof,
acres would be. Its’afreebee, Ch’tibello, Value At Risk and more recently North Hill Harvey & Roksana.
… TO 20,000 RACEGOERS Dan recognises the importance of a strong support team and alongside his wife Grace,
brother Harry and sister-in-law Bridget, has assembled Team Skelton to combine a
Those pioneering stalwarts, including such dignitaries as the Lords Tredegar, Glanely wealth of expertise and skills across many areas of the industry.
and Queenborough, waited patiently for 3 long years as 80 men toiled to hew the
course from the green and pleasant parkland. But those labours reaped a rich LODGE HILL AND BADBURY HILL BARN, WARWICKSHIRE
harvest in the summer of 1926 when 20,000 racegoers turned up for the inaugural
race meeting at Chepstow racecourse. The home of Team Skelton is set across two yards, Lodge Hill and Badbury Hill Barn,
with a variety of gallops and schooling facilities across the different locations which
enables each horse to be trained in a manner which suits their needs, working to
improve any areas of weakness whilst building on natural ability and developing all-
round proficiency.
Facilities also include; Vitafloor vibrating floor system, Activo-Med equine spa, hot
water washdown and solarium, horse walker, lunge pen and turnout paddocks.
| 22 23 |Daniel Mark Loughnane Francesca Nimmo &
Charlie Poste
dmlracing.co.uk facebook.com/nimmoracing
See Daniel Mark Loughnane’s future runners with Sporting Life. Former jockey Charlie Poste, a Welsh Grand National winner on Le Beau Bai in 2011,
had a career in the saddle which spanned nearly 20 years, before retiring in 2019.
Daniel Mark Loughnane, better known as Mark, didn’t grow up with horses or even
go to the races as a child. It was only when he was looking for a hiding place from Now, together with his wife Francesca Nimmo, he operates Station Yard which is
school that he ended up helping out in a racing yard and taught himself to ride. For based near Stafford. They see their operation as an “academy for National Hunt
the next 15 years Mark progressed from stable-lad, to head-lad and then Assistant racing”.
Trainer, holding a Conditional and Amateur jockey licence along the way.
For the last four years the business has comprised not only producing young jumpers
In 2002 Mark took out his own licence back home in Ireland and in 2011 he relocated through the point-to-point circuit, but also includes breaking and pre-training for
to the UK with his wife Clare and their two young sons, knowing that the UK would some major operations, as well as preparing some more seasoned pointers.
open up more opportunities for their horses and owners. After sending out over 120
winners from their initial base in Staffordshire, the opportunity to relocate and to be “We probably break in 100 horses a year for various yards, including Olly Murphy, Ian
involved in a brand new development at Rock Farm arose. Williams and Jonjo O’Neill,” says Poste, “so we’ve got loads of exciting equine talent
in for other people as well as our own.”
ROCK FARM, WORCESTERSHIRE
“The DML team ethos is simple, continue to work hard, strive to keep improving and
always try to get the best out of each horse that they are privileged enough to train.”
The 120 acre self-contained farm allows for numerous horse walks within the safety
of the farm without the need to use public roads, for the days when galloping is not
required and has two private gallops available on site, a 7 furlong uphill gallop & a 2
½ furlong canter track, with different Andrews Bowen all-weather surfaces.
23 |Henry Daly Henry Oliver
henrydaly.co.uk henryoliver-racing.co.uk
See Henry Daly’s future runners with Sporting Life. See Henry Oliver’s future runners with Sporting Life.
Henry has been training racehorses at Downton Hall stables since 1998. Henry is a Racing is definitely in Henry Oliver’s blood. He comes from a family steeped in racing,
horseman through and through; he had decided as a child that horses and racing his siblings all having race ridden and his father, the late Henry Oliver senior, being
were his future. a very well-known figure across the industry with a highly successful training career.
Henry began his career in earnest at the age of 14 when he headed over to NZ to
Since 1998 Henry has trained over 600 winners, which include three winners at the learn his trade and race ride. He went on to become champion conditional and spent
Cheltenham Festival, twice winning the Liverpool Hurdle, a Welsh National and many years as a professional jockey, before switching his attention to training.
winners of Grade 1 races at Ascot, Cheltenham, Aintree, Wetherby and Kempton.
Henry’s approach to training horses is unique, Henry thinks ‘horse’ and likes to
DOWNTON HALL STABLES, SHROPSHIRE treat all the horses as individuals, following the ‘turnout’ model. He is a believer
in allowing horses to be in their natural environment and encouraging a calmer
Established in 1994 by the late Capt Tim Forster when Henry was his Assistant Trainer. atmosphere where horses can relax and thrive, this includes matching his riders to
certain horses to help develop strong relationships.
The stables now boast all the tools of the trade you would expect in any high class
training establishment, including a 5 furlong woodchip gallop, over 10 furlongs of WORSLEY RACING STABLES, WORCESTERSHIRE
grass gallops, a grass canter track, schooling grounds and a loose schooling arena.
