'I went back and it had vanished' - Jonny Portman's car stolen at Bath

Jonny Portman is hoping for a change of fortune after his car was stolen at Bath on Wednesday, when his two runners finished second.

The trainer thanked officials at the track for their efforts in trying to retrieve the vehicle, which had not been tracked down on Thursday.

"I was doing some office work in there and left it briefly to saddle my first runner with a view to going back to the car straight away to resume my work while I waited for my second runner," he said.

'There's no trace of it' - jockey Micheal Nolan has car stolen at Market Rasen

"I went back and it had vanished. It didn't occur to me it had been stolen in such a short time, so I thought I was going mad. I was able to track it to an area of Bath and the police are still looking for it."

Portman, who parked his Mercedes estate in the owner and trainers' car park and was able to get a lift home, added: "The security team were extremely helpful. They couldn't say how it was stolen from under their noses, but I'm not blaming them as cars come and go.

"They were baffled how it was so targeted and went so quickly. They haven't had any history of similar circumstances, but they did more than they needed to to try to retrieve it. I can't thank them enough."

The Group-winning trainer enjoyed his most prolific campaign in 2018 with 33 winners and has sent out 12 winners this season. However, he is not entirely satisfied with this year's results.

Bath: Portman had two runners at the trackCredit: Edward Whitaker

He said: "I had my iPad and quite a lot of files in the car, which I call upon daily for my entries and race planning, so someone out there knows where I'm running my horses, but given they are not winning those files will probably be in a dustbin sooner rather than later!

"We've had a few ups and downs this season with injuries to some of our nicer horses and now the car, so I've obviously done something wrong to someone and am paying for it. It's a bit demoralising, but there's always someone else worse off and it's only property, so we'll kick on and get on with the job. It's annoying and one takes one's mobility for granted – not having your car and files is inconvenient."

Portman was coming to terms with events and was relieved he made a last-minute decision to leave the family's pet dog Muffin at home, but also allowed himself a light-hearted look on how things might have panned out had he returned to the car as the thieves struck.

"It's odd how when I arrived I was sitting in it for half an hour doing work and got out of it for 20 minutes and it was gone," he said.

"It's quite creepy someone was watching and knew exactly what they wanted and when they wanted it, and as soon as my back was turned, they had it. If I had gone back they'd have taken one look at me and wouldn't have wanted to take me on would they?

"On a serious note, I very nearly took my children's dog with me and had that been taken I wouldn't have been able to return home."

It is not the first time a car has been stolen from the track this year as in June, jockey Micheal Nolan's car was taken at Market Rasen.

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