Hindsight: Tommy Stack
/Published in European Trainer, January - March 2018, issue 60.
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NEW: 'Hindsight' - Clive Brittain
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Published in European Trainer - October - December 2017, issue 59
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In a training career spanning more than 40 years, Clive Brittain and his Carlburg Stables in Newmarket became synonymous with high-profile success in Britain and on the international racing scene.
Clive’s lengthy resume of top-flight wins includes six British Classics and overseas triumphs in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and Japan Cup, achieved by horses such as the legendary Pebbles, User Friendly, Jupiter Island and Warrsan.
Two years on from his retirement, Clive reflects on the pivotal moments and people in his amazing career.
During your time with Sir Noel Murless, you were part of the move from Beckhampton Stables to Newmarket, which has been your home for more than 60 years. What are your memories of working for Sir Noel Murless and what changes have you seen in Newmarket in this time?
“Sir Noel was a very good boss, a very fair man, and never changed. I started out as an apprentice jockey, but I made a very good stable man and went with Sir Noel and the team to Warren Place. At the time, the stable held around 70 horses, which was a lot in those days, as most of established trainers would have around 50 horses with Geoffrey Brooke possibly having around 60, most of which were two-year-olds.
“Sir Noel later became the first trainer to have more than 100 horses, but numbers today for the larger trainers are typically well over 150 horses per trainer. We later had 160 horses between two yards, Carlburg and one at Stetchworth, on Bill Gredley’s estate, of around 30 boxes.”
You achieved notable success with long-priced runners in the big races (such as Terimon's second in the 1989 Derby at 500/1). What do you think of the BHA's recent decision to put a minimum qualifying rating of 80 on contenders for the Group 1 races for three-year-olds and upwards?
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Profile: Julian McLaren
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Published in European Trainer - October - December 2017, issue 59
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The rising star in Scandinavian racing
Julian McLaren was suddenly thrown into a trainer’s role less than two years ago and quickly started to make a name for himself on the Scandinavian racecourses. European Trainer caught up with the young Swedish trainer to discuss racing in Scandinavia, the new Stockholm racecourse, and how he overcome his fear of riding.
Growing up around racehorses, Julian McLaren always knew that he wanted to devote his life to horse racing. Having a trainer as a father and a racing administrator as a mother, the Swede has been a part of the Scandinavian racing community since before he could walk. “My dad, Alex McLaren, came to Sweden from Scotland in 1979 and started training near Stockholm shortly after,” Julian McLaren explains. “I grew up on the farm where he trained, and later we moved closer to the city and kept the horses at Täby Galopp.”
As a teenager, he spent most of his free time at the track, and once he finished school, his involvement in the racing industry became more serious. Valet, jockey’s agent, starting stall handler, and stable hand are only a few of the many roles Julian McLaren, now 30, has experienced.
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Christophe Ferland - A man with a plan
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First published in European Trainer issue 58 - July - September 2017
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When Christophe Ferland is talking to you, you have his full attention.
He might need to break off the interview for a few moments to deal with something at the yard or on the phone, or to look at a horse, but he will resume exactly where he stopped, without missing a beat. Is this ability to concentrate 100% on what he is doing one of the ingredients in the recipe for the success of French Flat racing’s rising star?
With a jockey-turned-head-lad for a father, Ferland cannot remember the first time he saw a horse. “But I do remember going racing with my father, although he was no longer a jockey at the time, and loving it!” he says now.
So, after a few years riding out in the morning for several renowned trainers including David Smaga and starting in a dozen races as a gentleman rider “without much success or passion, as I really lacked competitive spirit at the time,” he decided that training really captivated him. His mind was made up: he would be a trainer.'
“You have to keep searching – why something went wrong and how to correct it, what could still be improved even when things go well... Never take anything for granted.”
GALLERY
The Saviour of Greek Racing
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First published in European Trainer issue 58 - July - September 2017
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Making progress and facilitating change in racing can be tough and time consuming. Doing it in a challenging economic environment makes it tougher still. With that in mind, the strides being made in Greece, where the racing industry had fallen to its knees, is both admirable and encouraging.