At Worsley, Henry has a wide range of facilities to keep the routine varied for each
The life of a racehorse at Downton is based as closely as possible on the natural horse, as well as using the fibre gallop and round canter facilities, Henry has access to
rhythms of a horse whilst being trained as a top athlete. 3 miles of grass gallops, hills and woodland areas meaning no day need be the same!
This helps to keep horses sweet and enjoying their work and has helped Henry’s
team with their continued success in recent years, including high profile winners at
Ascot and Cheltenham. Horses at Worsley are regularly visited by the chiropractor
too to help keep them in peak physical condition.
Henry is very much a ‘hands on’ trainer, he gets involved with all aspects of his
horse’s care and his owners love the fact they can get up close to the action and be
fully immersed in the owner’s experience. The small team really allows each horse to
flourish and Henry firmly believes that each horse at his yard can become a winner!
| 20 | 22Jack Barber Jonjo O’Neill
jackbarberracing.co.uk jonjooneillracing.com
See Jack Barber’s future runners with Sporting Life. See Jonjo O’Neill’s future runners with Sporting Life.
Jack started his point-to-point riding career with a winner and rode a further 55 Jonjo fulfilled his boyhood ambition to become a jockey and after leaving school he
point-to-point winners, six Hunter Chase victories and a Hurdle race. As an amateur began an apprenticeship with Michael Connolly. In a career spanning 16 years (1970
jockey, Jack spent four seasons working for Paul Nicholls. to 1986), he notched up 901 winners, and is widely remembered for riding Dawn
Run, the only horse to win the Champion Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He
In 2013, Jack started his training career and says “As a former jockey, I have always also had a wonderful partnership with Sea Pigeon, on whom he won the Champion
tried to use my experience to decide where to enter and run my horses. The inside Hurdle in 1980.
knowledge to race riding, understanding different courses and what happens in a race
is invaluable.” Jonjo’s career as a trainer began in 1986, the same year he was also diagnosed with
cancer. With trademark determination, he battled and overcame Non-Hodgkin’s
HIGHER PECKMOOR, SOMERSET Lymphoma. Based at Penrith for 15 years, he moved to Jackdaws Castle, near
Cheltenham, in 2001.
Set on the Dorset/Somerset border in the Seaborough Valley, the yard has the use of
well-established gallops; a five and a half furlong and a 310metres round, 28x40 all The yard regularly exceed £1m in total prize money for a season with 2013-14 proving
weather arena, 33 stables and horse walkers. to be their most successful to date with over £1.5m.
Each member of staff is responsible for four horses, to allow the staff build a close JACKDAWS CASTLE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
relationship with each horse and get to know their characteristics over the winter
months. Set in 500 acres of Cotswolds countryside and just 25 minutes from Cheltenham
Racecourse, Jackdaws Castle is arguably the finest training facility in British jump
racing.
With three grass gallops, two all-weather gallops of five-furlongs and one-mile,
outstanding schooling grounds featuring series of hurdles, brush hurdles and regular
chasing fences, an equine swimming pool, an indoor school and an equine solarium.
21 | | 22Nigel Hawke Olly Murphy
nigelhawkethornefarmracing.co.uk ollymurphyracing.com
See Nigel Hawke’s future runners with Sporting Life. See Olly Murphy’s future runners with Sporting Life.
Nigel Hawke famously won the Grand National aboard Seagram for trainer David Olly’s early ambitions were in the saddle, he attended Pony Club, hunted and led
Baron in 1991. Hawke was forced to give up riding through injury in 1993 and became his Mum’s string, before riding in point-to-points and progressing to riding as an
a trainer three years later. Indirectly, he has been back in the Grand National limelight amateur under rules, riding 30 winners.
of late - thanks to Tiger Roll.
Once Olly had decided he wanted to a train, he spent a year with Alan King. He then
Hawke trained the dual Aintree winner briefly as a three-year-old, saddling him to made the move to Ireland, joining Gordon Elliott as Assistant Trainer. Olly spent four
make a winning debut over hurdles at Market Rasen until he changed hands and seasons with Gordon, tasting success at the highest level. During Olly’s time, Gordon
went to Gordon Elliott’s powerhouse stable in Ireland. “It’s lovely and it sounds silly, won several Grade 1’s and had numerous Festival winners and it was all topped off
but the connection with Tiger Roll has given me as much of a kick - it really has done,” by Don Cossack winning the 2016 Gold Cup.
said Hawke.
In 2017, the time came for Olly to take up the reins himself. Three years into his
THORNE FARM, DEVON training career, Olly has trained 216 winners, won over £2 million in prize money and
is a Grade 1 winning trainer.
