We asked some proud owners of former racehorses for their top tips on how to manage ex-racehorses after rehoming and into their second careers.

As anyone who has owned and ridden a former racehorse will testify, nothing beats a thoroughbred. They’re intelligent, versatile, quick learners who love to please and, combining speed, elegance and a huge engine, they are never boring to ride. All the patience and trust you place in them will be richly rewarded. Ex-racehorses don’t arrive with a glossy instruction manual, however, so what are the best ways to help manage, nurture and help these former athletes to adapt as they embark on the next chapter of their lives in new surroundings?

Ask for background information

Our first top tip when rehoming an ex-racehorse to help them settle is to ask his former trainer, groom or stable staff for as much information as possible – what was his routine, likes and dislikes, and so on.

Sophie Kington took on the former Dan Skelton-trained Amroth Bay (Fats) after he retired from racing.

“You can gauge their personalities – a lot of them change an awful lot but it’s useful just to know their quirks so nothing comes as a shock,” she says. “I now help [Middleham trainer] Liam Bailey rehome a lot of his horses and the first thing people ask is what they’re like to ride on the gallop, but you need an open mind in that sense because they could be very good on the road but totally different the minute they touch the gallop. Once you get them out of racing and into a routine, they can be completely different again.”

Emilie Hardy was gifted her beloved winning chaser Cloud Creeper by his syndicate of owners, the Mick Fitzgerald Racing Club, having ridden him out every day for trainer Philip Hobbs. She says: “A few trainers, like Jane Williams, half-retrain their horses while they’re still in training and that can make such a difference about what you have in front of you.

“People sometimes forget that racehorses have done a lot by the time they’re five or six years old – they’ve travelled, heard tannoys and so on, so they’re actually in a really good position to cope with things.”

Settling an ex-racehorse into a new home and routine

Chloe Humphries took on two of her former charges during her time working at 14-time champion jumps trainer Paul Nicholls. Twelve years ago, winning chaser Mr Hudson came home with her after his final race and was joined this year by Grade Two-winning “yard favourite” Solo, whom she had looked after since he arrived at Ditcheat as a three-year-old. Her first step with Solo, known at home as “Bill”, was to allow him six weeks rest and relaxation in the field – only to find she couldn’t catch him.

“I think that was him saying, ‘Yes, I like this, so I’m not coming in!’” she reveals. “I spent the next few weeks just feeding, rugging and brushing him, letting him relax and adjust. He came to me in mid-April, he was turned out for six weeks and around May I had his shoes put on and he’s been happy hacking, just getting used to his new life, and he loves it.

“The main thing with former racehorses is to take your time, because being in training is quite intense and they just need time to relax and be horses again. Don’t expect them to be the perfect riding horse straight away.”

Managing box rest and injuries in ex-racehorses

A career-ending injury may mean racehorses start the transitional process under veterinary care and it’s important to be aware of any previous history of former racehorses’ past ailments. Emilie Hardy nursed nine-year-old Cloud Creeper through a tendon injury after he retired from the track.

“I was essentially taking on a broken horse with no guarantees, so we started with six weeks of box rest, bandage and cold hosing. But he’s never been sick or sorry and he’s barely cost me anything,” she says.

Managing turnout

Many racehorses will have experienced limited turnout during their racing careers and the nature of their daily exercise means few will have been ridden away solo from the string. So can napping be an issue? How do ex-racehorses cope with being turned out in a field for the first time?

Sophie Kington describes Fats as “an outdoor lad” and his new routine reflects that.

“He lives out 24/7 now although he’ll come in at night more often than not during the winter,” she says. “You also can’t leave him on his own in the field – that’s the only problematic thing about him. You can’t leave him anywhere where he can’t see other horses. You can ride him away from horses, but you can’t take horses away from him. You’d think at 21 he would have learned by now!”

Emilie Hardy used the insight she gained with the now 18-year-old Cloud Creeper to help him settle into a new routine.

“He was a bit of a lone ranger at Philip Hobbs’s yard, happy in his own company, and I think he was a bit claustrophobic, so I knew he would want to live out by himself,” she explains. “It’s been a game-changer for Cloudy.

“He’s almost like a cow – he has a big shelter he can go in and out of but he chooses 99% of the time to be out in the field.”

Chloe Humphries says that Solo “is totally unfussed” by other horses at the livery yard he now lives at.

“He’ll come in by himself, he’ll go out by himself, he’s really casual about the whole friends thing, which is really helpful actually,” she says. “He gets turned out more now and I didn’t realise how much he loves to roll! I thought he was going to be quite a clean horse but any bit of mud, he loves it.”

Feeding and managing ulcers in ex-racehorses

Knowing about how to feed horses with ulcers and the best suitable feeds for horses prone to ulcers is an important part of owning and managing an ex-racehorse as approximately 90% of racehorses suffer with gastric ulcers.

Dietary change requires careful management as racehorses come off high-energy racing feed, but some thoroughbreds will never become “good doers”.

Beth Crozier, has owned racehorses since the age of 15, including two from a decade spent working for Herefordshire jumps trainer Venetia Williams. The now 23-year-old Quickbeam (Beamish) came to Beth after he suffered a tendon injury and was a “model patient and retrainee”, the pair going on to compete at advanced medium dressage. The three years younger Sustainability (Vic) required “much more patience”, however.

“Beamish was always well covered so didn’t need much management and when I got him, all Venetia’s who were out of work were on D&H cubes, so that was easy,” she explains. “Vic was a bit trickier – we treated him for ulcers when I had him as a pointer, but he’s been a very slow process of putting the weight on. He’s 17.2hh and very angular. It’s been years rather than months.”

Libby Taylor, stable lass at Kim Bailey and Matt Nicholls’ Andoversford yard, embarked on her first experience of owning a former racehorse with 10-year-old chaser Le Cameleon. “George” retired from racing with a leg injury last November and owner/breeder Hugh Davies agreed that Libby should give him “the quiet life he needed”.

“George went out in the field quite a lot while he was racing, but now he’s on 24/7 turnout,” she says. “He suffered from ulcers as a racehorse, so TopSpec have done me well – I’ve put him on Ulsakind Cubes, which has kept him calm without the fizziness and his ulcers have pretty much gone, so he’s not angry.

“We’re learning together and trying to figure it out as we go along.”

How to manage ex-racehorses on the yard and hacking out

It’s important to be attuned to what these former racehorses have and haven’t experienced during their time in a busy racing yard – for example, few will have travelled in a trailer or been tied up outside their stables.

Leanne White was travelling head groom for Andrew Balding where she got to know Group One-winning superstar Side Glance as they jetted around the world together. On retirement, her adored “Sidey” was nursed through a leg injury by a friend of Leanne’s, with whom he began RoR showing and dressage, before Leanne took him on a year later.

“The early days were spent hacking through the local village so he could see lots of things – it’s all about achieving a consistency,” she says. “Sidey was always keen so it took a lot of going through different bits to find out what suited him.”

Flatwork and a new riding style

Emilie Hardy’s best piece of advice for anyone rehoming a former racehorses is to “put a lot of time and effort into schooling them because, for the most part, they’ve been worked in a straight line,” she explains. “They have to use new muscles and learn to balance themselves.

“Luckily I still worked in the racing yard, so if I needed any help there were a lot of hugely experienced horse people there. The only thing Cloudy wasn’t 100% sure of was trakehners so my eventing friends offered support for training him through that. He’s always been a dream hack though– he gives you about three working days notice if he’s going to spook at something!”

Sophie Kington spent three weeks lungeing Fats at the start of the their new journey together, before progressing to flatwork, showjumping and cross-country schooling.

“He was so easy, even from the way he carries himself, so it was less about retraining and more about him learning to slow down,” she explains. “The only sticking point was that he was much better on one rein and looking at his form, he only ever really ran left-handed.”

Chloe Humphries describes Solo as “still like a cardboard box to ride” as they navigate the early days of reschooling.

