Jack Channon excited to launch career with potential first runner at Southwell

Jack Channon said he was “excited to get my chapter started” with his first runner as a trainer in his own right potentially coming as early as next Wednesday.

Channon, 29, succeeded his Classic-winning father Mick as the licence-holder at West Ilsley Stables at the start of this year having previously worked as his assistant.

Kitbag, owned by Mick Channon and a winner at Lingfield last year, has been entered for a 6f handicap at Southwell and is set to be one of a handful of runners for Channon on the all-weather before the Flat turf season kicks off in March.

“Kitbag’s been entered and he’s going to be one of maybe four or five who we will have ready to run in the next few weeks,” the trainer said.

“We don’t have a massive team to run on the all-weather and he’s not certain to run in that race, but we really do have a nice team of two-year-olds and a team for the turf which we’ll be building up for April.”

Mick Channon brought his second successful sporting career to a close last year after training for 33 years. Before that he had been a professional footballer, scoring 21 goals for England and winning the 1976 FA Cup with Southampton.

Channon enjoyed numerous top-level wins, including with the likes of Samitar in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Piccolo, Queen’s Logic, Tobougg and Youmzain, who finished second in three successive runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.

Youmzain (near) just misses out to Dylan Thomas in the 2007 Prix de l'Arc de TriompheCredit: Mark Cranham

The majority of Channon’s big-race winners were sent out from West Ilsley Stables, which he bought from the Queen in 1999 but had been forced to put up for sale last year after being refused planning permission.

Jack Channon is eager to continue the family’s legacy at the yard for now, and said: “It’s been business here as usual, me and Dad have been doing everything in the same way as we have been for the last eight years. That said, I'm excited to get my chapter started.

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re going to be having a full season here at West Ilsley and then whatever happens after that we’ll have to see.”

Mick Channon described Kitbag as “a bonny horse” and said he had been pleased with how the transition had gone.

“It’s exciting for Jack and I’m excited for him,” he said. “As much as I didn’t want to stop, it was inevitable that it was going to happen at some point and now is definitely the right time for him to step forward. Hopefully he can get off to a good start and have a few winners.”

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