My most magical moments as I sign off at the Post

This will be my final From The Heartlands newsletter as I shortly leave the Racing Post after seven and a half years, but it does mean I have plenty to reflect on from a truly extraordinary racing region.

I was officially appointed the Post’s West Country correspondent in January 2023 but I studied and later moved to Cheltenham long before that and have enjoyed my association with the region’s colourful collection of trainers, owners, jockeys and everything in between.

Much has changed in that time. In fact, my first gig for the Post involved a trainer who has since retired, Colin Tizzard.

This was to cover the yard’s summer open day, just months after Native River’s epic Gold Cup victory over Might Bite. It was a pinch-me moment, as Native River is by far my favourite racehorse. He won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, where I grew up watching racing, the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow, near my family base in Newport, and then the Cheltenham Gold Cup - the perfect trio. I very proudly have a set of silks.

I grew to love the Tizzard stable in particular because of the unique way that their total excellence in racehorse training works in tandem with the comical realities of rural life. The first memory of Venn Farm highlights this in particular, with the Gold Cup on show to members of the public placed on a makeshift plinth of an old cider barrel. The words 'Gold Cup' were painted on an old piece of wood to highlight it.

Getting to see the equine stars of the sport up close has undoubtedly been the highlight for me and I have written the Tizzard Stable Tour for eight successive years. In that time, I have seen the unnamed bumper horses develop into veterans and got a glimpse into how yards evolve with the times, but it almost did not happen.

I jumped at the opportunity for a yard visit in August 2018, just a month after joining, only to discover the Ford Focus had other ideas and simply would not start. Luckily, my mum was able to chauffeur me to what was her very first yard visit.

A second visit also gave me undoubtedly my favourite story from the thousands I have reported on at the Racing Post. In the most incredible irony, Haydock’s clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright was left complaining about the ground conditions at a trainer’s stables after getting his car stuck on the gallops during a media day.

It required an assortment of the racing’s media and Jockey Club staff to shift the stuck car and Kirkland even took the opportunity to have a dig, stating “the racing press tried their best to push us but I think they're a bit of a soft lot; some of them were only leaning”.

I have visited almost all of the major racing yards in the South West and it is fascinating to understand how each adapts the same process of making a horse exercise in order for it to reach fitness. There is an aura to watching Paul Nicholls put his team through his paces, just as you would expect from a man who has set records in winning 14 titles.

Fitness is the fundamental key and the mantra of having Sir Alex Ferguson as a leading owner has clearly seeped into his own methodology, always eager to improve and never being complacent.

To the same extent, Pond House is a phenomenal set-up with David Pipe having taken over from the trailblazing Martin Pipe. One of the most curious elements is large images of trees and forest placed in the boxes. “That’s another of Dad’s ideas,” David remarked after I asked him, before explaining it was to try to keep horses comfortable with natural habitats.

The trainer who has impressed me the most is Anthony Honeyball. His facility in Potwell Farm, on the Dorset/Somerset border, has transformed since an initial vist ahead of Regal Encore’s Grand National bid, and it has been no surprise to see him continue to grow given his remarkable attention to detail. I remember sitting down for a Weekender stable tour, anticipating fairly generic responses on each of horses, but the detail was extraordinary and the depth of races he was targeting even more.

One chat in the autumn mentioned a £50,000 pot at Doncaster in January and a new £100,000 bumper at Newbury, for which he had purposely bought horses. When I returned the following season, he had won both races and had the cheque for the Newbury race proudly on display in his new toilet.

Nearer to Cheltenham, Ben Pauling, who has appeared prominently in this newsletter, has become the new major force with his fantastic purpose-built facility nestled between the regional giants of the Jonjo/AJ O’Neill and Nigel/Willy Twiston-Davies yards.

Lots had changed but the one I am happiest to see in almost eight years is the blossoming emergence of syndicates. Racing folk so often talk about the “hook” to getting into the sport, and what better way to be a part of it and at a price everyone can afford.

Going racing is a fantastic day, one of the best you can have, but I’d argue an investment into the sporting story of one horse will have such a greater impact. It’s your horse, you’re natural curious about how it is trained, why it has certain headgear and all the intricacies this sport presents. 

As you can see from this newsletter, yard visits are an incredible experience and I am so glad so many more get the chance to do it. Racing has huge challenges, but this is a major positive.

I am moving on to try to launch a commentary career, among other opportunities, but the Flat is coming and my fellow local correspondents, Newmarket veteran David Milnes and Lambourn’s finest Liam Headd, will have plenty to keep you occupied through the summer months.

West Country Nap

Sober Glory
2027 Champion Hurdle, 20-1

Let’s leave it on a high with one for the 2027 Cheltenham Festival.

Sober Glory was running a simply storming race in the Supreme before his blunder at the final flight and I think he will sway connections to stay over hurdles with a win at Aintree next month.

If he does, and given he looks like a ball of speed, the Champion Hurdle has to be the target. He’s going to continue improving and I expect his odds will halve after Aintree.