“The plan is to get him going over the winter and maybe do some dressage, take him cross-country schooling and I’d love to go to the beach – just whatever he enjoys,” she says.

Finding an ex-racehorse a new job

Sophie Kington says former racehorses “need a job”.

“They’re like gun dogs – they’re so used to a routine and if you take them out of that routine you can’t just expect them to be plods,” she emphasises.

Beth Crozier underlines the need for flexibility in finding each horse’s niche in their second careers, but the result is hugely rewarding.

“I took on Beamish thinking he would be my eventer but it quickly became clear that dressage was his thing,” she says. “We’ve recently started Trec, which is the last thing you’d expect a racehorse to do, but he loves it.

“Vic has a leg in every county and is so uncoordinated, but somehow he’s brilliant over a showjump – even if he does it in his own style.

“I’m all for letting them pick whatever plays to their strengths and I just roll with it. Play to their strengths – if they go naturally in an outline, try dressage. If they don’t, try and work on it, but they’re probably not going to be a dressage superstar. RoR is brilliant though – we go to the championships at Aintree every year and it’s our holiday. We try to qualify for as many things as we can – we’ll try anything and everything. Every horse is going to be good at something.”

Emilie Hardy took a similarly flexible approach with Cloud Creeper.

“The only thing that didn’t suit him was hunting – the stop-start fried his brain a bit,” she says.

Sophie Kington originally didn’t think Amroth Bay would be good enough to show, so started out eventing.

“He’d do a nice dressage test and he was insanely good across country but he couldn’t care less whether he hit a showjump – he was a three/four-mile chaser, he knew a pole wouldn’t hurt him!” she says. “He’s got better and better at showing though. He’s 21 now and was unbeaten all last year unbeaten all year.”

Keep owners and former trainers updated

Owners and the racing industry as a whole are taking more responsibility for thoroughbreds after their racing careers draw to a close so make sure you let former trainers and owners know how you’re getting on – it’s important to shout loudly and proudly about how versatile these beautiful animals are and how fulfilling their second careers can be.

As Emilie Hardy sums up: “They’re the bravest, most intelligent, kindest horses I know.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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A former racehorse who won £6m, was the subject of two films and was cheered off by 33,000 fans when he retired has died aged 34 after 16 years of happy retirement.

Mr Vitality (Vi) had huge success on the track in Hong Kong, but had lived at The Racehorse Sanctuary in West Sussex since 2009.

“Old age had caught up with the poor old boy,” yard manager Nigel Dunger told H&H. “Up to this year, he’d looked an absolute picture and I thought he would get to 35 but we just couldn’t do it.”

Vi was born in 1991, by Snippets out of Savana City. He won multiple Group 1 races including the Stewards Cup and held the Sha Tin course record for the sprint. He was named Hong Kong horse of the year for the 1995-1996 season and had two films made about his career for the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

“He had a massive fanbase and when he left Hong Kong to retire in 1998, 33,000 fans waved him goodbye from the airport,” a spokesperson for the sanctuary said. “He came to our sanctuary on 30 September 2009 and has thrived (and been the boss!) ever since.”

Mr Dunger said Vi lived out 24/7, as most of the horses do there.

“He never wanted to come in the stable,” he said. “I try to keep them out as much as possible; you bring the old ones in and they just want to go back out! They’ve got field shelters but I see them when it’s pouring with rain and they won’t go in them. As long as they’re well fed, which they are, they go out and they love it.

“Vi was a legend, and he was still an independent horse, would still fight his corner. A lovely old boy.”

The spokesperson added that Vi was “very much his own person and always set his own routine and standards”.

“He was a true gentleman in every way,” he said. “He loved his life over the past 16 years here with us. We all shared a special moment with him for his 30th birthday, at our annual open day in September 2021, where he was presented with a birthday cake and we all sang happy birthday to him.

“Mr Vitality, you will be greatly missed, you really were a legend. We will miss you and thank you, it has been an honour to have looked after you.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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‘With him till the very end’: sad farewell to 17.2hh Grand National runner who became a ‘lead-rein pony’ and ‘worth his weight in gold’

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

When the Roger Varian-trained filly Elmalka swooped from last to first to win the recent 1000 Guineas at Newmarket under jockey Silvestre De Sousa, the loudest cheers on the track were coming from the filly’s devoted groom Kerry Humphries.

“I lost my voice!” she says of that “really special day”.

“I was over the moon and so proud of her and the way she did it – she was out the back most of the way then flew home, it was brilliant. When she started getting closer, we started jumping and cheering. Then when she crossed the line in front, we all ended up hugging each other.”

Kerry says the emotions flowed as she led Elmalka back to the winner’s enclosure.

“I couldn’t stop shaking. These special days are why you work in racing and you don’t win a Classic every day, so it makes it all worthwhile. You’ve got to enjoy every moment and make the most of it.”

Kerry Humphries: family ties

Kerry has looked after Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum’s Kingman filly since Elmalka arrived on the Newmarket yard last year, jumping at the chance having previously looked after her older half-sister Madaara.

“Madaara was a very big horse whereas Elmalka’s really small – they’re complete opposites,” says Kerry of the daughters of Selkirk mare Nahrain, who gave Roger Varian his first Group One winner back in 2011.

“Elmalka is really sweet, she loves a cuddle, her polos, her carrots and her apples, but she has a bit of sass about her at the same time!

“Sometimes when you’re brushing her over she’ll throw a leg out at you, or when you’re washing her off – she keeps you on your toes! But on the whole, she’s really sweet.”

In the run-up to the Classic race, the signs were there that Elmalka might well out-run her odds of 33/1 on just her third racecourse appearance.

“She is ridden at home every day by Beth Dixon, who has ridden her from her early days and adores Elmalka. On the day before the Guineas she actually ran off the end of the canter with her – she’s never done anything like that before so we said she’s definitely in good order!” says Kerry. “We were confident she’d run a good race anyway. She’s a tough filly and we always knew she’d be doing her best late on. It was amazing to watch.”

A twist of fate: “It was right on my doorstep”

Kerry was brought up around horses as her mum had a horse, but she only came into racing by chance.

“My dad is a roofer and had been working on the roof of the Northern Racing College in Doncaster,” recalls Kerry. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left school and he said how about applying there. Growing up, my mum and dad would take my brother and me racing quite regularly, so I had an interest in it, but I didn’t know the racing college existed, even though it was right on my doorstep.”

Kerry has now been working for leading trainer Roger Varian for the past 10 years and met her “absolute world” One Pekan on her first day there, crediting the horse for helping her deal with the grief of losing her mother unexpectedly in 2021.

After dual Epsom winner One Pekan retired from the track in 2017, Kerry jumped at the chance to take on the racehorse whom she adored. The devoted duo have been enjoying showjumping, cross-country and pleasure rides – and “he’s still a monkey!” she says.

“Last Sunday I noticed everyone posting lovely pictures of their pristine horses in showing classes and so on, when I’d taken mine on a 10-mile pleasure ride and five minutes in, he’d got down and rolled in the mud with me!” she laughs. “He’s 14, yet still does things like that!”

Riding a former racehorse without a bridle

So close is their bond however, that Kerry can ride her former racehorse One Pekan at home without a bridle.

“I don’t know what was going through my head, but one day I thought I’d take my bridle off and canter round without it and he was brilliant,” she says of the Retraining of Racehorses personality of the year finalist. “He listens so well to my voice – I can lunge him without a lunge line and I can get him to walk, trot and canter round in a circle just through my voice.

“But if I take him out cantering in the fields, he doesn’t listen to me at all!”

Talking about the joy of owning a former racehorse, Kerry explains: “I’ve looked after Pekan from my first day working at Roger Varian’s, so we’ve gone through the whole process of working together within the racing industry to me giving him a home after racing. He is such a character and very quirky, I adore him.”

