'I'll try to get the owners to go for the Champion Hurdle - he's in that class'

This stable tour was originally printed in the Racing Post Weekender on Wednesday, December 16. Buy the Weekender every week for top stable tours and great insight from weekly columnist Alan King.

An unexpected meeting at Doncaster last February was the catalyst for a rise in the number of horses trained by Herefordshire-based Tom Symonds after fellow trainer David Dennis put a proposal to him that would result in Dennis moving over with several of his string and becoming assistant trainer.

“It came out of the blue and I wasn’t sure how it would work, with David having had his own set-up, but he has come as assistant and so far the results have been superb,” says Symonds.

“We’re well on course for our best season and I’ve had trainers ask what we’re doing differently. The answer is simple: nothing. We haven’t altered one thing but clearly several of the newcomers have enjoyed the change in scenery and many were well handicapped.”

The affable young trainer has seen his team grow to 43 horses and is well on course to pass his personal-best tally of 22 wins in the 2013-14 season.

“I’m obviously delighted with the number of winners, but we also have some classy Graded performers among our string, notably Song For Someone and Llandinabo Lad. The overall quality is far and away the best it’s been and we’ve caught the attention of a much wider audience as a result.”

Symonds, who has an impressive 26 per cent strike-rate and a £35 profit to a £1 level stake this term, is keen to praise his owners, who are “all singing off the same hymn sheet”.

He says: “The office staff have also played a huge part in the smooth transition to the increased string with Claire and my wife Elsa taking so much pressure off and allowing me to concentrate on training.

“David has blended in nicely to his new role and he believes our gallops have been a major reason for the turnaround in the horses who came with him. We’ve been very lucky to arrive at this position and hopefully it’s onwards and upwards, with so many exciting individuals to run in the coming months.”

Bobo Mac
9 gr g Whitmore’s Conn – Blazing Love
We had his wind operated on in the autumn and it wasn’t long afterwards when he made his seasonal debut at Chepstow over 3m on heavy ground. He has an entry in the Welsh National but I’m not sure he would get in off his mark of 134, which is 1lb lower than his last outing. That wouldn’t be a disaster as he’s best fresh and it could be that something like the Eider would fit in better. He’s talented but needs to be ridden like a ghost in the race. Bridget [Andrews] rode him beautifully last time when he was third and I’m sure there’s a good handicap to be won with him.

Cyclop
9 b g King’s Theatre – Tasmani
This half-brother to Innisfree Lad is one of several horses in the care of David Dennis last season who have joined our team and he has settled in well. He has won his last two races at Chepstow, first a 3m handicap chase and then over the same trip over hurdles. His first run for us, at Huntingdon, was seemingly needed but he put that to good effect by landing back-to-back successes. He’s up to a mark of 117 now, which I think is still workable, and the Lincolnshire National at Market Rasen on Boxing Day looks just right for him. He has won and been second there and hopefully he’ll put up a good show as he seems in great heart.

Everything Now
6 b g Gold Well – Givehertime
From the family of Silver Birch, this lovely horse is by the sire of the moment Gold Well, whose progeny love soft ground and are flying this season. I remember his first run in a bumper 18 months ago at Ffos Las, where he was so far behind when they turned for home it was almost embarrassing, but thankfully he soon started to get the hang of things. He has run three times this season, all at Uttoxeter, and has shown enough ability to earn a rating of 118. I’m content with that as he hasn’t done loads of really hard work, so what you saw last time was as a result of ability rather than forced at home. We’ll try to win a maiden hurdle to start with but I expect he’ll improve over further. He looks a potentially nice chasing type further down the line.

Fazayte
5 b g Spider Flight – Vakina
He’s out of a half-sister to Cyrname and like most horses who come to England from France it has taken him a long time to settle in but we’re getting there. I ran him at Ascot in October and I was happy enough with his effort in a race that has produced some decent sorts. I think he’ll be a different proposition in another 12 months, but we’ll stick to hurdles for now, where he should be able to win before we go chasing. At the moment 2m4f is fine for him but as he develops and strengthens up he’ll get 3m.

Fil D’Ariane
5 b g Gris De Gris – Vibraye
We bought him the same summer as we acquired Fazayte and it has taken him a while to get there. Last season he looked well, trained well and ate well but didn’t quite hit the high note, so we sent him back to his owners, Sir Peter and Lady Gibbings, for the summer. As he always seemed to travel so well before the business end of his races we felt there were several issues to sort out, including physio and chiropractor work, which has enabled him to stretch out more in his races, and that decision was borne out by how well he ran last time at Leicester after a 308-day absence. We put Ben [Poste] on him as he’d done a lot of work at home on the horse and knew him very well. He could easily have panicked, but he waited and finished his race off with a flourish, which he didn’t show last season. He has the makings of a nice chaser in time but we’ll stick to hurdles for now. There’s a 2m4f handicap coming up at Leicester next week that would be ideal, assuming it hasn’t been waterlogged again. He’s one who has really benefited from the round gallop at home. It’s two furlongs around and has 14 inches of deep sand, which has the effect of helping them relax, and it appears to have done the trick with him. His new mark is 6lb higher for his recent success and as you would expect him to progress after a long layoff he should be very competitive again.

Flying Verse
8 b g Yeats – Flight Sequence
It’s fair to say he hasn’t been one of the best placed horses of late, particularly when running up against the likes of Solider Of Love at Newton Abbot. A top-of-the-ground horse, he showed the benefit of a change of scenery this season as he’s now 7lb higher in the handicap. With the ground going against him he’s on a break now but will be back in the spring.

