'It's the right move' - Harry Whittington to relinquish licence at the end of season to focus on pre-training

Grade 1-winning trainer Harry Whittington says he is swapping one passion for another after announcing his intention to cease training at the end of next month and resume pre-training.

Whittington, 42, enjoyed success at the highest level as a trainer, securing the Grade 1 Manifesto Novices' Chase at Aintree with Arzal in 2016 and the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival with Simply The Betts.

Whittington, who is based just outside Lambourn, turned his hand to training having previously pre-trained for the likes of Tom Dascombe and Nicky Henderson, and the opportunity to return to educating young stock is one he is relishing.

“I have always loved pre-training horses, it’s something I get a real kick out of, and it was something we have always considered doing again,” Whittington said. “With Tom moving back [to Lambourn] he was keen for me to break in a few of his young horses again, and I’ve been sent a few horses by Ed Walker and Laurence Bellman too — between them they have plenty of horses and have kept us busy. 

“I have been doing both training and pre-training, and have been able to get a good insight into the two different models alongside each other. It’s tough as a trainer and I’m really looking forward to what comes next, hopefully with a few more winners to come before I stop at the end of the jumps season.”

Whittington has trained 174 winners on the Flat and over jumps in Britain, with the likes of Grade 2-winners Saint Calvados, Bigmartre and Rouge Vif also providing him with big-race triumphs.

Simply The Betts: gave Harry Whittington a first Cheltenham Festival winnerCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

However, Whittington admitted it has become increasingly difficult to source inexpensive young horses, which has multiplied the challenges of training.

“It’s tough now to source jumps horses who are good value,” he said. “We had Arzal, Bigmartre and Emerging Force who all cost £50,000 or less and because we could find value and we had a good system here we were able to build things up, but it’s difficult to do that.

“I’ve always been about trying to find talent and nurturing a young horse in a system that means they can come back year after year and keep performing. I’ve had a lot of pleasure out of training and I had that bit of luck you need when you are doing it, but the switch to pre-training is the right move.”

Whittington said he had been inundated with messages since making his plans to switch to pre-training public, and believes his set-up will allow those horses coming into his care to flourish.

“I’m very touched by the number of messages I’ve received and will be spending much of the next few days getting back to people,” he said. “I’ve got memories of the big days that will last forever. I always wanted to be involved with the good horses on the good days — that’s what my career was always aimed at — and we achieved it. 

“The decision [to cease training] was not taken lightly as we have such fantastic support from loyal owners. However, ultimately, we have made the choice because it is the best use of our collective skills as horsemen. It's a business model which works, and we are well positioned with fantastic facilities which are ideally suited to this alternative venture.”

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