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Naming a racehorse can be a fun, but also a slightly daunting, task. Here we explain how the British system works and provide examples of some of the names that won’t make it through the system, as well as covering how some of the biggest owners in racing decide on and secure their horses’ names…

Naming a racehorse

In order for a horse to be eligible to race under Rules or in point-to-points they must be registered with a unique name, which will remain with them for life. This is to distinguish each horse from others in a race and allows bloodlines and pedigrees to be more easily traced.

You also need to name your horse if you want to breed from them as either a broodmare or stallion or if you want to register any progeny with Weatherbys, which is the organisation responsible for processing racehorse names.

How long does it take to name a horse?

Most applications are processed and completed by Weatherbys within one working day.

What are the rules for naming a racehorse?

There are a number of rules surrounding the naming of racehorses that must be adhered to in order to make a successful naming application for a horse:

• Names can have a maximum of 18 characters including spaces and punctuation.
• Initials are not permitted.
• Names may not end with “filly”, “colt”, “stud”, “mare”, “stallion” or any similar horse-related terms.
• Names may not consist only of numbers, unless the number are above thirty and you spell it out. So, you could name a horse “Forty forty”, for example.
• Names must not end with a numerical designation such as “1st” or “2nd”.
• A racehorse’s name must not include the name of a real person or someone who has been dead for less than 50 years, unless their written permission or the permission of their family is provided.
• No names of racecourses or graded races can be included.
• Names must not have any obvious commercial significance.
• A name must not include suggestive, vulgar or obscene words and meanings and should not be in poor taste.
• Names should not be offensive to any religious, ethnic or political groups.
• You can not give a racehorse a name that features on the restricted list. This list includes the winners of major races and the names of famous horses that have officially retired to honour the horse.
• Names currently in use and similar names cannot be reused until five years after the horse has retired from racing and breeding.
• All names are registered subject to approval by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

It is also worth bearing in mind that approximately 3,000 names are internationally protected, which means they can never be reused; Frankel is a prime example.

There are around 250,000 names on the current register. It is therefore advisable to check that the name you want is not already taken, before submitting your application.

You can check name availability here.

When an owner comes to name their horse, they must submit six choices in order of preference to The Jockey Club, who will decide which name is acceptable for use.

Names that are a real no-no

Trying to get naughty or inappropriate names past the naming team is something people take great delight in, but attempts rarely succeed. Previously rejected names include Ben Dover, Biggus Diccus, Penny Tration, Ophelia Balls, Ho Lee Fook, E Rex Sean and Sofa King Fast…

How do the big guns work out what they will name their racehorses?

One of the most famous horses in the world, and especially in racing spheres is Frankel. His moniker came about when his late trainer Sir Henry Cecil decided to honour trainer Bobby Frankel, who died from cancer, and name the great horse Frankel after him.

David Ashforth, the author of the book, Fifty Shades of Hay: The Extraordinary World of Racehorse Names, explains at length the history of racehorse names and the reasoning behind some of the greats in the sport. Here’s an extract from the chapter titled, How the Big Names Choose Names, which details how racing giants Coolmore decide on their horses’ names:

“Coolmore: The Coolmore Goliath, with John Magnier’s big brain inside it, is unlikely to suffer the same fate as the biblical colossus and be felled by David’s sling.

“The breeding and racing operation, the latter in the capable hands of Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle, is to the horseracing industry what the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are to American football. They’re not very popular with some people, either.

“Applying an impressive list of commercial assets, such as strong leadership, sound organisation, extensive knowledge, political influence and lots of money, Coolmore has turned some of the best racehorses in the world into some of the best stallions.

“Susan Magnier, John’s wife, chooses the names to be bestowed on each year’s new inmates and it is no coincidence that most of Coolmore’s best horses, especially the colts, have the most distinguished names. They wouldn’t want one of their duds to be called Camelot, while their next Derby winner and stallion prospect was called Who Gives A Donald.

“Successful naming involves identifying the best horses early and reserving suitably exalted names for use when a potentially top-class one emerges. The names are rarely inspired by those of the horse’s parents.

“Camelot was reputed to have been stored in Sue Magnier’s diary for almost 10 years before a 2009 foal by Montjeu out of Tarfah was deemed worthy of the name. He won the 2011 Racing Post Trophy and 2,000 Guineas, Derby and Irish Derby in 2012. Good choice!

“The Magniers are averse to interviews but after Ruler Of The World won the 2013 Derby (the fourth of six for Coolmore/Ballydoyle so far), John Magnier said, ‘All the horses are rated on pedigree, then rated as individuals. Sue names all the horses in February/March time. Aidan gives his thoughts from week to week. This horse obviously made his way to the top. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don’t. We’ve had a lot of bad American presidents.’ Magnier was probably thinking of the human ones, because George Washington the horse did well, although John F. Kennedy was a disappointment.

“Sue Magnier’s mother, Jacqueline O’Brien, was born in Australia and when the horse of that name won the 2014 Derby Tom Magnier, John and Sue’s son, said, ‘There was a strong determination to ensure that the name “Australia” was given to a colt considered capable of going right to the very top.’ He did, going on to win the Irish Derby and Juddmonte International.”

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If you fancy having a flutter on a horse race but don’t know where to start, we’re here to help.

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

A former Group One-winning racehorse has spread joy on a visit to a hospice that was “incredible to witness”.

In partnership with racehorse rehoming and retraining charity New Beginnings, York racecourse equine ambassador Goldream (Remy) and Welsh section A Poppy visited families at the Sunflower Wellbeing Hub at St Leonard’s Hospice in York on Thursday (27 July).

The visit follows new research released by Bristol University via the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses on the “mounting evidence” that former racehorses are “particularly well-suited” to providing equine-assisted services and therapy.

John Kirk, who has Parkinson’s disease, met Remy and Poppy at the Sunflower Wellbeing Hub.

“‘It’s brought John to life, I’ve not seen him animated like this in a long time or move so well. It’s remarkable,” said Jan, John’s wife.

“John has a history with horses as his first job after qualifying as a doctor in 1958 was in Africa. His job involved travelling many miles every day in remote, mountainous terrain on horseback seeing patients, so being up close with Goldream and Poppy was especially poignant for him.”

Pat Atkinson of New Beginnings said the way Remy and Poppy responded to each person they met at the hospice was “incredible to witness”.

“We are so proud of them both, with Remy being an outstanding example of the kindness of the thoroughbred along with its versatility,” she said.

Rachel Banks, occupational therapist at St Leonard’s, said the hospice is “sincerely grateful” to New Beginnings and York racecourse for arranging “such a special afternoon” for their patients, visitors and staff.

“Having Remy and Poppy here was an absolute privilege for us all, giving patients a truly memorable experience to talk to their families and friends, with lots of reminiscing about past experiences with horses,” she said.

“Thank you to all involved in making this invaluable visit happen.”

York racecourse senior marketing and sponsorship manager Amy Swales added that the Remy and Poppy’s visit was an “absolute privilege” for the racecourse.

“The positive impact they had on the wellbeing of the patients and their families at St Leonard’s was almost instant,” she said.

“The thoroughbred is a truly remarkable and adaptable species and we are so grateful to be able to celebrate and admire them as athletes throughout our racing season. Now, to see Remy along with the thousands of other former racehorses leading meaningful lives in their second careers is just as rewarding”.

You might also be interested in:

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Britain’s first census of thoroughbreds will help traceability of former racehorses – and the sustainability of equestrian sport, it is hoped.

British racing’s Horse Welfare Board (HWB), with Hartpury University, is encouraging all owners of former racehorses to complete the census, which launched on 28 June, before 31 December.

The main aim is to help improve traceability of thoroughbreds after they have retired from racing, to “know where they are, throughout their lives”. It is part of the HWB’s five-year welfare strategy “A Life Well Lived”, which committed to improving the lives of all horses bred for racing, from birth until death. Those behind the project want to make connections and work with bodies across the industry.

