'They're the future of the sport' - Pendil Partnership in full swing as early runners showcase syndicate for youngsters

The Pendil Partnership's entrance into National Hunt syndication ownership has certainly turned heads and hopes are high it can prove a cornerstone for younger generations. 

It was set up by Rupert and Dee Swallow – the former's mother and grandmother owned the great Pendil, dual winner of the King George VI Chase – in a bid to entice 21-to-40-year-olds into sharing the experience of racehorse ownership. The team, now joined by leading amateur jockey Will Biddick and agent Ed Bailey, have seen their first two runners win, and in some style. 

Three-time point-to-point winner Regatta De Blanc struck on her first start under rules at Taunton this month – trained and ridden by Biddick – while the Paul Nicholls-trained Il Pino stepped up from his Chaddesley Corbett point-to-point win with an easy victory in a Wincanton novice hurdle in November.

On how the syndicate came to be established, Bailey says: "Originally, Rupert Swallow approached Will Biddick, who had trained Porlock Bay to win the Fox Hunters' at the Cheltenham Festival. Rupert had this idea in mind as Will was collecting the trophy and it went from there, going on to buy two horses at the sales to try to create a syndicate for young people to get together. 

Regatta De Blanc was a ready winner for The Pendil Partnership at Taunton in JanuaryCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"It's about trying to bring together like-minded people who have the same interests. Rupert had been part of some syndicates in the past and felt the ownership experience wasn't quite perfected, he wanted more content and to build a community feel about it. He thought what a great thing to do for young people to get together."

Up to 3,000 people can be involved in each horse – two have run this season, with a third in the pipeline – and the 12-month package includes stable visits, exclusive on and off-course content, plus a share of winnings and owners' badges and discounted tickets. Syndicate-TPP01, as it is known, contains both Il Pino and Regatta De Blanc for a one-off cost of £75.

Bailey is happy to acknowledge the sport's need to attract younger people, both as owners and racegoers, and believes this syndicate could figure in such considerations.

"The sport definitely needs more young people and that was the idea behind it, a syndicate purely for the young," he says. "They're the future of the sport and we need to give them as much encouragement as possible."

Of course, the concept isn't brand spanking new, while the proliferation of syndicates in recent times meant that the Pendil Partnership team had to think outside the box. What better way than to introduce an official social side for its young members?

Bailey, whose high-profile purchases include 2023 Leopardstown Grade 1 winner Good Land and Aintree Foxhunters' scorer Famous Clermont, says: "We're planning to do events throughout the year. We had some drinks at the Sydney Arms in London last Thursday, and the idea is to build this into a community of friendship and allow everyone to enjoy it together. We've got over 300 [members] at the minute."

There is evidently plenty of thought that goes into buying horses for the syndicate. One principle is that the individual has to be sound and hardy enough to stand up to regular racing. 

Bailey says: "It's just about trying to buy a quality horse, whatever the target is. It does help having a horse who is robust enough to run regularly; Regatta De Blanc is certainly one who can run a lot. She and Il Pino are two quality horses."

Il Pino: chaser in the making was an easy winner at Wincanton in November for The Pendil PartnershipCredit: The Pendil Partnership

Il Pino, who was bought for €52,000 as a store from the Goffs Land Rover Sale in 2021, was a three-length winner of his point-to-point as a four-year-old the following December. Biddick rode and trained the son of Coastal Path before his transfer to Nicholls, for whom he stylishly retained his unbeaten record a couple of months ago. 

These early successes are something of a bonus, however, as Bailey and the syndicate have an eye on the future with the gelding. 

"Il Pino is doing really well but he's still a big baby and is very much an embryonic chaser, so we'll take our time with him," he says. "He was very good when he won his point-to-point and he was very, very good when he won over hurdles at Wincanton.

"The horse he beat really well is now rated 129, so I think he's a proper horse to jump a fence with next year."

The equally promising fellow six-year-old Regatta De Blanc is pencilled in for some big targets, and her future should be bright too.

The Shirocco mare, also a Land Rover purchase by Bailey in 2021, for €55,000, won three point-to-points at Larkhill by an aggregate of 38-plus lengths, and then stepped up again at Taunton on her first start under rules in a hunter chase. There, she defeated more experienced rivals to score cosily by a length. 

"Regatta De Blanc is a lovely, progressive mare with huge amounts of ability and it was that which got her through at Taunton," says Bailey. "She made a few novicey mistakes on her first time at a proper racecourse, jumping some big fences against some hardened older horses. 

"She had to step up massively and her natural ability won her the race. There's plenty to work on and she's seriously exciting."

He adds: "Our end-of-season goal with her is the evening hunter chase meeting at Cheltenham in May. She'll go to the Coronation Cup next, which is a really good open point-to-point off level weights and we'll find out how good she is there.

"May is the goal for this season but we really want to try to win the Fox Hunters' down the line. Will's done an amazing job with her."

Will Biddick: leading amateur rider has been heavily involvedCredit: Edward Whitaker

There is every chance the Pendil Partnership could in future branch out into breeding too, and Bailey says: "It's something I think we'll do down the line as I've got quite a lot of ideas and that's one of them. It's certainly something in our minds as the mares get older."

Jubilee Alpha, a five-year-old by Flemensfirth, was a pricier Land Rover acquisition at €120,000 in the summer of 2022. She is going the bumper route rather than starting out in point-to-points, and is due to make her debut soon for the Nicholls yard.

Bailey says: "She's an exciting mare who we'll be looking to syndicate next season. Our buying model is to purchase stores, validate them by running them and then syndicating them, so she'll be added to the roster next year. 

"She's a good-looking mare. She was bred by Cathal Ennis and reared by Denis Cummins at Rathturtin, and we purchased her at the Land Rover Sale. She was trained by Will last year and has been showing the right signs for Paul."

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