TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Noel Kelly

Article by Lissa Oliver

When six-year-old gelding Size Five landed the recent Join Racing TV Now Handicap Hurdle, a Go North Brindisi Breeze Series Qualifier at Perth, Scotland, he also landed his County Derry-based trainer Noel Kelly with our TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter award. It may not have appeared to be a significant win, but Size Five was returning from an injury that had kept him off the track since 26th December 2022, a break of 640 days.

It was a major gamble in more ways than one for Kelly, as the gelding had been well backed by punters and romped home by 20 lengths under amateur jockey Oran McGill. Despite earnings of just £105 from four previous starts and rated 92, Size Five  had been working well at home and Kelly had been confident with his first runner in Britain since December, at his lucky track Perth.

The Northern Ireland trainer said on the day, "He does nothing but stay, he just keeps galloping. He's not had much mileage but he shows a wee bit of class at home. I had seven others out and he would gallop all over them.”

Kelly’s base in Draperstown is perfectly positioned to access all of Ireland’s racecourses and allow for British raids. His first winner was Mighty Whitey in 2010 and the predominantly National Hunt stable has gone from strength to strength since then. 

Speaking of Size Five, Kelly tells us, “He’s a gorgeous big horse, 16.2, but last year he was still a bit weak and he needed time. He’s a lot of horse. We were gentle with him at four, but at five he had a wee bit of tendon trouble, not that big, but he did a bit of damage so we limited him to three or four months of just road work.”

Perth wasn’t a specific plan, but as Kelly says, “We knew we had him ready to come back and he had to run somewhere. We didn’t have a lot of summer racing options here in Ireland and some of the tracks were too tight for him and the ground was too firm. So we just waited for the rain to come and sent him over. I walked the track and we chanced him on it and it worked out well.”

Kelly doesn’t yet know if Size Five will be qualified for the Final of the series, having now gone up in the weights 17Ib, which also presents difficulties in planning the gelding’s next race, although he has come out of the Perth race sound and has been working well back at home. 

“He won very easily, but there wasn’t a lot of depth in the race and it’s a bit unfortunate the handicapper has put him up such a high mark, when what did he beat?” But Kelly remains full of praise for the imposing gelding and will be giving him plenty of time and patience to fill his frame, with the promise of more to come.

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter – Brian Meehan

Article by Lissa Oliver

Royal Ascot provided Wiltshire-based Brian Meehan with two Group successes when the impressive two-year-old Rashabar held on bravely to deny late finishers and win the Group 2 Coventry Stakes by a nose. It was a well-deserved change in fortune, as only a head had denied the Meehan-trained Kathmandu Classic glory in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches three weeks earlier. The master of the historic Manton Stables then followed up at Royal Ascot when Jayarebe won the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes.

Of Rashabar, Meehan says, “He was always a very nice horse. He showed in his early work that he had enough speed to be a Royal Ascot juvenile, so we made a plan reasonably early to run him at Newbury for his debut. We knew the five furlongs would be a bit too sharp, but we wanted to get runs into him and he ran much better than we thought he would [third]. Then the Chester race was a £40,000 maiden, which was a no-brainer really, and he ran the fastest final furlong. The form has worked out really well since, the winner came out and won the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom, so we knew he would be good enough for Ascot.

“Sean Levey said to me after Chester that when a horse runs around Chester it’s like having two runs, they learn so much, especially for a two-year-old who had only run once. Rashabar had been training so well at home and the team have done a tremendous job.”

Meehan describes Rashabar as a very kind horse, very simple and straightforward to deal with. “The plan now would be to go to the Prix Morny next and then The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, a route we’ve done before. The preparation for The Breeders’ Cup is very straightforward, we’ll do a bit of bend work with him and a bit of stalls work with him when we get there.”

As every trainer knows, there’s no better joy than when a plan comes together, as was so nearly the case with Kathmandu at Longchamp, where she was beaten just a head by Rouhiya. “She will go to the Prix Jean Prat and will follow that up at Deauville in the Prix Rothschild or Prix Maurice du Gheest,” says Meehan. “It’s all about having nice horses. Planning is important and, like everyone I suppose, I start with the aimed race and work backwards from there.”

The facilities at Manton, one of Britain’s oldest and finest training centres, are second to none, with two grass gallops, a new polytrack and a woodchip, the gallops owned and maintained superbly by Freddie and Martyn Meade. There is also an equine pool. Since the 1860s, numerous Classic winners have been sent out from Manton, including two Triple Crown winners, and when Meehan took over the yard in 2006 he immediately added to the illustrious list, awarded International Trainer of the Year in his first season there.

Meehan remains grounded and ambitious. “The team are on a high, but one good week doesn’t make a season, we’ve got to keep up the effort for the whole year.”

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - George Scott

Article by Lissa Oliver

Sending out a Triple Crown winner anywhere in the world is a rare achievement, but for trainer George Scott it was all the more impressive, as he’d plotted a long-distance raid with a horse bought for the purpose. 

More to the point, his Newmarket-trained Isle Of Jura became the first horse to complete the Bahrain Triple Crown, much to the delight of his Bahraini owner, HH Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Triple Crowns are designed to be difficult to win and the Bahrain version is no different. The first two legs, the Listed Crown Prince’s Cup (2200m) and the Al Khalifa Cup (2300m) are run in February, with the final leg the Listed King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Cup (2400m) in early March. 

Bought last March as a once-raced maiden from the Godolphin draft at the final Tattersalls Ascot sale, Isle of Jura quickly climbed the handicap for Scott with two wins from five starts, before travelling to Bahrain in December off a rating of 97. 

“We originally bought him with Bahrain in mind,” explains Scott. “HH Shaikh Nasser felt he would suit Bahrain further down the line, his pedigree suggested he would handle the fast ground there and his handicap mark also fitted very well with the Turf series. I was adamant he could step up in trip and I know he can handle a couple of races on the bounce, so I hoped he could win several turf races. Primarily, we targeted Bahrain because his owner loves racing there.”

Acknowledging he loves it when a plan comes together, Scott puts it all down to careful preparation in advance. “When travelling horses, I am lucky in that I have a very good assistant, Alex Mant, she plans the trips meticulously. The settling in process is vital, there’s a very small window of getting them there and settled with the least stress to them as possible. It’s important to keep them well hydrated, we like to keep their food consistent, and don’t stress them. The people you surround the horses with are very important. Isle of Jura did most of his work at home before he left and just ran off the plane. It’s all down to planning.” Scott also speaks highly of Bahrain and the facilities for horses and staff. “They do a fantastic job, they really want to help you and all the team loved being there.”

He is naturally pleased with the positive start to the season, having won the Listed Spring Cup at Lingfield with Watch My Tracer only 24 hours prior to Isle of Jura’s historic win. “Isle of Jura is back here now and after five quick runs we’ll give him a break. The plan is to bring him back for the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, where hopefully he’ll get nice ground, I’m optimistic.”

