'It's a shame Harry's pulled stumps - but Lambourn is a premier training centre'

The recent news Lambourn trainers Joe Tuite and Harry Dunlop will cease their businesses this season does not call into question the area's prowess in preparing horses, according to the man largely responsible for facilities which were the platform for Pyledriver's memorable King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes triumph last month.

A fall in the number of horses Tuite and Dunlop trained and subsequent financial pressures were the chief reasons for the pair's decision to quit.

But Will Riggall, who oversees 600 acres and 15 miles of grass and all-weather gallops as operations manager for Jockey Club Estates (JCE), insists that is no reflection on the training centre, which also celebrated a Royal Ascot winner in June when Bradsell bolted up for Archie Watson in the Coventry Stakes.