'I believe I may be the first black trainer in Britain' - from a homeless teen to breaking boundaries in Newmarket

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Former apprentice jockey Gihan Arnolda is set to break new ground next week when he becomes the first black trainer to send out runners from Newmarket.

Arnolda has set up at Cadland Cottage Stables at the foot of Warren Hill, having been assistant to Denis Quinn until recently.

The 45-year-old has a very different background to most entering the training ranks as he was homeless as a teenager and did not sit on a horse until he was 18. He left the sport for five years, training as a chef and working for leading restaurateur Gordon Ramsay.

He said: "It's some story. I believe I may be the first black trainer in Britain, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to do it. There are some Arab and Middle Eastern trainers around but no blacks."

Arnolda, who was born in Britain and whose parents are from Sri Lanka, has been a familiar figure around Newmarket for years in various racing roles. 

"I've broken so many boundaries already, so to get to this position is amazing," he said. "I wanted to inspire a different set of people to do it. 

"There aren't many trainers from my kind of background. Between the ages of 12 and 14, I was homeless on the streets of London until I went into the foster care system."

Arnolda has overcome many other obstacles along the way to get to the position of sending out his first runner at Yarmouth next Thursday.

He said: "It's completely different from the norm. I'd never sat on a horse until I was 18 and I then had more than 200 rides and six winners, but I had a bad fall at Yarmouth and I walked away from racing for a bit."

Gihan Arnolda at Cadland Cottage Stables

Arnolda spent five years out of the sport until he realised he had unfinished business.

"I retrained as a chef at York College and even worked for Gordon Ramsay at one point, but I always felt I was missing something," he said. "I then retrained through Jets [Jockeys Education & Training Scheme] and worked my way into an assistant role with Peter Chapple-Hyam, with the idea that one day I would train myself."

Arnolda also has stints with Roger Varian and Chris Wall on his CV and added: "A number of people have said to me over the past two years that I should start training, including Ray Dawson. When I was assistant to Denis we had 15 winners last year including Wyld Bill, who we got for just 1,000gns."

Ahead of the launch of his own yard, Arnolda has adopted the logo of 'Black Magic' on his stable rugs and signage.  

He said: "We're starting at Yarmouth on Thursday with Stenmark, who I bought out of James Ferguson's for 17,000gns. Two days later, we have our best horse at Haydock which is Cancan In The Rain, who should run very well, and on the Sunday we have Damascus Steel.

"We have 18 in at the moment, of which ten will be running shortly. I'd like to think we can fill the yard and get to 27 by the end of the summer."

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