Topspec Trainer of the Quarter - Mick Appleby

Article by Lissa Oliver

It wasn’t hard to single out Mick Appleby for our quarterly award, given such top-level international success in such a short space of time, leaving the yard “buzzing”, as Appleby says. With 105 boxes, The Homestead stables in Rutland, Leicestershire, is hardly a “small” stable, and Appleby is renowned for his All-Weather success, having been Champion Trainer for six years. But Group One successes on such an international scale are taking the team to new heights.

“Big Evs’ win at the Breeders’ Cup has been a great boost to the team and there’s a huge buzz around the yard,” says Appleby, “it’s good for all the team, they work so hard all year round.” Just to emphasise that, team-member Madan Singh has just reached the six Finalists for the prestigious Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, sponsored by Godolphin, in the Rider/Groom category.

Add to Big Evs’ grand end-of-season finale the success of Roberto Escobarr in the Premio St Leger Italiano, on his first run for the Appleby stable, and the final months of 2023 really have been quite a purple-patch for Appleby, who isn’t afraid of taking horses abroad for better prize money.

With over 30-years’ experience in racing, Appleby has gone from such roles as stable jockey to John Manners, head lad to Roger Curtis and Andrew Balding, to taking out his own licence in 2010. In 2014, he trained his first Group winner when Danzeno won the Grade 3 Chip Chase at Newcastle. 

The yard is set in 80 acres of Rutland countryside, with 20 paddocks and 40 acres of summer turnout fields. Appleby has also added schooling fences, hurdles and cross-country jumps around the fields and is working on re-opening an historic bridleway to allow further access for hacks across road-free countryside. Together with an undulating one-mile all-weather gallop, he has a five-furlong (1000m) oval gallop and a seven-furlong (1400m) straight grass gallop; with a solarium and a theraplate installed to allow different training regimes.

Appleby describes Big Evs’ run-up to the Breeders’ Cup as, “pretty straightforward, really. We didn’t do anything different with him, but we did use the bell for him to practise coming out of the stalls. We borrowed that from Adam West! But, to be fair, I don’t think it made any difference. He was absolutely grand, he took the travelling all in his stride and the experience didn’t faze him at all. Big Evs is on his holiday now, but he’ll be back for all the big 5f (1000m) races next year.”

Roberto Escobarr had only been bought by the yard in July, so the Premio St Leger Italiano hadn’t really been a target, Appleby says. “We saw that race and thought it might be good for him and luckily it all worked out well. He might go to Dubai now and, long-term, we might even think about the Melbourne Cup next year.”

Group One glory hasn’t changed anything at The Homestead. “It’s business as usual. Hopefully we might get offered more two-year-olds on the back of Big Evs,” Appleby hopes. “I’d just like to thank everyone for all their support and for all the congratulations that poured in for Big Evs, it was overwhelming really, and great for the staff who work hard all year round.” 

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter

Article by Lissa Oliver

This issue’s Top Spec Trainer of the Quarter boasts a quite unique fact – he is the third member of his family to claim the honour! Had our magazine been running longer, he could easily have been a fifth-family winner, but Christopher Head is unique in his own right and a worthy recipient, having sent out his first Classic winner Blue Rose Cen in May and backed that up in June with her win in the Prix de Diane, in only his fifth full season as a trainer.

"The plan was laid out last year in a very intelligent manner and it has been a case of executing it," said Head. "We have the good fortune that she is a filly who is ready every time we ask her, but the fact that she always shows up in these good races proves it is a good plan."

Head is now based at the former yard of his father Freddy, having previously rented some boxes at Chantilly when first taking out his licence at the end of 2018. The move bodes well, with some Classic magic already rubbing off on the new inmate. It is far from a case of a “silver spoon”, Head starting out with just a handful of horses, but nevertheless sending out his first Group winner last year, Sibila Spain, and champion two-year-old Blue Rose Cen, successfully nurturing her into a champion three-year-old. Add Prix du Jockey Club runner-up Big Rock into the mix, with promise still to come and it’s clear Head is a young trainer going places.

As well as the ability to draw upon vast family experience, and 12 years spent working with his father during a golden era, Head brings new innovations to his training methods, using the latest data-collection technology. Strapped to the girth, a box records stride pattern, speed and cardiovascular activity, which Head finds useful in assessing individual horses, alongside traditional training methods.

The combination of experience and technology has certainly paid off this season, Blue Rose Cen currently unbeaten since winning the Gp.3 Prix de la Grotte, comfortably stepping up in trip to 2000m and now heading to the Gp.1 Nassau Stakes to take on her elders. 

Big Rock, too, maintained a run of four wins this season, rising up from handicap ranks when rated 94, to starting favourite for the Prix du Jockey Club and finding only Ace Impact too good for him. His next target is the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois and potentially the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qipco Champions Day. 

As to his star filly, Head said, "I'm excited about the programme and we will try her over 2400m because we need to know if she's capable of showing that turn of foot over the longer distance of the Arc. She'll be entered in the Vermeille and after that we'll decide whether to go for the Opera or to supplement her into the Arc."

To date, Head has won 19 races, including two Classics, with just 24 horses, a strike-rate that speaks for itself. It could prove to be a monumental season for Head, despite being a year filled with family loss and sadness.

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Tony Martin and Good Time Jonny

Tony Martin and Good Time Jonny

Article by Lissa Oliver

It might be hard for some to choose a single highlight from the Cheltenham Festival, but it was very easy indeed to single out a shrewd training performance by AJ (Tony) Martin, who is our TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter following Good Time Jonny’s fine win in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle. Martin mapped a clever campaign to the Final and had the eight-year-old gelding spot-on for the day to secure Martin’s first win at the Festival since 2015.

Based in the tranquil Irish countryside at Trimblestown Stud in Kildalkey, County Meath, Irish handler Martin has the ideal facilities for both Flat and National Hunt horses. A successful amateur jockey in his day, Martin has now been training for over 20 years and has earned a reputation for getting the best out of his horses and for his patience at allowing every horse to progress at their own pace.

Just such a horse is Good Time Jonny, who notched two wins at Leopardstown in the 2021/22 season and promised enough to start in the Gr.1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at last year’s Cheltenham Festival before being pulled up in the Gr.1 Novice Hurdle at Punchestown. 

This season, his jumping let him down somewhat when he was tried over fences, although he managed a fourth place in the Beginners’ Chase at Listowel. Having lost his way a little, he bounced back with a qualifying run when third in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle, enough to secure his place at Cheltenham in the Final. In between, he warmed up at Leopardstown, when hampered by a faller.

The ups and downs of jumping stood him in good stead, though. In the Final, Good Time Jonny lost ground at the start, was hampered by a second-flight faller and was just about last turning for home. Under a superb ride from Liam McKenna, he kept persevering and hit the front on the run-in to win, going away by three and a quarter lengths.

Martin was predictably delighted to land another Festival winner. “Days like this are the ones you live for. He was last at the top of the hill but Liam had the patience to sit and wait, and it turned out well," he says. "It’s been a few years now since we had a winner here, but it is worth the agony and the hardship. It’s absolutely brilliant. A bit of a gap makes it better!

“The horse has been coming along really well since Leopardstown last time, I just thought the ground might not suit him—he likes better ground, but he went through it well.