“The nice thing about this is the message of the industry joining hands, beyond racing,” HWB programme director Helena Flynn told H&H. “This is something fundamentally different and bigger; there are a lot of surveys in the industry, but this is a census, and this is a call for action to be involved.”

The census, in partnership with Retraining of Racehorses and supported by World Horse Welfare and Weatherbys, also focuses on responsible ownership, including ensuring all horses’ passports and ownership details are up to date. This is ensured “meticulously” by Weatherbys but declines once horses retire and go into private ownership. This issue applies across the industry.

Participants will be asked for horses’ passport and microchip numbers, age, residence, second career and more, to “provide a robust view of the 2023 British retired racehorse population”.

Hartpury head of research Jane Williams said: “We’re delighted to be part of this proactive initiative as Hartpury is committed to supporting the sector to improve the quality of life of the horses we all love.

The census is an opportunity to understand more about lifetime care of thoroughbreds, generate evidence to safeguard against disease outbreaks, and show the huge benefits thoroughbreds bring to so many people.”

Take part in the census

All owners of former British-trained racehorses will be encouraged to register them, free, with RoR.

The charity’s managing director David Catlow said: “The ‘social licence’ for the use of horses in sport is under increasing scrutiny and what happens to former racehorses after they retire is identified as a particular concern. This is a significant step towards ensuring thoroughbreds enjoy a healthy and caring existence and will provide the racing industry with the relevant data to guide future decisions”.

Ms Flynn agreed, adding: “This is how we can play a part in ensuring the sustainability of this industry and sport. This is fundamental to that. Aftercare is an emotive subject, and if we can have greater understanding of that, it will make a huge difference.”

The census can be completed online, and at major equestrian events.

World Horse Welfare CEO Roly Owers said: “This is an excellent initiative along the road of improving traceability for all thoroughbreds. Full traceability lasts a lifetime as a horse bred for racing will always be a racehorse in the eyes of the public, and they rightly hold the industry responsible for them throughout their lives.

“There really is a collective responsibility to make this work towards the much-needed goal of full traceability, both for the sake of the horses and the reputation of the industry.”

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The 23-year-old former racehorse Steel Blue, who won £109,000 during his career on the track made an appearance in the Tattersalls Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) final with 16-year-old rider Libby Cruttwell at the 2023 Hickstead Derby meeting.

Libby is in her first year of study at Doncaster Equine College, which is based at Rossington National Horseracing College (NHC).

Steel Blue, who is known as Bluebell at home, is one of several former racehorses who live at the college.

“Because of the link to the NHC, we usually gain ex-racers from the college who are in need of a slower pace of life,” said Amanda Butler, an equine lecturer at Doncaster.

Libby was contesting only her fourth ever show. She qualified Bluebell for the RoR final at one of Doncaster Equine College’s on-site shows in May.

During his racing career, Bluebell contested 106 races on the flat, 11 of which he won. He won his first race in Dubai when in training with Simon Whitaker, but he also led races in both France and Germany. He was also a winner at Royal Ascot and he placed in 15 Group or listed races. He retired from the track in 2012.

“He also sustained an awful tendon injury and we thought he might not recover, but thankfully he was given the all-clear last year,” said Amanda. “He’s racing royalty and even the commentator at Hickstead was gobsmacked when reading out his achievements. He gave the judge a great gallop up past the grandstand, despite it being the first time he’s ever taken a ride judge. He really rose to the occasion.”

Bluebell and Libby had a support group with them at Hickstead, including trip leader Rachael Proudley, lead equine studies lecturer at Doncaster, and students from Doncaster College. This year, the students completed a five-mile sponsored ride and had raised £900 in funds to support his journey to Hickstead.

“Although the NHC was right behind us to take the pair to Hickstead, we had limited funds as we are a charity-based organisation,” Amanda explained. “We tried to secure sponsorship but didn’t get any interest. This is when our students stepped in and held a sponsored ride. They went above and beyond and raised £900 between them, which paid for equipment, tack and entries.”

“We only had about three weeks to prepare him for the final, so it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. Bluebell hadn’t left the campus in 13 years and it would have been unfair to expect him to travel 225 miles without having a few spins in the trailer beforehand. Friends and family stepped in and he spent two weeks at my house. During this time I travelled him to a few yards in between. We took him down to Hickstead the night before so he could acclimatise to the environment. Libby also has limited show experience but she put lots of extra time in and she did us proud.

“Bluebell looked after Libby on the go-round, but when the ride judge got on and asked him to breeze up the Hickstead hill, he did with his ears pricked. It was a very emotional moment for us all.

“You would never believe he’s 23 and that he’s competing in the show ring while still teaching students after such a career on the track. He’s an unbelievable horse.”

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A 16-year-old rider who has autism and struggles with anxiety has found new confidence thanks to riding out racehorses – and qualified for the British Showjumping national championships on his first attempt.

Toby Clapham jumped three clears on Shanaclough Phantom to win the 38-strong senior British novice second round at Allens Hill, Worcestershire, on 21 May, and secure their ticket to the final at Stoneleigh in August.

Toby’s mother Annabell told H&H Toby only moved onto horses from 148cms at the beginning of this year after turning 16 in December. They bought six-year-old 17hh gelding “Simba” as a blank canvas in February, and Toby started competing him in April. Within four weeks the pair had four double clears at British novice, and Allen Hill was their first attempt at the second rounds.

“Toby was over the moon to win. It was a really big course, and for such a big horse Simba tried so hard to get round those corners, but they won by more than four seconds. Toby is very competitive and thinks he’s still on 148cms,” said Annabell.

“Simba is still green, but he’s a very kind horse. The plan is to put some more schooling in before the final, and we’re going to go to Hickstead and do some classes at the Royal International to get some more experience at the stayaways. We also hope to get Toby’s twin Charlie qualified for the nationals too.”

Annabell said Toby was diagnosed with autism last year, and has struggled with confidence issues and bullying. Toby attended school with Jonno Balding, son of racehorse trainer Andrew Balding, and when Toby dropped out of school, the Baldings offered Toby an opportunity to ride out for them. Toby has now been riding out three days a week for 10 weeks, and discussions are taking place about a potential apprenticeship next year.

“The Baldings scooped Toby up and have given him a new outlook on life. The routine really helps him and the opportunity has given him such a confidence boost in so many ways,” said Annabell.

“He didn’t really talk to anyone before, but being at such a big yard with lots of lads and staff, he’s now communicating and chatting. He’s really enjoying working with the young horses and is totally unfazed, he’s got a real connection with horses. I’m so grateful for the opportunity he’s been given, it’s amazing to watch how far he’s come. He’s got his self belief back.”

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“Scotland’s horse” One For Arthur has died from colic aged 14, five years after he won the Grand National.

“We are sorry to share the news that One For Arthur died this morning (25 March). A horse of a lifetime, he made our dreams come true when winning the Grand National in 2017,” said trainer Lucinda Russell.

Arthur was owned by The Two Golf Widows, Deborah Thomson and Belinda McClung, and became only the second horse trained in Scotland to win the Aintree race, ridden to victory by Derek Fox. Arthur was later ruled out for more than a year owing to a tendon injury, but in 2019 returned to contest the Grand National for a second time, in which he and Derek came sixth. This was the year Tiger Roll retained his 2018 crown.

In November 2020 Arthur was retired, having run 25 races under Rules during which he earned £674,299. At the time Lucinda told H&H the original plan had been to run Arthur in the Grand National that year, had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic.

“We were delighted with him in 2019, and everything was being aimed at the National this year – we had him really buzzing and ready to go,” she said. “I suppose it had been in the back of our minds if he’d run a good race this year we probably would have retired him after that. He’s done everything for us, he owes us nothing and to retire him now while he’s at the top of his game and looking fit and well, was our decision.”