Making progress and facilitating change in racing can be tough and time consuming. Doing it in a challenging economic environment makes it tougher still. With that in mind, the strides being made in Greece, where the racing industry had fallen to its knees, is both admirable and encouraging.
The article “Greek racing hoping for revival of fortunes” published in Issue 45 of European Trainer offers a more detailed explanation of the decline of the sport in Greece. The scene at the new venue of Markopoulo, 35 kilometres from the capital, was far removed from the halcyon days of high betting turnover and large crowds at a vibrant track close to Athens.
However, in January, 2016, OPAP (a Greek-based betting company) was granted the licence to organise and conduct racing in Greece. Improved relations with the Greek Jockey Club, who are still responsible for the governance of the sport, have followed, as Costas Alexopoulos, chief of operations, explains. Alexopoulos says, “We have a very close relationship with the Jockey Club now. There have been differences but we cooperate very well.”
With the need for racing in Greece to become a commercial success, OPAP are keen to make the right calls, turning to Fin Powrie, a man with extensive international experience in the industry, to organise and implement a plan for change. The Australian previously worked in Dubai, Bahrain, India, New Zealand, and his homeland. Powrie speaks with enthusiasm about the work being done in Greece and seems encouraged by the progress made since his arrival.
Profile: Dr Lynn Hillyer - The veterinary chief of Irish racing
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First published in European Trainer issue 57 - April '17 - June '17
Man o'War - The first 100 years
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First published in European Trainer issue 57 - April '17 - June '17
Charles Enderby - The Hexham racecourse supremo on the business of running an independent racecourse
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This article appeared in - European Trainer, Issue 55, October to December 2016
Punching above their weight - How Liz Doyle and Evanna McCutcheon fare against the big hitters
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Björn Zachrisson - Swedish racing’s great innovator
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Louisa Carberry - The up and coming French National Hunt Trainer in profile
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JEAN-PIERRE CARVALHO - the French trainer in Germany
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Ed Dunlop - The 2015 Ascot Gold Cup winning trainer profile
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Of Ed Dunlop’s 24 Group or Grade 1 winners, all but seven have taken place outside Britain. Among current trainers, he is the leading exponent of the art of travelling that most delicate animal – the fit, primed racehorse – round the world and returning home with a suitably large cheque.
Read MoreAndrzej Walicki
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Andrzej Walicki is an exceptional personage of the Polish turf. Although he isn't the only active horse trainer in Poland with close to a 50-year tenure, the successes of his charges make him the best Polish trainer since World War II, if not in the entire history of Polish horseracing.
Read MoreEddie Lynam - more than just the "sprint king" trainer
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The Eddie Lynam story appears to be one of overnight success, but like all overnight success stories, it was 30 years in the making. His story illustrates how tough things really are for most trainers, while highlighting why it is that they persevere. Success hinges on the right horse coming along and, for Lynam, they’re now coming along in their droves.
Read MoreMeet Wesley Ward - preparing for Royal Ascot 2015
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Cover Profile - Andreas Wöhler
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Top German trainer Andreas Wöhler first featured in these columns ten years ago, but his career has reached such new heights with his victories in two of the world´s most iconic races—Ascot´s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in July 2013 with Novellist, and the Melbourne Cup in November 2014 with Protectionist—that he is certainly worth a second look now.
Read MoreTrainer on the Up - Super Swede, Jessica Long
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Jessica Long has only been training for five or six years but her pedigree (she is the daughter of Swedish trainer Caroline Stromberg) speaks volumes, with recent victory at Jägerso, with home-bred Berling victorious in the Swedish Open Mile, followed by Volatile’s terrific 3rd place in the Dubai Cornwallis Stakes at Newmarket this October. Both horses were her first British runners, Berling being entered in the Darley Stakes the same day.
Read MoreCover Profile - Guillermo Arizkorreta
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In eight years with a licence, Guillermo Arizkorreta has been Spain’s champion trainer three times and has his sights set on a prime international target.
Read MoreEquine Products UK - Trainer on the up - Harry Fry
/After four years working as assistant to champion National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls, Harry Fry took the plunge and set up his own operation with the backing of his mentor and landlord Richard Barber in 2012.
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