Training dreams remain derailed for Lichfield-based Ed McMahon despite scrapping of HS2's northern section

Cancelling the northern section of HS2 has not handed a lifeline to Ed McMahon, who was forced to quit training after losing 60 acres of land to the project.

He is based in the Staffordshire town of Lichfield and handed in his licence in 2017 as a new railway was set to go straight through the heart of his yard.

McMahon is north of Birmingham, which is now set to be the end of the controversial line after prime minister Rishi Sunak's announcement that the government has scrapped plans to go on to Manchester.

But he revealed on Thursday: "The line is still going ahead where we are. It's the branch link from Birmingham to get back on to the West Coast mainline that comes past us, so we're still in and among it all. It's got to have some connectivity to the northern lines."

McMahon took over the licence from his father Bryan in 2005 and trained around 250 winners, landing Group races with Temple Meads and Astrophysical Jet.

His yard is now a poultry farm and he said: "We had to diversify. I looked at other places but because we were compensated for loss of business, that meant we had to move 50 miles away if we were going to carry on training.

"I didn't particularly want to move away, so I had to think long and hard. We're in poultry. We have four sheds and can have up to 200,000 birds. We have a farm manager and a management company that deals with all that, we just have a little bit of micro-management."

Ed McMahon with Astrophysical Jets (left) and Temple Meads (right) at his yard near Lichfield, StaffordshireCredit: Hugh Routledge

Having HS2 hanging over his head weighed heavily on the second half of McMahon's training career. "It was a nightmare. We knew about what was going on from 2010 and I had to try to keep hold of my owners for seven years and fight HS2 as well," he said.

"I enjoyed doing it when things were good but at the end when I was holding on to owners and staff issues were a nightmare it wasn't pleasurable at all.

"We're still fighting them now for severance because we're effectively an island. We couldn't sell our farm because we don't own our access."

McMahon reported that his father, who won the Lincoln and the Palace House Stakes (twice) when he was in charge, is "fine" as he approaches his 86th birthday but said that he has not been racing himself for "four or five years".

Reflecting on a difficult ten years or so, he said: "If you're born a survivor, you always will be and that's the way it is."

Read these next:

Coolmore and Godolphin renew Tattersalls rivalry as blue-blooded Frankel colt fetches 2,000,000gns 

Westover retired to stud after suffering career-ending injury in Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 

Racing Post Members' Club: 50% off your first three months 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.