Before his death, Arthur had been enjoying a second career, having been reschooled by Steph Robson. He was a winner of retrained racehorse showing classes, and last year competed in the racehorse to riding horse class at the Dublin Horse Show with his breeder John Dwan’s daughter Aisling.

Lucinda said most recently Arthur was in Dumfries, enjoying hunting and cross-country with Ailsa McClung, who “doted on him”.

“His owners, Debs, Belinda, Colin, Fraser, and all here at Lucinda Russell Racing, especially Jaimie, Erin, and Derek, were proud to produce ‘Scotland’s horse’ and thank everyone who has shown him love,” she said.

“Arthur had a fabulous life on and off the track, and in winning at Aintree brought himself immortality. We will all miss him.”

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A US vet who peddled “untested, unsafe and unstable” performance-enhancing drugs in horse racing over nearly two decades has been jailed for 11 years.

Seth Fishman was convicted of two counts of drug adulteration and misbranding, with intent to defraud and mislead, in February, and was sentenced this week. The 51-year-old from Florida was one of more than 30 people charged, in four cases, in March 2020, as a result of an investigation into abuse of racehorses by the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

US Attorney Damian Williams said at the time of conviction: “The jury’s swift conviction of Seth Fishman reflects the overwhelming evidence of his guilt as displayed through this trial. As an ostensible veterinarian – sworn to the care and protection of animals – Fishman cynically violated his oath in service of corrupt trainers and in the pursuit of profits.

“Through the sale of untested, unsafe, and unstable drugs, Fishman’s illegal drug business was a platform for both fraud and animal abuse. Today’s conviction appropriately condemns the danger inherent in Fishman’s crimes and underscores the seriousness with which this office takes the kind of abuse that Fishman practised.”

It was found at the trial that his charges related to a long-term investigation into “widespread schemes by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, performance-enhancing drug [PED] distributors, and others to manufacture, distribute, and receive adulterated and misbranded PEDs and to secretly administer those PEDs to racehorses competing at all levels of professional horseracing”.

“By evading PED prohibitions and deceiving regulators and horseracing officials, participants in these schemes sought to improve race performance and obtain prize money from racetracks throughout the United States and other countries… all to the detriment and risk of the health and wellbeing of the racehorses,” a spokesman for the US Attorney’s office said.

“Trainers who participated in the schemes stood to profit from the success of racehorses under their control by earning a share of their horses’ winnings, and by improving their horses’ racing records, thereby yielding higher trainer fees and increasing the number of racehorses under their control. Indicted veterinarians profited from the sale and administration of these medically unnecessary, misbranded, and adulterated substances.

“Fishman, acting as the manufacturer and distributor of customised PEDs designed specifically to evade anti-doping controls, reaped millions of dollars from the sale of his drugs to trainers around the United States and across the globe.”

It was found that Fishman targeted clients in the racing industry, “peddling dozens of unsafe and untested drugs that purported to have performance-enhancing effects on racehorses”. “He created and marketed these drugs as ‘untestable’ under typical anti-doping drug screens and extolled the virtues of these illegal drugs by describing his method of creating customised products for individual customers in order to silo product lines to reduce the likelihood that detection of doping by trainer would undermine the remainder of Fishman’s corrupt clientele,” the spokesman said.

Misleading and lying

Over the nearly 20 years in which he ran his “doping company” Equestology, Fishman, “took additional efforts to mislead and lie to regulatory authorities in an effort to shield his illegal activity”.

He incorporated a sham business in Panama designed to appear as if his drug operation was outside the jurisdiction of US authorities, “pressured employees to sign non-disclosure agreements intended to gag them if questioned by regulators, designed labels that would give no hint as to the provenance of the unsafe drugs shipped across the country and lied to state investigators regarding the nature of his business when asked directly about his role in Equestology during a Delaware state investigation in 2011, while also bragging to others that he had called in a ‘personal political favour’ to quash that investigation”.

The court heard Fishman claimed to practise as a legitimate vet, using his licence for cover for his drug business. He sold illicit substances including prescription drugs, with fake prescriptions for animals he had never seen or discussed, the spokesman said.

He added: “Those drugs included intravenous and intramuscular injectables that Fishman sold to laypeople for injection into the horses under their purported ‘care’, many of which were seized at premises throughout the country at the time of the original indictments in this case…. Those included ‘blood-building drugs, vasodilators and bags filled with scores of ‘bleeder pills’, each designed to covertly increase performance in affected horses.”

The first count of which Fishman was convicted was in connection with the doping operation of convicted Jorge Navarro, the second in connection with Equestology.

This week, Mr Williams added: “The sentence today sends a strong message that those looking to profit from the sale of illegal drugs intended to corruptly dope racehorses stand to face serious consequences for their crimes. The defendant earned his livelihood in service of greed and animal abuse, and will face a steep price for his crimes.”

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The British Show Horse Association (BSHA) has introduced its own accredited trainers scheme with the aim of supporting those stepping into the world of competitive showing.

The society will have a dedicated page on its website with profiles for all trainers, and links on how to contact them to book training clinics. The initial selection was chosen geographically to ensure trainers are available throughout the country.

A BSHA spokesman said: “We aim to provide the grassroots, newcomer and amateur competitors with a support network to help them on their journey, with regular clinics to give competitors easy access to relevant training.”

Also launching in 2022 is the new Rising Stars series. Open to both members and non-members who have never ridden at the Royal International (RIHS) or Horse of the Year Show (excluding Search For A Star or RIHS amateur classes), the series offers a selection of grassroots classes to those looking to start or develop their showing careers.

“All our accredited trainers will be involved in the BSHA Rising Stars series awards. They will award deserving partnerships attending the clinics qualification rosettes enabling them to attend the BSHA National Championship Show held on 10 September at Arena UK,” the spokesman said.

“Further training will be available with our accredited trainers at two preparation clinics in the summer to enable all those that qualify the chance to shine in the ring and learn to turn out themselves and their horses to a top-class level.”

The Rising Stars series will be available at local riding club level and BSHA affiliated shows, too. The two highest placed combinations who have not already qualified will win qualification rosettes and a pass to the finals. Judges will not ride the exhibits in qualifiers but there will be a ride judge at the final.

BSHA accredited trainers will also be awarding qualification rosettes to attendees at their clinics, offering another avenue into the series.

A BSHA open racehorse to show horse class has also been added to the schedule.

“The BSHA is pleased to offer a new class for anyone wishing to compete their thoroughbred after retiring from training. The association recognises the importance of supporting those animals leaving the racing industry, and we hope our members take the opportunity to participate in the class with their registered hack, riding horse or hunter,” the spokesman said.

The final will take place at the National Championship Show and the highest unqualified horse from each qualifier will be able to enter the final. This class will run as an open ridden class, so all exhibits will be ridden by the judge.

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Honeysuckle is a top racehorse, who is one of the most impressive mares of the modern era. If you aren’t already familiar with this outstanding horse, here is a rundown everything you need to know about this brilliant mare.

1. Honeysuckle, who is a bay mare, was foaled on 28 April 2014.

2. She was bred by Dr Guy, who also owns the Chedington Estate in Dorset, which also sponsored Bicton Horse Trials’ four- and five-star international three-day events in 2021.

3. Honeysuckle has won more than £927,000 in prize money during her unbeaten 14-race career to-date.

4. She won her sole point-to-point at Dromahane on 22 April 2018, where she beat Annie Mc, who is now a very successful National Hunt mare in training with Jonjo O’Neill, into second.

5. Honeysuckle has been trained by Henry De Bromhead in Ireland throughout her Rules career.

6. She has also been ridden solely by Gand National-winning jockey, Rachael Blackmore, throughout her Rules career.

7. Honeysuckle currently has a whopping 10 Grade One victories to her name, including the 2021 and 2020 Cheltenham Champion Hurdle titles (pictured winning this race in 2021).

