Group 1-winning trainer set to return to the ranks after 18-year absence

The name of Sean Woods has been linked with just about every Newmarket training yard with a 'for sale' sign over it in recent years, but at last the rumours that the former Hong Kong-based handler is about to return to the HQ fold could have some substance.
The 54-year-old, who traded Newmarket for the bright lights of Hong Kong in 2002, is close to tying up the loose ends of a deal to purchase Shalfleet Stables on the Bury Road from current incumbent Jeremy Noseda, who quit training last June.
Woods, who was formerly based at La Grange Stables on the Fordham Road which is now the base of Ed Dunlop, racked up over HK $400 million (£40 Million) in prize-money in a 14-year spell in Hong Kong which ended in 2016 when his licence was not renewed.
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