“We had a lot of good years and some bad luck, and it’s nice to be back with some good horses. They are not Gr.1 horses, but in their own category, they are all right. I have some great men, jockeys and staff behind me this year, and I’m just so happy for them. These colours, the Beneficial colours, have given us great days.

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter – SIR MARK PRESCOTT BT.

Article by Giles Anderson

Heath House Stables in Newmarket has been the only yard our deserved TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter, Sir Mark Prescott, has trained from during his fifty-three years with a training licence.

Britain’s longest serving trainer has produced many horses at the highest level. Consider the fact that he operates with a self imposed limit of fifty horses under his care at any given time and his record seems even more impressive.

Over time, Prescott has worked closely with many leading owner breeders - none more so than Kirsten Rausing. Over the years, they have produced the likes of Albanova and Alborada to score at the highest level.

In 2019 a filly named Alpinista, made her racecourse debut on July 18th at Epsom. The debut was a winning one. Prescott wouldn’t necessarily be a trainer you would associate with winning debutantes, so many took note of this performance. The Racing Post reported that Alpinista; “dwelt, in touch in 5th, slightly green when asked for effort over 2f out, soon closed to lead over 1f out, pushed clear, unchallenged after”.

It would be fair to say that the five horses who finished behind her, haven’t exactly set the form book alight since. The same can’t be said for Alpinista.

Her subsequent start at Goodwood in August (2019) proved to be her only start where she finished out of the first four - when finishing 6th in the Gp.3 Prestige Stakes.

Winning ways resumed the following August (2020) when scoring in the Listed Upavon Fillies Stakes at Salisbury.

In 2021 Alpinista simply dominated the German Gp.1 races, with victories in the Grosser Preis von Berlin, the 59th running of the Preis von Europa and the Grosser Preis von Bayern.

Prescott, has always been a devotee of the European Pattern, looking further afield to pick up (in his own words) “cheap black type” for the fillies in his care. But little did he know when Alpinista beat Torquator Tasso and Walton Street in the Grosser Preis von Berlin what impact this race would have and cement Alpanista as the filly of her generation.

Walton Street ran two places better on his next start in Toronto when a fascicle 5 3/4 length winner of the Gr.1 Pattison Canadian International.

Torquator Tasso went onto frank the form in a duo of Gp.1 races -  the prestigious Grosser Preis von Baden before a ‘shock’ win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The only person who probably wasn’t suffering from shock on the first Sunday in October 2021 was Sir Mark Prescott - he now knew he now had a serious filly in his care.

When the actual plan was hatched to aim Alpanista for the 2022 running of the Arc de Triomphe one will never know. But one can safely bet that by the time the 2022 Pattern Book dropped through the letterbox at Heath House Stables, Prescott had already worked out her plan for 2022.

Fast forward to the build up for the 2022 Arc and anyone who has enjoyed the shere entertainment of Prescott’s company will have enjoyed the build up for the race. With Prescott providing a level of light relief, regaling stories of previous voyages to France and the disappointment of defeat that most such ventures result in.

But in Alpanista’s victory in the 2022 Arc de Triomphe we got to celebrate the victory of two of the greatest proponents of the European Pattern in Sir Mark and Kirsten Rausing. 

Alpanista was retired in November to embark on her next career as a broodmare at Lanwades Stud. 

Her final race record reads as; 15 starts, 10 victories - with 6 in Gp.1 company - coming in three different countries. Quite a record.

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Karl Burke

Words - Lissa Oliver

Karl Burke took out his licence in 1991 and trains from the historic Spigot Lodge in Middleham, Yorkshire, from where the famous Derby winner The Flying Dutchman was sent out in 1849. With a team that includes wife Elaine and daughters Kelly and Lucy, the Classic winning tradition continued under Burke when Laurens landed the 2018 Prix De Diane.

His first Royal Ascot winner came with the filly Quiet Reflection in the 2016 Gr. 1 Commonwealth Cup, but it’s safe to say the 2022 meeting has been just as memorable—Burke saddling two winners, one of whom, quite remarkably, was winning on debut. 

The last horse to win on debut at Royal Ascot was Dazzle in 1996. Just to put the first time out Listed Chesham Stakes victory of Holloway Boy in context, Derby winner Masar came into the 2017 race with a win already to his name, only to finish third.

“We would have been delighted if he’d finished fifth or sixth,” Burke admits. “While his win was a nice surprise, it was not a shock, as we’ve always thought he’s a very nice type.”

Holloway Boy is owned by Nick White and Burke’s wife Elaine. “We bought him out of the Cheveley Park consignment at Tattersalls Book 2 for £60,000. I trained his full-sister Oppressive for Cheveley Park and thought a lot of her, but unfortunately she injured a tendon and retired before achieving her potential.

“When I saw him, I thought he was a better stamp of a horse than Oppressive; and I bought him on spec’. He was not one of the first to sell; he was never going to be an early one. Then Nick White rang me and said he would like to buy a horse. So we showed him a couple of the yearlings, and he bought a half-share in Holloway Boy,” Burke explains.

“Holloway Boy was always a good size and strong. I like to get them through their early education up to Christmas, then we start the early ones in February; but he was never going to be one of those. He got very strong during the spring and came to hand very nicely and was ready to run a couple of weeks before Ascot. 

“We were going to go to Musselburgh for his first race, but he tweaked a muscle. Nick White wanted an Ascot runner, and I looked at the Chesham Stakes, half-heartedly thinking we’d run Holloway Boy. After he worked well, I thought we'd let him take his chance in the race and give the owners a nice day out.”

It proved to be a very nice day out, with many more still to come. “We’ve had a lot of interest in him, but we’re not going to sell him,” Burke says. “He did his first canter this morning since Saturday (the Thursday after the meeting) and has taken the race really well. The Superlative Stakes at Newmarket will be his first option, but if we feel that’s a bit too soon for him, then it will be the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood. 

“He looks all over a three-year-old already; he’s a good 500kg and stands over 16.1. There’s a little bit of speed in the pedigree, and the Two Thousand Guineas will be the target.”

Burke acknowledges he has a great team at Spigot Lodge—a young team with a nucleus of staff who has been with him since he began. They will certainly have plenty to dream of over the winter, as the One Thousand Guineas looks just as likely a target for unbeaten Dramatised, the filly Burke sent out to win the Gr. 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.

“We’re very lucky to have a good team of two-year-olds; we have at least half a dozen good two-year-olds still to run. Dramatised should improve on her run and will go for the Prix Morny, and then she’ll have one more run in the Cheveley Park Stakes. 

“She is a great feather in her owner Steve Parkin’s cap. She is one of the first homebreds from his Branton Court Stud, so it was a huge result for him.”

Burke now has 130 boxes at Spigot Lodge, situated perfectly between Middleham’s High and Low Moor gallops. “We have several post and rail grass paddocks for turnout during the summer and an all-year-round turnout pit. We have recently developed the centre of our 300m indoor ride, adding a new lunge pen and an Aqua Equine Treadmill. 

“The Aqua Equine Treadmill is already making a great addition to our facilities, building the power and performance of our horses. The treadmill will also prove very useful when bringing horses back into work after holidays or injury.”