8. Honeysuckle is a racehorse owed by Kenneth Alexander. Henry de Bromhead’s travelling head lass Zoe Smalley says of Honeysuckle: “She is a pure diva! But you have to tolerate it. She’ll eye you up and will make a split second decision whether she’s going to bother speaking to you or just carry on her business – she’s very particular about the company she keeps! She can be fairly lively with her back legs, too.”

9. The racehorse is by Sulamani and out of First Royal, who is by Lando.

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The hunt is on to crown the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) horse personality of the year 2021.

Taking place for the second year, the award celebrates former racehorses who have shown “exceptional character” in transitioning to a new career and have had a positive impact on those around them.

There were more than 250 entries for the award in 2020 and it was Sarah Peacock’s 12-year-old gelding Ned Causer who took the honours. Ned ran three times in his “short-lived” racing career, but had a “transformational effect” on Sarah, helping her to overcome bouts of anxiety and depression.

Record-breaking Flat jockey Hollie Doyle will choose the three finalists and pick the ultimate winner. Finalists will be invited to the prestigious RoR Awards at the The Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket on 22 January, where the winner will be revealed.

RoR chief executive Di Arbuthnott said the charity hopes the award will get people talking passionately about what it means to own a former racehorse.

“We want to recognise those horses with a unique personality and character, and to also showcase the special bond they develop with their riders,” she said.

“We know there are many wonderful success stories, as well as great achievements, among the thousands of former racehorses that are lovingly rehomed and retrained each year.”

The award is given in honour of the late Paul Mellon.

“At its outset RoR was privileged to receive a bequest from the estate of Paul Mellon, the philanthropist and owner of 1971 Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Mill Reef, and his legacy has been vital to establishing and funding RoR to promote the welfare of horses that have retired from racing,” said an RoR spokesman.

Entries are open to former racehorses registered with RoR and can be made online via the www.ror-events.org.uk. Nominations close on 29 November.

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The nine-year-old gelding Minella Rebellion belied his lack of ring experience to give his owner/rider her first Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) victory in the SEIB Insurance Brokers Racehorse to Riding Horse (R2R) championship.

Katie Dashwood was on board HOYS debutante “Reg” who will be back in the International Arena in the riding horse final later in the week. Katie and Reg are only contending their first season together.

By Kings Theatre out of Afdala, Reg was in training with Nicky Henderson during his career. He ran five times in total and was placed twice, before retiring from the track in 2017. The duo qualified for the R2R finals at the Onley Grounds qualifier.

“This has been on the bucket list for a very long time,” said Katie. “When I was around six years old I went to HOYS when it was at Wembley for the first time, and from that moment on I always wanted to compete here.”

Reg is produced by Jo Bates, whose team won the R2R title at HOYS in 2019 with Grandeur. At the Jockey Club Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) National Championships, Reg was crowned novice champion before bagging the coveted Jockey Club supreme title. This was the first time in the show’s history that the novice champion has been pulled to take the supreme.

Reg is a full brother to Cheltenham Festival winner and Grand National runner-up Balthazar King and was purchased for £90,000 at a Tattersalls Ireland sale at Cheltenham in May 2016. He was first acquainted with Katie, rider of the successful ex-racehorse Barlow, in lockdown last year following a recommendation from her friend Henrietta Knight.

“Henrietta told me to come and have a look at a potential show horse she thought would fit the bill,” said Katie. “Reg is a true showman; he loves it. It was a real thrill to qualify Reg for HOYS and he really enjoyed being in the ring here.”

Taking second was marketing lead Abi Sole on board her own Hero Worship, who was advancing on his previous best placing of third achieved in 2018. The Kalanisi 18-year-old had three starts on the flat for trainer Michael Jarvis, winning twice and earning just under £20,000.

Collette McGoldrick and her Edward Young-produced nine-year-old Mumford took third.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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A horse who once sold for £240,000 but was “thrown out with the garbage” a few years later has gone on to showjumping success in a loving new home.

War Celeste, who is by American former racehorse War Front, one of the most expensive sires in the world, was found in a group of 11 starving thoroughbreds by Irish charity My Lovely Horse Rescue in 2018.

The mare, whose ancestry includes Secretariat and Northern Dancer, was born in 2012 and sold for nearly quarter of a million pounds as a yearling. She was sent for training but two years later was sold again, for £15,000.

“We met War Celeste one wintry day in February 2018 when the doors of a large hay barn in Co Cork were prized open to reveal a sight that those of us present that day will never forget,” a spokesman for MLHR said.

“Inside were 11 starving thoroughbreds. Some had access to a small muddy paddock, others were trapped inside individual stalls, standing on manure so high that the stall doors had to be broken off and the manure torn out with a digger to create a slope the horses could climb down. They came out slipping, falling, terrified.

“War Celeste was in one of the four stalls. She was on her own, emaciated, head down, slowly dying. She was one of the horses in the worst condition and was in danger along with four others that day of being put down on site.”

The charity took in all five of these horses, while the other six were taken elsewhere to start a new life. Two of the five had to be put down as their condition was so serious, but Celeste, Grandpa John and Kelly all survived.

“For the first year that Celeste was with us, everything was geared towards keeping her alive, putting her on a slow and comprehensive re-feeding programme,” a spokesman for the charity told H&H.

“It is a very tentative process when looking after a horse in such poor condition. Once we had Celeste over the first few weeks, the danger period, we sent her from our rescue farm to one of our experienced fosterers who put her out on grass. This, combined with the love and care from her fosterers, had a hugely beneficial effect on her health and eventual full rehabilitation and recovery.”

The spokesman praised Celeste’s “unbreakable spirit”; who did not hide from humans as many rescued horses do but came to staff with “an amazing, ‘we’re all in this together’ attitude”.

She had a fear of open spaces at first, and would panic if turned out, but “like a prisoner emerging from the dark, she eventually learned that freedom was a truly wonderful thing”, the spokesman said. “Her recovery was slow but she made it.”

The charity did not know Celeste’s history when she was rescued but as it emerged, there was interest in her, mainly from breeders. MLHR has a strict no-breeding policy so has decided to keep the mare for good, to best protect her welfare.

She now lives with long-term volunteer Martin Laffan and his granddaughter Abi Plunkett, who have given her “magnificent care and love, giving her time out to grass and special feed to keep body on her”.

With them she has been schooling and jumping, and has competed at Showjumping Ireland shows.

“There has been great excitement everywhere she goes when people realise who she is and where she came from and people are utterly amazed at the transformation in her since we found her,” the spokesman said.

“For us her story shows both the tragedy and the glory of every horse’s life. Celeste did not make the grade as the racehorse she was supposed to be and so at a very young age was left to fall down to the very bottom of the ladder.

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“If she hadn’t ended up as she did in that barn, she could well have ended up on the back of a truck on her way to the slaughterhouse. She didn’t deserve that, no horse deserves that. Just because you can’t run fast enough or jump high enough does not mean you should die. We don’t do it to humans and we shouldn’t do it to animals either.

“We want Celeste’s story to show that there are so many ways to be a champion. We want her story to make everyone think of all the horses, in Ireland and all over the world, who are doomed to abandonment and death just because they are not what their owners want them to be.

“We want people to look at Celeste and see what lies deep inside all horses, beauty, intelligence, grace and the strength of a champion, which allowed our Celeste to survive against all the odds and against everything that humans threw at her.”

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Racing legend Faugheen will enjoy his retirement in the company of heroes at the Irish National Stud.

Susannah and Rich Ricci’s National Hunt star, trained by Willie Mullins, won more than £1.1m in prize money in eight seasons on the track.

“We are delighted to be welcoming the legendary Faugheen the machine to join our Living Legends for a well-earned retirement,” said a spokesman for the Irish National Stud.

“He will join old stablemate and fellow Champion Hurdle winner Hurricane Fly as well as Hardy Eustace, Beef Or Salmon, Kicking King and Rite Of Passage.”

