Lawyer Reid to saddle no runners this year

London trainer Andrew Reid has sent out his last runner for the foreseeable future and admitted he does not expect to be represented on racecourses this year.

Reid has enjoyed success training his own horses over many years, most notably when Eccentric landed the 2005 Winter Hill Stakes and Winter Derby. But the need to carry out work at his Mill Hill base has halted operations for a yard that sent out one winner from 39 runners in 2016.

"I haven't renewed my licence because the gallop here requires replacement and being on London clay we weren't going to do that until the summer," said Reid.

"I had never had injuries, but I was starting to get them, and the only explanation was the gallop.

"I sold a lot of horses and wouldn't think I'll have runners this year, but it depends on when we can start work on the gallop. I don't know if I can keep racing out of my blood and in an ideal world I would come back with some fresh horses."

The successful lawyer has also become involved in a public row in the Oxfordshire village of Dorchester on Thames, where his move to fence off areas of land he purchased for farming has angered local residents, who claim they had previously been allowed to use it.

Reid said: "When I bought the place there was no indication of any village green. People can still walk on the footpaths where they've always walked."