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Gavin Cromwell

The TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Gavin Cromwell. Cromwell will recieve £1000 worth of TopSpec feed, supplements, and additives as well as a consultant with one of their senior nutritionists

By Lissa Oliver

Like many a trainer who has started life via the veterinary college route, County Meath-based Gavin Cromwell was a farrier prior to taking out his licence in 2005. His superb training operation at Danestown, Balrath, includes a 500m round sand and fibre gallop, a 700m circle sand gallop, a schooling strip with both hurdles and fences, a sand ring, schooling ring, horse spa, walkers and plenty of turnout space all year round in both grass and rubber paddocks. The peaceful location provides a relaxing atmosphere for the horses, yet is central for all of Ireland’s racecourses and within easy travelling distance for his frequent British and French raids.

Cromwell’s big race wins include back-to-back Grade 1 wins with Jer’s Girl, in the Mares Novice Hurdle Final and Champion Novice Hurdle; Welsh Grand National with the veteran Raz De Maree; Gr1 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham with Espoir D’Allen; and on the Flat, the Gr2 Queen Mary Stakes with Quick Suzy, Gr2 Prix De Royallieu with Princess Yaiza and the Irish Cambridgeshire with Sretaw. 

It is for his achievements at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, however, that he has been awarded Trainer of the Quarter, successfully bringing back the far from straightforward Flooring Porter to retain his crown in the Gr.1 Stayers Hurdle and only just missing out on a Festival Grade 1 double when Gabynako ran second to Edwardstone in the Gr.1 Arkle Challenge Trophy.

Speaking of the successful plan for the repeat Stayers Hurdle win, Cromwell tells us of Flooring Porter, “Rewind to last year, he had run in a Class B handicap hurdle at Navan in early December and not by design he made all the running, which turned out to suit him. He had his own ideas about things and tried to break the start and ended up going to the front and he won quite impressively by 12 lengths. 

“He went up quite a bit in the ratings as a result, so we decided to let him take his chance in the Gr.1 Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown and he romped home again. From there he went straight to Cheltenham, where he did the same. 

“After that we went to Punchestown, but it didn’t work out for him, he got very lit up pre-race and again at the start, and he doesn’t go right-handed quite as well as he goes left-handed, so he just didn’t run his race.

“Going forward, we tried to keep him left-handed and the whole plan was to go for Cheltenham again, so he was trained accordingly. He went to Navan for the Gr.2 Lismullen Hurdle and was unfortunate there, as he was going well when he fell. Then on to Leopardstown for the Christmas Hurdle again and he got left at the start and could never get on terms after that, but he was only beaten a couple of lengths in second. The plan was to go straight to Cheltenham after that and the plan came off.”

Returning to Cheltenham with a previous Festival winner brings with it its own problems, as Cromwell reveals. “There was a little bit more pressure, with him being the reigning champion, but knowing that he hasn’t been straightforward in the past, in the past few months I’ve seen him maturing a lot and I have a lot more confidence in him.

“The immediate future, all being well, he’ll go to Aintree, then he has the option of Auteuil for the French Champion Hurdle 21 May, which we’ll review after Aintree. He won’t go to Punchestown.

I’m also quite excited about Gabynako. After he ran second in the Gr1 Drinmore Novice Chase and third in the Gr1 Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick I took the decision to supplement him for the Arkle Trophy. He finished second and now he’s in the Gr.1 Gold Cup at Fairyhouse, but the Gr.1 Novice Chase at Punchestown is more likely.”

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - François Nicolle

The TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter Award has been won by François Nicolle. Nicolle will receive £1000 worth of TopSpec feed, supplements and additives as well as a consultation with one of their senior nutritionists

By Katherine Ford

In France, ask a racegoer to name the top jumps trainer, and the answer will certainly come back without an instant of hesitation, “François Nicolle.” Outside the country, however, the professional is still somewhat under the radar. And yet, in 2021 the Royan-based handler is about to secure his fourth consecutive French trainers title after amassing almost €10 million in prize money—the double of his nearest rivals both geographically and in results, his South West France neighbours Guillaume Macaire and Hector de Lageneste.

With a stable of around 170 horses, Nicolle’s strike rate is as impressive as his bankroll in 2021, with a win ratio of over 20%. Indeed, his horses often have to settle for second or third best behind their stablemates in France’s most prestigious contests. 

This has been the case during the autumn with Nicolle trios dominating the Gr 2 Prix Georges Courtois at Auteuil and the Gr 2 Prix Leopold d’Orsetti at Compiègne, while he saddled the first two in the Gr 1 Prix Cambacarés hurdle during the feature weekend at Auteuil in November, as well as a fourth success in the Gr 1 Prix la Haye Jousselin with Poly Grandchamp. “We didn’t expect the win,” Nicolle said, “but it’s great to see an old campaigner like him lift a big prize.” 

Nevertheless, the important ‘48h of Jumping’ weekend could have been a great source of disappointment as stable star l’Autonomie was denied in her quest for a 17th career victory in the Gr 1 Grand Prix d’Automne when beaten by veteran and specialist of the race Galop Marin. 

Magnanimous in defeat, Nicolle’s initial reaction was, “We were beaten by a champion. This is Galop Marin’s race,” and with hindsight explained, “We didn’t choose the right tactical option in the race. It’s frustrating as the year is constructed around these big Group 1 races.” 

Kyrov and Gwen Richard on their way to winning the 2021 Prix Cambaceres

From an agricultural background, François Nicolle is never happier than when in his tractor working his training tracks; however, he has adapted well to the big time in Paris. Despite what could represent an organizational nightmare of long journeys from Royan to Auteuil (6 hours for the two-stall horsebox; 8 hours for the larger wagons), and often 10 or more runners at a meeting, he never belies an ounce of stress as his well-rehearsed team go about their business at the track. “Everyone knows their role, as the smallest detail can be important; and with the exception of an occasional hiccup, everything goes smoothly.” 

Throughout an afternoon’s racing, he is invariably found leaning against a bench in ‘his’ corner of the parade ring, observing as staff pass by with tack and jockeys for instructions, and above all, a steady stream of friends, rivals, well-wishers and media who are all received with the same twinkle in his eye, a smile and a joke. 

With the support of many of France’s most powerful owners and breeders, François Nicolle looks likely to dominate Auteuil for seasons to come, however he has a challenge still to fulfil. The trainer discovered British racing at Royal Ascot with his great friend Jean-Claude Rouget who invited him along to enjoy a well-timed success of Ervedya in the Coronation Stakes, and he vowed to return the favour at the Cheltenham Festival. A man of his word, he is waiting for the right horse to keep his promise.

TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter – Henk Grewe

The choice for Trainer of the Quarter was no easy one, with many notable successes, but it is Henk Grewe who takes the honours. Scooping both the colts’ and fillies’ BBAG auction races for two-year-olds in September, as well as adding his name to the roll of honour for the Deutsches Derby in July with Sisfahan, Grewe most recently won the Gr. 3 Premio Elena E Sergio Cumani in Rome with Flamingo Girl. 

