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

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 - 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 - 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 - Roger Teal

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Trainer of the Quarter - Jessica Harrington

Published in European Trainer, January - March 2018, issue 60.

Trainer Jessica Harrington has maintained an excellent run of form under both codes through 2017, including in the most recent quarter, which included a Listed success on the Flat at Great Yarmouth; winning seasonal debuts for two of the stable’s leading lights, Sizing John and Jezki; and a close second at Ascot’s Champions meeting for Torcedor.

On the back of winning three Gold Cups at the end of last season, the winning return of Sizing John in the Grade 1 John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase pleased Harrington enormously. She said, “I was delighted with Sizing John. You never know what mark those three races might have left and he’s in great form.”

So how does Harrington rate 2017 overall, given the spread and level of success through the year?

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Trainer of the Quarter - Matthieu Palussiere

First published in European Trainer issue 58 - July - September 2017

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“I would definitely say she is right up there with my top 4 or 5 fillies I’ve owned, there were 4 or 5 ‘millionaire’ horses in that race and she showed them. For so many people, this meant so much and everyone was emotional about this win. I would like to credit my incredible team behind us in Ireland who have been with us for a long time, and now in France - it is as much their win as ours”

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Trainer of the Quarter - Nicky Henderson

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