Funky Sensation
6 b g Black Sam Bellamy – Sambara
A point-to-point winner 18 months ago who had his first run after a 559-day break in an Exeter novice hurdle this month and finished a most encouraging fourth over 2m1f. The trip was too short because he doesn’t strike me as a two-miler at home, so I was very pleased with how he jumped and his wind was good and clear afterwards following a procedure in the summer. He’ll improve a good deal next time and the more match practice he gets the better he’ll be. He’s a fine, big specimen and has chaser written all over him.

Hollywoodien
9 gr g Martaline – Incorrigible
This big, beautiful horse was the first French runner we bought for the Gibbings. He lives in the next box along from Song For Someone and is one I suggest readers keep on their side. His first run for us after arriving was deplorable and I had my head in my hands, but he soon found his feet and won next time over fences at Ascot. He had three wins under his belt prior to this season and added a fourth last time out at Hereford when taking a 2m handicap chase by 12 lengths off 134. He’s up to 141 now, which is fair. Aidan [Coleman] felt he would get further than 2m if necessary. I was looking to Doncaster last weekend for him but he has to have soft ground. It’s no secret that he has had his issues but he seems as well as we’ve ever had him now.

Indy Five
10 b g Vertical Speed – Beesplease
Another new recruit to the yard and the change of scenery seems to have worked as his two runs for us have resulted in a second and third. His second at Uttoxeter in November was very encouraging and he ran at Haydock next time out to finish third in a valuable veterans’ handicap chase. He wasn’t quite the same horse that day, but it was worth the run to pick up decent place money. He’s definitely best when fresh but has a tendency to really hit a fence from time to time. It could be that he now needs longer between races and is one we treat with plenty of TLC at home. When he’s right and he gets an extreme trip on very wet ground he can win a nice prize.

Innisfree Lad
8 b g Yeats – Tasmani
He has been brilliant since he arrived, winning his first three races, but his mark has shot up 15lb for his efforts. People say he inherited his first race at Huntingdon with the leader falling, but there was no such doubt next time when he sluiced up by 18 lengths over the same course and distance. I was delighted with him at Stratford as we reverted to fences and he jumped beautifully around a track that is too tight for his style of racing. Then we sent him up to Newcastle and after such a long journey he ran well to be third. He jumped much better to win well last Saturday at Hereford. I was delighted with how he took his fences and he has come out of it very well. We have him in this week at Exeter and he could go there, but we’ll make a late decision on that.

Just So Cool
9 gr g Acambaro – Lauras Date
He came here after a poor 2019-20 campaign and has settled into his new life well. His first run for us was at Market Rasen last time and it was great to see how he responded under pressure to win by three-quarters of a length. He had shown ability on the gallops and we were impressed with how he reacted to the challenge when the chips were down as he had to come around a rival and battle to the line. We’ll stick to hurdles for the time being and he could return to Market Rasen as he has raced twice there with merit. He’s only 3lb higher now and is hopefully still on a decent mark.

Just Toby
4 b g Tobougg – Whistling Gypse
He made his debut in a Uttoxeter bumper last month when running an encouraging fourth of 12. Ben gave him a beautiful ride by allowing him to learn his job patiently as he went along. He said that when he asked Just Toby to go forward he did and he would have learned from the experience.

Llandinabo Lad
5 ch g Malinas – Hot Rhythm
This gelding is a homebred of my father’s out of the first mare he acquired, Hot Rhythm, and is named after where we used to live, Llandinabo. For his debut last year we took him to Warwick, where he ran fourth after very little preparation and the form worked out well and it was clear there was plenty of improvement to come. Two subsequent runs last season saw him come up against decent opposition, yet he still finished second each time. We had him hobdayed over the summer and that, combined with jumping hurdles, has been the making of him. He won first time out at Bangor and a month later was just as impressive in a Listed novice hurdle at Haydock. He has been given a mark of 141, which not too many novices start off on. He’s a very athletic jumper and I’d like to think is potentially high-class. All of his form is very strong and he runs in the Kennel Gate at Ascot on Friday. In most cases to win a Listed race with a homebred is job done, but this fellow has so much potential and we’re keen to know exactly where we are with him at this stage, hence the leap in class. Richard [Johnson] is keen to stick to 2m with him with ground on the softer side as he stays so well. Potentially he’s a very exciting hurdler.

Llandinabo Lad could be going to the Tolworth HurdleCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Meteorite
6 b g Bollin Eric – Running Hotter
He won over 2m1f last spring but missed all of the summer and didn’t return until November when a good second to The Twisler at Plumpton. I had hoped for a big run at Carlisle last time but he just didn’t show up. He has been hobdayed since that last run and I’m expecting life to be better for him as a result. He has the ability to travel well in his races, so we’ll stick to 2m for the time being, although he’ll get further in time. Looking back at the Carlisle run I’m glad it happened as it helped us sort out some issues.

Mr Washington
7 b g Vinnie Roe – Anna Bird
He was a nine-race maiden when he came but he seems to have found a new lease of life since arriving. He has really transformed physically in that time and has a great appetite for the sport. I put a lot of that down to the tender handling of Caris Hazelwood, who rides him in all of his work at home. He had his first run for us over 2m4f at Chepstow in early November when winning by six lengths. He knuckled down over 2m5f at Ludlow next time to make it two from two, before completing his hat-trick at Ludlow over 3m with Lilly Pinchin claiming 5lb. He bounded away last time and won by a length and a half with a little in hand I fancy. He could run in the next few days, we’ll look at the declarations, or we might give him a little break after a busy spell.