Mister Applebee was an impressive runaway winner of the BBAG auction race at Düsseldorf, and Atomic Blonde fought bravely for her win in the BBAG Johanna and Hugo Memorial; both appear to have a bright future. “Mister Applebee looked very good and is now going to the Ferdinand Leisten Memorial,” Grewe says, hoping to replicate the success of his Horse of the Year, Rubaiyat.

Grewe has 100 boxes at his base in Weidenpescher Park in Cologne. His first notable success came in 2015 with the Austrian Derby, but in the short time since, he has built up a team that has seen him crowned Champion Trainer in 2019 and 2020. 

“It has been a good season, especially because of the Deutsches Derby, even though we haven’t had as many winners as last year,” Grewe says. “Winning the Derby was really special for me because I was under so much pressure. Everyone was expecting me to win it for the last three years and now that I have won it, that pressure is gone; it makes everything easier.”

Sisfahan made it look very easy indeed in Hamburg and was having his first start at Group level. “It's nice that Andrasch was on the horse, my parents are here, my brother is here with my niece, who is having a birthday today. He's a great horse and it's just a dream today,” Grewe said on the day. With Sisfahan’s win, Grewe not only enjoyed the greatest success of his career so far but also topped the meeting as leading trainer.

It hasn’t been all joy for Grewe during this time, and he recently lost the promising Preis der Diana runner-up Isfahani—a Gr. 3 winner at two. “It's incredibly sad; when I got the message from the clinic, I was absolutely shocked. Unfortunately, she never had the chance to show her true colours, and I am still convinced that she was the best horse that I have ever trained,” he says of the tragic filly.

“We have a lot of late horses who we hope will be very good for next year,” he says, looking ahead. “COVID has made everything much more difficult. There has been a lot more paperwork and travelling has been much harder, but my team have really handled it well. For me, our team is the most important thing; they work so hard and without them, none of this would be possible.”

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TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Richard Phillips

Britain's first ever National Racehorse Week will take place 12-19 September this year, thanks to the brainchild of Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire trainer, Richard Phillips. When fan pressure led to singer Taylor Swift withdrawing from performing at the Melbourne Cup, Phillips became aware how little people know about racing. ‘If they knew more about it, they would be more comfortable about racing’, he says.

Phillips has been training since 1993, enjoying success with star chasers Time Won’t Wait, Gnome’s Tycoon and Noble Lord, while La Landiere provided his first Cheltenham Festival winner. He has also won awards for his charity work, including the 2021 Community Award at the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards, the 2014 Voluntary Award at the Animal Health Trust Awards and the 2011 Pride Of Racing Award from Racing Welfare.

‘I am delighted to see the idea of National Racehorse Week spring into life. It is a fantastic opportunity for our owners, staff, trainers and jockeys to come together for a common love of the racehorse. Racing can sometimes be divided, but the one thing we all agree on is our love of the horse. National Racehorse Week will be our chance to show the public and policy makers that racing has absolutely nothing to hide. We have a great story to tell, so let's get it out there and tell it’.

National Racehorse Week has gathered momentum and support from across the racing industry and is funded by the Racing Foundation, The Sir Peter O'Sullevan Charitable Trust and Great British Racing, in partnership with the National Trainers Federation. It is also the first public engagement of the Horse Welfare Board's Equine Welfare Communications Strategy, funded by the HBLB. Phillips is particularly keen to see MPs involved and visiting their local yards. ‘If racing is then discussed, they will be in a position to know more about it’.

As he points out, you never know who might walk into your yard and the influence that may have on them in the future. ‘The public sometimes thinks racing and racehorse ownership is not accessible, but it is and this is our opportunity to show that. So many of us do so much every day and put the health of our horses before our own. This is our chance to engage with local people, invite them into our yard to meet our staff and get into conversation with them’.

Rupert Arnold, Chief Executive of the National Trainers Federation, is equally enthusiastic. ‘There has been overwhelming and enthusiastic support from trainers. Everyone wants a chance to show their respect for the racehorses to whom they give such exceptional care. I am confident that trainers and their staff, who forge such a close bond with their horses, will grasp the opportunity provided by National Racehorse Week’.

It's not too great a leap of imagination to see National Racehorse Week becoming International Racehorse Week, or at the very least European Racehorse Week in years to come. It is a concept easily adopted by other countries and could work in tandem with existing stallion trail weekends, incorporating every aspect of the thoroughbred’s life— ‘from cradle to grave, a life well lived’, as Phillips says. 

‘It’s everybody’s duty to do something and it should be enjoyable, not a chore. We can show people how much we do for horses and how much they do for us. Celebrating the racehorse benefits everyone’.

If you are a trainer and interested in finding out more information please contact Harriet Rochester, harriet@nationalracehorseweek.com

To register visit www.nationalracehorseweek.uk

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TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Henry de Bromhead

By Lissa Oliver

At what could be described as the only Irish race meeting held in Britain, where 23 of the 28 Cheltenham Festival races fell to Irish trainers, one Irish trainer in particular led the way. County Waterford-based Henry de Bromhead became the first trainer to achieve the historic feat of winning the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Gold Cup in the same year.

Add to those the Triumph Hurdle, Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle and the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, and it’s little wonder de Bromhead is now looking forward to ‘catching his breath’ while quarantining back home in Ireland.

The amazing week began for the Knockeen team on day one of the Festival, when Honeysuckle powered away under Rachael Blackmore to land the Unibet Champion Hurdle. De Bromhead says of the mare, ‘She’s pretty laid back. She’s really straightforward; she likes her routine, and she’s lovely to have around the place.’

Having watched her success from the track, de Bromhead claimed it as his lucky spot and so it proved—cheering home two more winners on the Wednesday that Bob Olinger got the day’s Gr1 tally started in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, under jockey of the moment Rachael Blackmore. Then de Bromhead became the first trainer to send out a mare to win the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, with Put The Kettle On, under Aidan Coleman.

‘We are very lucky to have good mares like them,’ de Bromhead says, ‘and getting tremendous support from our owners. I thought she had a chance, but on ratings I thought she might struggle a bit; but I hoped she would have a squeak.’

The fairer sex again came up trumps for de Bromhead on the Thursday, Telmesomethinggirl, Rachael Blackmore up, leading home stablemate Magic Daze in the Grade 2 Mares’ Novices' Hurdle to give the stable a one-two. De Bromhead said on the day, ‘I’m delighted for Rachael. She is such a good rider and an ultimate professional, and she is brilliant to work with. She earns everything she gets.’

With the week just getting better and better, Quilixios became the fifth winner for the Knockeen team and the fourth Gr1 winner in the JCB Triumph Hurdle, again under Blackmore. ‘He jumped well and did everything right, de Bromhead enthused. ‘I'm delighted for the Thompsons and Cheveley Park—they're great supporters of ours. Rachael was brilliant on him and all credit to Gordon Elliott and his team—the horse looked amazing coming down to us, and we've done very little. It's more down to them than us. He's just a lovely horse to do anything with. He'll be a lovely chaser in time, I'd say.’

