Station Master sale caps big week for fledgling Fahey

By anyone's standards, the last seven days have been particularly eventful for Peter Fahey, son of leading Flat trainer Richard.

Not only did he witness his father's Ribchester run out a mightily impressive winner of the Lockinge Stakes on Saturday, but less than 24 hours earlier he had saddled the first Rules winner of his own nascent training career - with his very first runner outside of the amateur game.

Station Master, who landed the Aintree point-to-point bumper by no fewer than 11 lengths, also provided jockey Billy Garritty with a first win under Rules. And, in a neat twist of fate, it came at the very same course - and almost ten years to the day - where Garritty's father Russ had brought down the curtain on his own illustrious riding career, with a third-place finish on Lease Lend.

Nor was this the only time Station Master had provided Fahey with a first, as he provided the 23-year-old with his maiden success as a jockey when landing an Askham Bryan point-to-point back in February.

While a first winner would seem assured of an eternal place in the heart of all trainers, there is far less of a guarantee about a place in their stable - especially when they are cut from particularly shrewd cloth. And so it was that Fahey offloaded the six-year-old son of Scorpion during Wednesday's session of the Goffs UK Spring Sale. The horse was purchased by Aiden Murphy, acting on behalf of Kim Bailey, for £48,000.

"He was bought for me to ride, before my bottle went!" quipped Fahey on how he came to train Station Master. "The Aintree race had always been the plan - point form can be a little hard to weigh up but we knew it would take a fair one to beat him that day. We hadn't really looked beyond that race, so it wasn't a difficult decision to sell."

Thanks to his association with his father's formidable string, Fahey is no stranger to success. But he says that having his own name in the racecard makes it all the more enjoyable.

"It was the best feeling," he says. "Obviously Ribchester was pretty special too, but it's nice when it's in your own name. The plan is to have four or five more pointers next season. I'd like to be competitive in hunter chases before I think about taking out a full license. I've had three winners now and hopefully I can have a few more next season, it would be nice to bring a couple back here to sell next year as well."

The boost to the Fahey coffers from Friday's success and Wednesday's sale could hardly be more timely. For if the previous week had not provided enough excitement, Donna Mackay will soon be able to call herself a trainer's wife: the couple's wedding is scheduled to take place on Saturday.