The 13-year-old gelding, bred by the late Dr John Waldron, won his point-to-point at Ballysteen in 2012 for trainer Andrew Slattery and owner Thomas Hassett, who named him after a church in Country Waterford.

He then joined the Mullins string and Ricci ownership, winning his first 10 starts under Rules, including his Grade One debut in the Novices’ Hurdle at the 2014 Cheltenham Festival, the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and both the 2015 Champion Hurdle and the Punchestown Champion Hurdle.

He spent close to two years off the track, owing to injuries, following his victory in the Irish Champion Hurdle in January 2016, marking his return with a win in the Grade One Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown in November 2017. His final outing was in the Marsh Novices’ Chase at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival, where he finished third.

In all, he scored 17 wins under Rules in his 26-race career, including 11 Grade One victories.

Two other stars from the Ricci/Mullins operation were also retired at the same time.

Eight-time Grade One winner Douvan and star mare Benie Des Dieux, who claimed four Grade One victories during her career, both bowed out of racing following glittering careers.

Douvan boasts the 2015 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the 2016 Arkle at Cheltenham among his stellar performances in a 13-race winning streak. The 11-year-old gelding had his final run in a Grade Two chase at Clonmel in November 2019, which he won, taking his lifetime racing earnings to more than £609,000.

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The French-bred Benie Des Dieux, hero of the 2018 Mares’ Hurdle, joined the Mullins string from Ecurie Zingaro in December 2016 and finished in the top three in 14 of her 19 starts under Rules.

She was first past the post on 11 occasions, including four Grade Ones, and finished second to Honeysuckle when seeking to reclaim her Cheltenham Mares Hurdle title in 2020.

Plans are being made for Douvan’s retirement, while the 10-year-old Benie Des Dieux (Great Pretender x Robin Des Champs) is set to visit stallion Walk In The Park.

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The first 2021 International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses session covered responsibility for racing thoroughbreds throughout their lives. H&H finds out how this can happen and what is needed to ensure the best outcome for all horses

THE measure of how racing looks after its horses is how it cares for them in their retirement.

Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) chief executive Di Arbuthnot gave the message at the first part of the 2021 International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) conference (6 April).

“Aftercare is everyone’s responsibility. It’s our moral responsibility,” said Ms Arbuthnot. “Society is constantly changing and we must do more. The measure of how you look after the horse is how you look after the retired ones.”

Ms Arbuthnot was joined by top eventing coach Yogi Briesner and leading Irish racehorse trainer and former Olympian Jessica Harrington in a discussion chaired by broadcaster Nick Luck. Nemone Routh, the Aga Khan Studs’ racing office manager and secretary general of French racehorse retraining initiative Au-Delà des Pistes, and Graham and Anita Motion of US racing operation Herringswell Stable, were also in the discussion.

The main points were that everyone in racing has responsibility for thoroughbreds throughout their lives, and that more education – and more timely education – is needed, particularly for new owners.

Transparency around a horse’s character, temperament, veterinary history and whether or not he would be suitable to be rehomed was also flagged as crucial.

Ms Routh said making owners aware when they first buy a horse that they will be responsible for his life could help prevent uncomfortable conversations over money and responsibility at the end of a racing career.

She also suggested setting aside an “equine pension fund” at the outset “when the dreams are still alive” – not a vast sum, but enough to help with a horse’s transition into a new career – could help.

“There would be enough funding to go around then to ensure the horse gets to the place it deserves to after its racing career,” she said.

Jessica said she believes aftercare is “very important”, and something she discusses with connections, and suggested a leaflet in owners’ packs spelling out that the horse will have a life after racing and that it is their responsibility to contribute towards that.

“I think it’s education we really need, to instruct people that horses are not just for their racing life,” she said, likening it to the “a dog is for life” messages.

“They can do loads of other things and I’d like to see people being made aware. I think it’s ignorance, rather than willfully saying, ‘I’m not going to look after my horse.’”

She also stressed the importance of owners understanding horses’ fluctuations in value.

Yogi agreed, adding it is “not dissimilar in many ways” to buying a car, although a horse’s value goes up as well as down.

“The difference is here we are dealing with a living creature and we have a responsibility to give that creature a life,” he said.

Learning from all sides

The benefits of more collaboration between racing and the wider equestrian worlds were raised multiple times.

Jessica explained how her father’s attitude of “horses can do everything” shaped her own attitude.

She said one of his successful polo ponies would hunt in winter, race in spring and play polo in summer. One of her top eventers, the 15.2hh Amoy, rotated between hunting, point-to-pointing, eventing and racing.

“I was brought up with the ethos that thoroughbred horses, if you train them – and they are all trainable – can do everything,” she said, adding that she transferred that when she started training.

“I like to see a horse walk, trot and canter properly. If he is in balance in all of those, he will gallop hopefully a bit quicker and won’t have problems. I do quite a lot of flatwork with horses at times, I like them to go in a proper shape.”

Yogi suggested education centres and racing schools could be well placed to offer courses teaching people how to train or prepare horses for new careers after racing.

He said more collaboration between racing and the wider equestrian world would help all parties.

“Then we can use the expertise from both sides, to work for a better life for horses generally,” he said.

He also advised taking a trainers’ attitude when looking at a horse’s suitability to post-racing careers.

“When a horse comes in for training, a racehorse trainer would look at its pedigree, have a pretty good idea of what distance that horse is capable of running over,” he explained. “They would start training, find out about his temperament and find a niche. You will find a level where that horse is able to compete at his most successful, and it’s the same when they come out of racing.

“There are very, very few horses, never mind ex-racehorses, capable of reaching [Olympic or World Championship] level. But there is a niche, I would say, for 99.9% of all horses born.”

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A 17th century “rubbing house” at Salisbury racecourse is one of the historic sites across England to be given extra protection this year.

Historic England has listed the building, one of the few of its kind to survive in the country and at one of England’s oldest racecourses, at grade II.

Rubbing houses of this sort were once common, used to wash and dry off the horses after work, highlighting the level of care they enjoyed even centuries ago. This one was built between 1675 and 1706.

“Architecturally, the building is well-detailed and of high quality, emphasising just how important its role on the course was,” a spokesman for Historic England said.

“The functional elements of the building are still evident, such as the tall entrance, which would allow the horse and rider to go through the doorway, the tethering rings and the wide doorways designed to protect horses from injury.

“It was designed to wash, dry and rub down racehorses before and after races, a ritual that was believed to be very important at the time and shows how popular horse racing as a sport was during the period.”

Gardens, churches and a pub are also among the sites given listed status this year.

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Heritage minister Nigel Huddleston said: “I am delighted these important sites have been listed. These significant additions to the list span the whole country, from Nottingham to Kent, Andover to Cumbria, and include something for everyone to enjoy. I am grateful that, thanks to these listings, these heritage sites will continue to enrich our communities for generations to come.”

Historic England CEO Duncan Wilson added that the organisation works to protect the country’s most significant historical sites.

“Despite the challenges the heritage sector has faced this year, there have been many brilliant additions to the list. We want to ensure England’s rich and varied cultural heritage is protected so that the public can continue to cherish the heritage that makes their local places so important.”

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A review of procedures will take place after a race was ultimately awarded to the seventh-placed jockey, when the majority of runners were disqualified for missing a hurdle.

Confusion arose in the mares’ handicap hurdle at Fontwell Park yesterday (15 November) when it appeared chevron signs had been placed in a hurdle in the final circuit resulting in seven jockeys missing out the jump. The chevrons had been carried across the course in order to guide riders around pulled-up horse Bluebell Sally, who was receiving veterinary treatment.

Welsh jockey Jack Tudor on the Clare Hobson-trained Dharma Rain was the only rider to jump the obstacle, so he was awarded the win, instead of the first-home Harry Reed on Just Henny.

A stewards’ report said an enquiry was held to establish the placings owing to the fact all the riders, except Jack and Sean Houlihan on Bluebell Sally, bypassed the third flight from home on the final circuit.