Then came the grand finale—the WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup, and another de Bromhead one-two. Minella Indo and young Jack Kennedy led home stablemate A Plus Tard and to complete an historic hat-trick. ‘It's massive,’ de Bromhead told the press. ‘I can't tell you what it means to win it, or just to win any of these races. I feel like I'm going to wake up and it will be Monday evening! To do this is a credit to everyone that's working with us; we couldn't do any of it without our clients supporting us. They give us the opportunity to buy these good horses, and I just feel extremely lucky.

‘We felt we had the team exactly where we wanted them heading over to Cheltenham, but I've thought that in other years, too, when we haven't done so well. I wasn't confident about any of them winning. They all seemed okay and happy in themselves, and I was just hoping that they would be able to do themselves justice. 

‘The whole week was just surreal from start to finish, from Honeysuckle to the Gold Cup and everything in between. It's magic, and I don't think it's going to sink in fully for quite some time. It's the stuff you dream about.’

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TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Susan Corbett

By Lissa Oliver

The TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Susan Corbett. Corbett will receive £1,000 worth of TopSpec feed, supplements and additives as well as a consultation with one of their senior nutritionists.

Susan Corbett trains over 20 National Hunt and Flat horses at Girsonfield Stud in Otterburn, Northumberland. On 19 December at Newcastle, Andante won the QuinnBet Quarterback “Junior” Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race and Hills Of Connemara brought up the double for the stable when winning a poignant QuinnBet Live Casino Novices’ Handicap Chase. “Andante was a bit of an accident,” Corbett confesses. “Micheál Conaghan asked if I’d make an offer on an unsold three-year-old gelding. I was giving my four-year-old granddaughter a riding lesson at the time and trying to hold her, the phone and the catalogue! I made a low offer, as I couldn’t afford the horse and didn’t want it! So Andante arrived five months ago and we broke him and kept waiting for him to tell us to back off a bit and give him a break, but instead he just kept strengthening all the time. “I took him for his first and only racecourse gallop at Newcastle and my husband Frank came to watch and said, ‘I know what I want for my birthday, I’d like that horse!’ And out he came out and won on debut at Newcastle, two days before Frank’s 70th birthday.”

Completing the stable double was Hills Of Connemara, highlighting Corbett’s patience and ability to bring back a horse from injury. “She was owned by Fred Chapman, who sadly lost his fight to cancer just two weeks ago,” Corbett reveals. “Fred liked to pay as little as possible for his horses and often just acquired them, so I was surprised when he rang to say he’d paid £17,000 for a filly at the Cheltenham Boutique Sale. “Hills Of Connemara ran with promise early in 2018 but then damaged a tendon. We got that fixed and then she damaged the other tendon.

So we spent two years trying to get her back to work, it’s a real tribute to Fred for his patience. She had been off the track for 885 days when we ran her at Hexham and she was pulled up when lack of fitness got to her. We were rushing to get her to the track while Fred could still enjoy her, but sadly he lost his battle before being able to see her repay the faith he had in her. His family were delighted by her win.”

At the age of 11, Corbett was told the stark reality by her parents that she couldn’t have a pony “because Dad only worked in a factory, he didn’t own it.” She has achieved her dream by sheer stubbornness and refusal to give up, which you could say reflects in her patient nursing back to winning ways of Hills Of Connemara. “Not coming from a family with any background in training, I have no preconceived ideas,” Corbett reflects. “I sometimes do random things, like putting Morning With Ivan back in training after her foal was weaned, and she won another five races. We’ve now done the same with Harrisons Promise. Once her filly was weaned she practically ran back into the training yard, she is better than ever.”

With son Jamie working as Assistant Trainer, having only recently retired as a jockey, and Frank managing the farm, which includes the supply of their own high-quality hay and haylage, it’s a real family affair, completed by eldest son Richard and his cousin Adam, who manage the website. They have a professional and ambitious team alongside. “I remember once reading in Trainer magazine that a trainer is only as good as the people who work for them and that has been something I’ve always kept in my mind,” Corbett says. “All the team here are a great bunch, really committed to the horses and they love their job.” In fact, last year the Girsonfield team were awarded 3-star Gold Accreditation in the Lycetts Team Champion Award and this year they made the shortlist of four, earning Gold accreditation.

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TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - Johnny Murtagh

By Lissa Oliver

The TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Johnny Murtagh. Murtagh will receive £1,000 worth of TopSpec feed, supplements and additives as well as a consultation with one of their senior nutritionists.

Johnny Murtagh had said all along that he wasn’t there for the free lunch; and on the opening day of Irish Champions Weekend, the well-named Champers Elysees ensured the drinks were on her. The three-year-old filly provided Murtagh and his team at Fox Covert Stables on the Curragh, Kildare, with a memorable first Gp1 win in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown—a remarkable improvement by Murtagh of a filly rated 86 only three months earlier.

Despite the foreshortened season, Murtagh has already surpassed previous season tallies, and Champers Elysees is his 36th winner of the season. Just to add icing to the cake, her stablemate Know It All was only narrowly denied third place, held by a head by Prix de Diane and Nassau Stakes heroine Fancy Blue. 

“I always thought she had a lot of promise,” Murtagh says of Champers Elysees, who remains unbeaten so far this year. “She ran well on her first two starts last year, so we had a go at the Tattersalls sales race where the big field was just a little too much for her; but she went back there and won two weeks later. In the Birdcatcher Nursery she just got a bit tired in the heavy ground.”

With a win and three places from her five starts at two, the interruption of COVID-19 saw a late start this year, when she collected a handicap in June on her seasonal debut. “We liked her a lot,” Murtagh reflects, “and then she won a Listed race at Galway by seven lengths, so I made the entry for the Matron Stakes. At that stage we thought of Know It All as our best filly—she’d won the Group Three Derrinstown Stud Fillies Stakes.

“Then Champers Elysees won the Group Three Fairy Bridge Stakes, and that was the key factor in convincing me to run her in the Matron Stakes—I knew she would run well. Both fillies had been going well for us at home all year, but the week before the Matron they were training really well.”

Know It All was beaten less than a length when third in the Prix Rothschild—that first Gp1 tantalisingly within reach—so the Fox Covert team had good reason to be optimistic ahead of Irish Champions Weekend, which they capped with a win in the Northfields Premier Handicap on the second day with Sonnyboyliston.

“We’ve not been doing anything different,” Murtagh says of his excellent year. “They got held up for two months at the start of the season, so they had a bit of extra training in the spring, then a bit of a break before they got going again. 

“But overall we’ve just got a better standard of horse. We’ve got them fresh and well and ready to run, and they’ve been consistent all year. I’ll be going to the sales next week, and I’ll buy a few that I like myself as I always do, and they’ve been lucky for us. The aim is always to win enough prize money for them to pay their way.

“It’s a real family affair, and my wife Orla runs the office. We’ve got a very good variety of gallops, very good staff and very good riders, which is the most important thing. There’d be no winners without them. I do enjoy sitting down at night to pick races, and this year it was easy to pick them out; they just fell right. 

“Self-belief is everything. I’m a naturally positive person, and I try to put a positive spin on everything we do. To go from champion jockey to successful trainer is hugely satisfying. I’ve worked with some of the best trainers in the world, and I’d like to think some of it has rubbed off and I’ve learned from them.”

