Alan King toasted success in his first Group I winner on the Flat when Trueshan saw off a sustained challenge from Away He Goes in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup today, winning by 3 3/4l going away. The stable's first Group I completes a transition to a fully dual purpose stable that is barely 4 years in the making, and has established King as one of the principal dual-purpose trainers in the country....

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Whilst Andrew Nicholson was polishing off a fourth 4* win at Barbury's International Horse Trials a few weeks ago, another horse trainer in a different discipline was re-invigorating a previous hopeful in Stratford's Silver Salver, its mid summer handicap hurdle feature.  Hang In There enjoyed a promising novice introduction when winning a graded race at Cheltenham in November 2019 before lo...

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Barbury was a sadder place today with the news that Lil Rockerfeller, a stalwart of Neil King's burgeoning traing operation along the ridge at Burderop, had succumbed to a heart attack after the listed Dawn Run Chase at Auteuil on Sunday.  The ultimate trier among racehorses was running for Andrew Hollinshead, who trains in France, following a spell with Tom George's successful French raidin...

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You know the racing world is short of news when the hoary old chestnut of yet another day to the Cheltenham Festival rears its ugly head again.  I can scarcely believe this debate has resurfaced once more, and it must surely be the case that this rumour emanated far from Prestbury Park. There are so many reasons why a 5 day Festival should not come on the agenda presently.  Ground Som...

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After a few narrow misses at Ascot last week, Marlborough trainers are back to more mundane matters under both codes, but winning remains the name of the game. And not everyone runs a yard with 100+ horses.  Exit Marlborough on the A4 westward, and before you reach the Kennet long barrow, you'll find Flintstone Stud on your left hand side, at East Kennet. Set up by racing and breeding enthus...

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Everleigh-based Richard Hannon Jnr has trained a number of great horses, although one has stood out from the rest in his yard in the 2021 flat campaign. Oh This Is Us has performed extremely well over the course of the season to date, winning two of his seven runs. Hannon will now be pressing his charge forward for a run at Newmarket in the Bunbury Cup in July. There will be a number of strong co...

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Emma Lavelle has grabbed the opportunity brought about by her move to Ogbourne Maizey with both hands, and after an excellent season last term, she's maintaining the momentum in these quieter months of the summer campaign.  Tom Bellamy, her new stable jockey, is another making the most of his opportunities, the latest of which came with the long trip to Cartmel on Saturday, where 5 year old ...

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Following the completion of Newmarket’s Qipco Guineas Festival and the return of spectators to the track, racing fans are looking ahead to a huge summer of big races. The Cazoo Oaks and Derby Festival runs over June 4-5th. Every owner, trainer, and jockey wants to win in these major festivals, and whether you're a diehard Jumps man or a died-in-the-wool Flat follower, the top summer fes...

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Burderop handler Neil King will train Bedale Maiden winner Poet's Corner next season, after the 5 year old was knocked down to him for £38,000 at last Friday's Tattersalls April Sale at Cheltenham.  Trained to win his Maiden by Nicky Tinkler, Poet's Corner follows a growing trend of British pointers tracking the Irish model of using Pointing as a nursery for a step into Rules racing....

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The professional season concluded on Saturday much as the previous one had: with Alan King winning the bet 365 Gold Cup. But, as so often happens in this famous old race, it was an incident-packed finish, in which Barbury's Potterman, winner of 5 of his 13 steeplechases, was promoted to first place in the Stewards' Room. On a day otherwise dominated by the Nicholls team, Enrilo, trained by the ep...

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Cheltenham's final fixture for professional riders has been dedicated to promoting races for mares for the past 10 years or so, set up at the instigation of BHA to provide a platform for British breeders to showcase their wares. And in truth, it's taken that long for the whole mares programme to win traction successfully.  That Honeysuckle won the Champion Hurdle is a fillip for the distaff ...

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Racing at Cheltenham after the Festival always has a sniff of "after the Lord Mayor's Show" about it, but with just 10 days to go until this season closes, the recurrent themes of the season (excluding the Irish domination) were on show again today.  The tussle for the Jockeys' Championship grew one more winner out of Brian Hughes' reach after the winner tally for the day was 2:1 in favour o...

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Those of us following the amateur division of the sport are well used to successful women riders. In a sport where around 50% of the riders are female, it is hardly a surprise to see the spoils of victory shared broadly equally between genders. The likes of Gina Andrews, her sister Bridget before her, Claire Hart and others testify to a structure that offers equal opportunity, whatever your gender...

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The Cheltenham Festival is upon us with just a little under a week until the UK’s most exciting Jump racing event begins. Right now, jockeys, horses, and stables are the stuff of tipsters and news reports, awaiting the roar for the opening Supreme Novices Hurdle that will this year have to be restricted to our sofas at home. And right now it is the Tizzard camp that is raising eyebrows after...

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It was a day for Kings as both Barbury trainers scored at Ludlow and Taunton today.  Neil King  and Millie Wonnacott teamed up to give the Burderop trainer his first winner since December, although there's no indication he's been out of form. In the first months of this year, the stable has only had 22 runners, due to ground and weather conditions. And as is so often the case, runners r...

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A brief debate last week as to the flexibility of rescheduling the Grand National came to nothing after both the racecourse and BHA opted to retain the status quo. Former managing director of Aintree Racecourse, John Baker,  revealed that the date of this year's Grand National might come under scrutiny, if it would help to move in line with the reopening of betting shops in England on April ...

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There are trainers you know have a particular penchant for specific courses, and specific races. Just as you could always expect David Nicholson to produce a good novice chaser at Warwick, so you can always expect his former protege, now highly successful top 5 trainer in his own right - Alan King - to target horses at Kempton's Adonis Hurdle en route to a tilt at the Triumph.  And so it was...

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Alan King warmed up to the sport's most important month with a double at Warwick this afternoon on a day when Spring might finally have sprung. And by his own exacting standards, the master of Barbury has not enjoyed a vintage season just yet, with the winner count down on the norm, even though there have been some memorable highlights.  Jay Bee Why, 2/7 favourite in the Novices Hurdle, and ...

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Following the Prime Minister’s Announcement yesterday, the Point-to-Point Authority is planning to restart the sport in week commencing March 29. Peter Wright, CEO, reported, "We are working hard to create a new fixture list which reflects the situation, and hope to have one available by the end of this week – there is no shortage of volunteers.  I realise that this will be disa...

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Most yards would give their eye teeth for a horse of the calibre and appetite for racing of Sceau Royal. He's a winner of 14 of his 36 races and a fabulous total of £464,610 in winnings, including the most recent at Newbury on Sunday. For a two mile conditions race, the Game Spirit runs the risk of setting up a bloodless victory, which has happened on a regular basis previously. Yet this yea...

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