Situated in its own picturesque valley in mid Devon, Thorne Farm is ten minutes
from the historic market town of Tiverton. The farm extends to 220 acres and is WARREN CHASE STABLES, WARWICKSHIRE
organically farmed with a spring fed water system. The fields are grazed with sheep
on a rotational basis with the horses to keep the pastures lush and clean. Nigel makes Set in 100 acres of turnout paddocks and woodland, the yard has facilities that include:
his own organic hay and takes great pride in maintaining a very good feed product 4f Wexford sand gallop, 5f carpet gallop, Martin Collins 2f all-weather schooling lane
which has high organic natural energy and protein levels. with Easyfix Hurdles, Schooling ground on grass and four horse walkers.
Facilities include, grass and all weather gallops, two purpose built barns; one barn
houses 40 Monarch internal stables which are fully rubber matted, horse walker and
outdoor school.
| 20Paul Nicholls OBE Dr Richard Newland
paulnichollsracing.com See Dr. Richard Newland’s future runners with Sporting Life.
See Paul Nicholl’s future runners with Sporting Life. Dr. Richard Newland is best known for his handling of the 2014 Grand National
winner Pineau De Re.
Paul Nicholls has been Champion Trainer eleven times and has trained upwards of
3,100 winners, 125 of them at Grade 1 level. He has maintained a strike rate of 20% Dr Newland enjoyed a career-best 53 winners during the 2018/19 jumps season at a
or more for the past 25 years and passed the £2 million mark in prize money for the phenomenal strike rate of 24%.
18th consecutive time in March.
Dr. Newland studied medicine at Cambridge University and, until 2013, was a full-
In October, Paul celebrated his 29th year as racehorse trainer at Ditcheat, following time General Practitioner, working for the National Health Service in Sutton Coldfield.
replying to an advert in 1991 in Sporting Life by Paul Barber, a farmer, businessman
and enthusiastic supporter of National Hunt racing. He began his career in racing URLOXHEY STABLES, WORCESTERSHIRE
riding in point-to-points before progressing to ride over 100 winners over jumps.
In 2019 Richard Newland opened a new yard located just eight miles from his current
Paul was awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Year Honours List for services to base which allowed him to double the number of horses under his stewardship.
horseracing.
The new yard includes forty new boxes, a new top-of-the-range six-furlong gallop,
MANOR FARM STABLES, SOMERSET schooling grounds and lots of turnout, whilst the existing yard is used for pre-training.
Fifteen years ago Manor Farm Stables was a small training yard with 28 loose boxes
and a woodchip gallop. The winners began to flow following Paul’s arrival with eight
horses, and year on year Ditcheat has evolved and now accommodates 150 horses in
training, with further boxes at Paul’s Highbridge Yard.
Facilities include two all weather gallops; Ditcheat Hill, flat gallop, loop and deep
sand canter gallops, horse walkers, 20 x 40m schooling ring. Ditcheat has housed
some of the most popular horses including; See More Business, Kauto Star, Denman,
Master Minded, Neptune Collonges, Tidal Bay, Silviniaco Conti and Big Buck’s.
21 | | 22Richard Phillips Richenda Ford
richardphillipsracing.com richendafordracing.co.uk
See Richard Phillip’s future runners with Sporting Life. See Richenda Ford’s future runners with Sporting Life.
Born close to Epsom racecourse, Richard knew from the age of five years old that he Richenda has always had a natural affinity with horses. In her younger years this
wanted to be a racehorse trainer. passion was supported by her ardent enthusiasm for Pony Club, eventing and regular
hunting.
Richard spent eight years as assistant to Classic winning trainer Henry Candy before
setting up on his own in 1993. Top chasers such as Time Won’t Wait, Gnome’s Tycoon No trainer ever forgets their first success, notably for Richenda this was ‘Coolers
and Noble Lord proved in the early years that Phillips had the skill to train at the Quest’ who won a hat trick in her first season of training.
highest level.
In 2011, Richenda obtained her Permit licence to train under rules and it was most
In 2000, Richard was provided with the opportunity to take over Jackdaws Castle from memorably ‘Somerby’ who gave Richenda her first win under rules in a handicap
David Nicholson. Following its sale in 2001, Richard took his training organisation chase at Lingfield.
to Adlestrop and in just his first year in the establishment trained his first Festival
winner when La Landiere won the Cathcart Chase following her brilliant victory in In 2017, Richenda successfully took out her full training licence.
the Racing Post Chase the previous month.
GARLANDS FARM, DORSET
ADLESTROP STABLES, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Nestled in the heart of the Blackmore Vale, the horses in training benefit greatly from
Facilities include, a five furlong all weather gallop with a gradual 50 metre rise from the tranquillity, undisturbed hacking and access to grass turnout all year.
the bottom to the top that ensures horses enjoy their fitness programme, an outdoor
school designed by previous occupant, the greatest three-day event rider Sir Mark The facilities at Garlands Farm include a sand and rubber schooling arena, lunging
Todd, schooling grounds with a multitude of obstacles including logs, barrels, baby pen, round sand and wax gallop, carpet hill gallop, horse walker and internal barn
hurdles and full-sized hurdles plus baby fences and full-sized steeplechase fences. stables.
21 | 21 |J o i n u s f o r t h e
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