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TopSpec - Trainer of the Quarter - Denis Hogan

By Breandán Ó hUallacháin

The TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Denis Hogan. Hogan will receive £1,000 worth of TopSpec feed, supplements and additives as well as a consultation with one of their senior nutritionists.

Denis Hogan was unsure what to expect when Sceptical, a £2,800 unraced purchase at the Horse-In-Training Sale at Doncaster in August 2019, joined him at his state of the art facilities last year. When asked how he approached the initial training of the gelding, Hogan said: “If we got a horse with form, we’d have something to go on, a line of ability, a rating probably, a distance that he races over, whereas when they’re unraced, we’re going off breeding and what they’re bred to do. Like most horses that have never raced, you build them up gradually. He then got a piece of work, and after a fast piece of work or two, we knew he was decent.” He concedes, however, that he wasn’t anxious when initially training the son of Exceed And Excel, knowing from Godolphin he had trouble breathing: “We knew he had issues, we knew his wind wasn’t perfect, but we’ve dealt with them (horses with wind problems) before.”

Though the gelding debuted on the all-weather at Dundalk on 30th October 2019, he had a wind operation after that run, with Hogan admitting “we got away with the first run.” The likeable handler states that the horse isn’t very difficult to train, describing him as “a joy to do anything with. On that score he’s 100% as good as you could ask for with temperament and attitude. His temperament, is absolutely brilliant, he’s so relaxed, calm. Nothing would phase him whatsoever, you could put him anywhere in any size of crowd, even travelling he never gets worked up. You could put him anywhere in a race – up front, out the back, in the middle.” Sceptical’s training routine has essentially remained the same since his arrival. It is quite simple; it doesn’t involve anything special, according to the Tipperary native, who is lucky to have access to a 5-furlong deep sand gallop and another gallop similar to Dundalk for his top charge. “We don’t over gallop him really, he’d be cantering away, and turn him out as much as we can; he might have a gallop at The Curragh or somewhere before a big race, but that would be it really.” Though Sceptical has run on both the all-weather and turf, his training doesn’t change much, irrespective of the surface he’s being prepared for: “No, not massively – much the same, only that the surface is different. I suppose he doesn’t need to be over the top fit for the all-weather, it’s an easy surface and horses skip off it – they tend to take the race quite well, not as hard as soft ground.”

While proudly conceding that he has many race options with a horse of this quality, the Cloughjordan man is cautious about asking too much of his stable star: “We have to be careful we pick the right races now and not over-race him. With a horse like this we have a couple of options, a few different plans. The Group 1 races are literally all overseas now, and right into the autumn, there are winter festivals in every corner of the world nowadays. I’d imagine he’d be kept busy.”

In citing the international success of his fellow county man, Tom Hogan, with the late Gordon Lord Byron, Denis Hogan may be considering some long haul flights for this laid-back individual: “Australia – there’s some big prize money down there, and he could be a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup, or the Prix de l’Abbaye, and Saudi has the big racing festival out there in February – there’s tonnes of options out there.”

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TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter - David Cottin

The TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by David Cottin. Cottin will receive £1,000 worth of TopSpec feed, supplements and additives as well as a consultation with one of their senior nutritionists.

“For me, Cheltenham is the temple of jumping and the most prestigious place to win a race, it’s a dream come true,” says David Cottin, talking about Easysland’s Cross Country Chase success, the first Cheltenham Festival win of his training career.

Cottin has only been training in Chantilly, and in the tranquil second base in Lion-d’Angers in the Loire Valley, since September 2017 and his first runner was also his first winner, Amour Du Puy Noir. A former three-time champion jockey in France, amassing 13 Group 1 wins and 732 wins, Cottin is the son of retired trainer Philippe Cottin. Having spent time in the UK with Andrew Balding, Paul Nicholls and Philip Hobbs, Cottin works alongside partner Amanda Zetterholm, former assistant to Mike de Kock. 

Calm and tranquillity are Cottin’s by-words. At Chantilly, a sand paddock and two large grazing paddocks are used for daily turnout, while he has also taken over his father’s stable in western France, a perfect setting for breaking-in, training and resting horses.

“I used to love Cheltenham even as a child,” Cottin says, “and I had the race in mind for Easysland since early autumn, when I started to get him back for the track. My father trained for 25 years and he always said Easysland would be a very special cross-country horse, even when he was being broken in. He has been prepared by racing, I’m very easy on my horses at home. I wanted him to progress for his races, so he was not fit for his first race of the season, but he is unbeaten.”

Formed by his father, a cross-country specialist, Cottin never schools his older horses in the morning, including Easysland. “With my young stock, we school a lot in the calm, with a lot of repetition to get the horses mechanised. Repetition, repetition, repetition, not speed,” he reveals. “My father’s stable in the Loire Valley is three hours away and my horses go out to the calm of the country for breaks. They are all broken and pre trained in the country and when they are ready to race they come to Chantilly for hard work.”

At Cheltenham, Cottin was expecting another good run from Easysland, who had won by seven lengths over the same course and distance in December. “He seemed really well at home, his coat had changed, he was in good form and it was a really big advantage to have come here in December and to know the track. The heavy ground was also in his favour. While he is only a six-year-old, with a cross-country horse you have to train them when they are young over those jumps. We have been very patient with him and that has paid off.

“I always dreamed of riding a winner here as a jockey and unfortunately it didn't happen, but I'm really pleased to be here now, and it's all down to the team at home who are very motivating. We have a lot of horses and a lot of staff. It was massive for them, they were all watching at home.”

Winning jockey Jonathan Plouganou says of Easysland, “He is the best cross-country horse. He has beaten Tiger Roll, a real champion, so to beat him was special and now Easysland is the champion. This race is really special, it was an honour to ride in it, but to win it is even more important, especially in the cross-country which is a discipline I love, it means everything.”

As well as Easysland, Cottin has several nice older horses, including Paul’s Saga, who will be aimed at the Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil, and Dalahast, who has the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris as an objective.

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VetSet Trainer of the Quarter - Ben Case

By Ben Case

Amongst the different training successes from the Cheltenham Festival, one ‘smaller’ trainer stood out. Ben Case himself isn’t exactly small in stature, after all he’s built more like a rugby player than a jockey. His Edgcote yard, nestled in the Northamptonshire countryside, is blessed with the patronage of loyal owners with many being part of the yard since Case first took out his licence some twenty years ago.

The success of Croco Bay in the Gr3 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase is by far the most prolific of Case’s career and caps a memorable month for Case who enjoyed his first success at Newbury with First Draft back on March 2nd. Both horses have handsomely contributed to the earnings of the Wardington Gate Farm team this season, one which is set to be their highest earning season to date.

But what makes Croco Bay’s success stand out? Take a look at the form book, and the last time that Croco Rouge was seen on a racecourse came some 227 days prior when running second in a midsummer chase at Worcester. Before that, it was a further 501 days to his previous start when finishing 5th in the 2017 running of the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual.

"I don't know what to say”, reported Case. “A week ago I wasn't sure we would get in, and I have to thank Paul Webber, who let me swim Croco Bay. I knew he was fit as he went to Newbury the other day and never blew a candle out. He was in great form. He just loves it. He runs with his heart on his sleeve and I'm thrilled...lost for words.

"There has been a lot of work going into Croco Bay. He had a year off the previous year, and we brought him back from a long lay-off to run at Worcester, when he ran very well. The ground was a bit on and off afterwards, and I thought if we are ever going to have the chance of winning a big race, he has to come back here. We gave him the winter off and brought him back after Christmas. He loves it around here. He has been third and fifth, and the time I really did fancy him he fell at the water, which is very unlike him, but he has made up for it today.

"He is 12-years-old, but he is like a six-year-old at home. He has a great attitude, the horse, and if he was worked up, I would be worried. He has been to all the festivals—here, Aintree, Galway, Punchestown—and to win here is fantastic. He is proper handicapper. He is what he is, but he goes out there and runs his heart out every time. For a small yard like ours to have somebody like him, it is great for us.

"This is what we do the job for, to have days like this. We have about 30 in the yard, and it is a very small team. Everybody knows each other really well and have been with me for a long time. I am just really pleased for everybody. It is an emotional occasion. The owner has put a lot into it. We buy and sell foals. She has a few horses in training with me, and we have had a lot of fun. We had a big winner with Deep Trouble at Punchestown a long time ago, and this horse has carried the can for us as well."

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Trainer of the Quarter - Brian Ellison

The TRM Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Brian Ellison. Ellison and his team will receive a selection of products from the internationally acclaimed range of TRM supplements as well as a bottle of fine Irish whiskey.

By Oscar Yeadon

A familiar face on Britain’s northern racing circuit, first as a jockey and then as a trainer for the last three decades, the Yorkshire-based team of trainer Brian Ellison has established itself as one of the most potent dual-purpose strings in Britain.

Since moving into his Spring Cottage Stables, in Malton, in the early 2000s, Ellison’s record on both the Flat and over Jumps has improved both in terms of quantity and quality. The last five years have been particularly fruitful, including breakthrough black type winners on the Flat and the emergence of stable star, Definitly Red.

This autumn Definitly Red has reaffirmed his credentials as a genuine contender for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, following an unbeaten start to the current season with Gr2 victories at Wetherby and Aintree.

In the 2017/18 campaign, Definitly Red finished sixth in the Gold Cup after winning the Cotswold Chase, but won’t take in that race en route to the Cheltenham Festival in 2019. “I thought at the time he had had a hard race,” remembers Ellison, “but he’s in great form this year and we’ll keep him for Cheltenham, possibly followed by the Aintree Bowl. If the ground’s good or good to soft, he has a chance.”

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Definitly Red ridden by Danny Cook jumps the last fence before going on to win the Bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby Races.

If Definitly Red offers Spring Bank Stables a live hope in the Gold Cup, their recent Gr3 Greatwood Hurdle winner Nietzsche could uphold the team’s honour over hurdles at the spring festivals.

“Nietzsche travelled great and did well at Cheltenham. The tongue strap has helped since last year and while we have to see what does in the meantime, he may go to Cheltenham, as he does like it round there.”

If it’s the jumpers who have been adding to the yard’s haul of black type winners, the Flat string hasn’t been far away. The 2018 flagbearer was the top-class juvenile filly, The Mackem Bullet, who twice finished second to Ballydoyle’s leading 1000 Guineas fancy, Fairyland, in the Lowther Stakes and Cheveley Park Stakes.

Ellison has been quoted as saying that The Mackem Bullet is the best horse he has trained, and she ended her season with a more-than-respectable sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf at Churchill Downs. “It was a great feeling to be at Churchill Downs. She was only beaten a length and a half for second, on soft ground. If it had been good, I think she would have been placed.”

The Mackem Bullet’s owner, Katsumi Yoshida, has kept his filly in the US where she may enter training or instead head to Japan to enter her owner’s breeding programme. Her departure leaves a sizeable hole to fill in the string for 2019, but Ellison is looking forward to the season ahead.

“At this moment in time, I think we have the best band we have ever had. Not necessarily of the quality of The Mackem Bullet, but the two-year-olds look nice, and we’re always trying to improve the quality of the string.”

Ellison’s enthusiasm is readily apparent but perhaps in a nod to his days in the saddle, you get the sense that his first love is National Hunt racing.

“I wish I had more jumpers; we have 30 or so at the moment, but in addition to Definitly Red and Forest Bihan, there is Windsor Avenue, who I rate very highly and should make a lovely chaser, and also Ravenhill Road.

“All you ever need as a trainer is one good horse.”  

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Trainer of the Quarter - Niels Petersen

The TRM Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Niels Petersen. Petersen and his team will receive a selection of products from the internationally acclaimed range of TRM supplements as well as a bottle of fine Irish whiskey.

By Oscar Yeadon   

As one of Scandinavia’s leading trainers since taking out his licence in 1998, and a multiple champion trainer, few would have been surprised to see the Niels Petersen-trained Square De Luynes prevail in the latest renewal of the Norsk Derby at Ovrevoll on 26th August.

After all, this was the Ovrevoll-based trainer’s fifth success in the race, but while Petersen had long held Square De Luynes in high regard, the route to the Norsk Derby hadn’t been the most straightforward and came after a year of planning.

“We knew we had him in outstanding condition for the Norsk Derby, so the result wasn’t a complete surprise. He had had a fetlock operation at two, which meant we had a quiet winter last year. It was then when we decided to aim him for the Norsk Derby.

“We had fantastic weather this summer but the downside of this was that the ground was fast, fast, fast everywhere, so he went to the Guineas for his seasonal debut, and finished an unlucky second.

“I wanted to try him over distance before the Norsk Derby, so we sent him to the Swedish Derby, where maybe the ground didn’t suit him and he finished sixth. The race served its purpose and left five or six weeks until his target race.”

Square De Luynes finished behind his winning stablemate Nordic Defense in the Swedish Derby, but tables were turned when the pair met each other in the Norwegian equivalent a month later.

“On the day, we were confident [about Square De Luynes]”, remembers Petersen. “The race panned out as we thought it might, and Nordic Defense wasn’t fluent on Ovrevoll’s undulating ground.”

So what next for Square De Luynes? “He’s a wonderful horse if maybe a little fragile, and we decided in mid-September that we should put him away now, and build him up for next season. We are going to think about Dubai this winter. He’s an unexposed type and can go further. As he’s also still unfurnished, a winter with the sun on his back could be to his advantage.”

Square De Luynes’ Norsk Derby victory was backed up on the same card by that of his stablemate, Our Last Summer, who won the Group 3 Marit Sveaas Minnelop. As well as providing Petersen with a fourth winner in the race, the trainer could be having a busy autumn on the international scene as Our Last Summer could head to the Canadian International at Woodbine if - at the time of writing - he wins or runs well in the Stockholm Cup.

Further ahead, Petersen is also looking towards 2019. “We have some lovely two-year-olds, including a couple of really nice types, by Sea The Moon and Siyouni, so we look look really good for next year.”

Factor in the likes of Square De Luynes and Our Last Summer with the rest of Petersen’s 50-strong string and it’s easy to see the trainer adding to his current tally of 10 Scandinavian derbies.

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