Jockeys Jeremiah McGrath, Brendan Powell, Page Fuller, Lucy Gardner, Harry Reed, Tabitha Worsley, and Niall Houlihan were interviewed, as were the clerk of course, the head groundsman and an additional member of the ground staff. After listening to the evidence and watching recordings of the incident, the stewards revised the placings, awarding Jack the win while all other runners were disqualified for taking the wrong course.

“Taking into account, on this occasion the poor visibility, and the illusion that the chevrons had been placed in the hurdle – which was caused by the chevrons being carried across the course behind the hurdle, which gave riders cause for concern for the safety of all involved – no penalties were imposed on any rider,” read the report.

In a post-race interview with At The Races when describing what happened Jack said it had been “very unclear” whether the hurdle was included or not.

“It looked like that hurdle could have been out very easily, it was a 50/50,” he said.

Although he had seen the other riders go round the fence, Jack jumped the hurdle, adding that there was “nothing on the fence”.

“I thought I will go with my gut instinct and jump it,” he said.

A spokesman for the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) told H&H a report of the incident had been forwarded to the BHA’s head office for further consideration, including whether any further regulatory action needs to be taken.

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“The BHA will also work with the racecourse to understand what caused the incident and what the course can do to ensure that a repeat does not occur,” he said.

A spokesman for Arena Racing Company (ARC), which owns Fontwell Park, told H&H ARC is in the process of undertaking a full review of the procedures that were adopted to guide runners around a horse receiving veterinary treatment.

“Regardless of the outcome of this investigation, as a goodwill gesture to the owners of the horses that were subsequently disqualified, ARC will pay the equivalent of the prize money to the first four horses past the post and the applicable appearance money scheme to the remaining runners,” he said.

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Racehorses whose owners can no longer afford their training fees because of hardship linked to Covid-19 are to be protected from abandonment by a new relief fund.

The “last resort” financial safety net was launched yesterday (14 October) by The Racehorse Owners Association and is being funded initially by The Racing Foundation.

Owners granted relief will have their horses’ fees met for a period of three months, enabling them to have some “breathing space” to decide the best future for the horse.

The Racehorse Relief Fund (RRF) is part of a package of measures proposed in April by the British Horseracing Authority and other racing bodies to help protect the industry from the impact of the pandemic.

A survey conducted at the time, to which 30% of trainers responded, suggested 77 owners were already struggling to pay for their horses. It was predicted that up to 1,500 animals could face abandonment — although this dramatic impact has not yet materialised.

Charlie Liverton, chief executive of the ROA, said:“This is about protecting horses and livelihoods. As the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis continue to crystallise it is clear that some owners will be financially affected and no longer able to sustain training fees.

“As a last resort, we hope that this fund will help horses, trainers and owners find a solution that meets the high standards of welfare we expect and provides some financial stability to training yards.”

Rob Hezel, chief executive of the Racing Foundation, added: “The Racing Foundation is proud to be supporting the RRF as the industry looks to minimise the hardship created by Covid-19 on its participants both human and equine.

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“Equine abandonment is a concern for the sport during this period given the massive financial impact of Covid-19. The fund will provide a vital safety net to protect horses and prevent welfare issues occurring.”

The fund will have strict eligibility criteria to identify that all other options have been explored and the horse is definitely no longer affordable.

Applications can be made by either the owner or trainer online at www.rrfund.co.uk and need to be supported by training and veterinary records.

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Two fillies by Galileo have become the most expensive yearlings sold at auction in the world this year – as nine lots fetch seven figure prices at the Tattersalls October yearling sale book one last week (6-8 October).

Lot 436, a Galileo filly out of Shastye, was bought by MV Magnier, Coolmore, for £3.57 million on the final day of the sale. The Newsells Park Stud consigned filly is the full sister to Group One winners Japan and Mogul and will join her full-brothers at Ballydoyle.

“It is a great result for everybody involved, she has been bought in partnership with Westerberg,” said MV Magnier. “She is a very nice filly and a very nice mover, like Japan and Mogul. The mare produces great looking stock and great racehorses, let’s hope she does it one more time.”

The second Galileo filly, Lot 374, was also bought by MV Magnier. The filly, out of the dual Grade Two winner Prize Exhibit, sold for £2.94 million.

‘[Her] breeder David Nagle has been saying for a very long time how good a filly she is. We are very lucky to have been able to buy her. She has a great page, and she comes from a very good nursery,” said Mr Magnier.

“These kind of fillies are collectors items with Galileo and how he is doing as a broodmare sire. She is just exceptional.”

During the auction’s three days nine lots sold for seven figure prices including Lot 174, the son of Kingman who sold for £2.84 million to Oliver St Laurence from Houghton Bloodstock, on behalf of Pantile Stud. The colt, out of Galicuix, is a half brother to class winner Galileo Gold.

Bo Hicks-Little, stud manager of Pantile Stud, said the colt has “never put a foot wrong”.

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“He is a superstar, and not just physically, he is so mentally strong too, he is such a professional. He was a late April foal and we had a bad night when he was born as we nearly lost the mare. We had to bottle feed him for 24 hours,” he said.

“He has been bought for Fawzi Nass and Bahraini interests. He is a gorgeous horse, he has a stallion’s pedigree and he will go into training with Roger Varian,” added Mr St Laurence.

Lot 109, a colt by Dubawi out of Cushion, was bought by Godolphin for £2.21 million from Floors Stud. The stable also bought Lot 162, a filly by Frankel out of Flesh d’Or for £2.1 million from Norelands Stud and Lot 41, a colt by Frankel out of Attraction, for £1.16 million from Floors Stud.

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The dual Group One winner Limato is set to turn his hoof to a new career in showing when he joins a top producer next week.

Paul Jacobs’ eight-year-old gelding will move from trainer Henry Candy to Katie Jerram-Hunnable’s stable. Limato won 14 of his 33 races including the 2016 Group One July Cup and Prix de la Foret with Harry Bentley, three Group Two races, and three Group Threes.

Katie, who has retrained top chasers Cue Card and The Queen’s Barbers Shop, told H&H she feels “honoured” to have the gelding.

“He has come to me via Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) whose kind support places these super horses into another career,” she said.

“My passion is racing and my favourite breed is the thoroughbred and I couldn’t think of a nicer horse to retrain.”

Limato will arrive racing fit so will be given time to be let down and adapt to a different way of life.

“We will get him used to being turned out in the field and having a new routine. I always have plans and ideas [about their future] but every day is another day, nothing is textbook. The horses are individuals and you have to train each one a different way and find your way round. The lovely thing with him is as he’s only eight he’s got lots of time ahead of him,” said Katie.

“Some of them come on very quickly but others take time; Barbers Shop arrived in the October and was in the ring by March, Cue Card arrived in April last year and went to a few in-hand shows and was ready for the ring this March.”

Katie said Cue Card has since gone back to be turned out at the Tizzards’, his former trainer, after the pandemic meant the cancellation of many shows, but Barbers Shop will be on hand to “nanny” Limato in the field.

“Cue Card went home last month which was great sadness for us, he was ready for the ring but there was no shows. His owner, Mrs Bishop, is in her nineties now and couldn’t see him anywhere so he’s gone back home.

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“Barber hacks out every day or goes in the school and loves his work. He’s 18 now, and I’m very proud of him parading at RoR race meetings. He looks a picture and it’s lovely people still want him out there and the crowd still remember him.”

Katie added Henry Candy and his wife are “very excited” about Limato’s new career.

“They very much want to follow him and his future, they’ve done so much with this lovely horse and it means a lot to me that they support his new career so it’s lovely in all respects,” she said.

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Racehorses use less energy to gallop than has previously been thought, a study has shown.

Researchers from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) used force plate technology, a measuring instrument which measures ground reaction forces, to “accurately measure” the external work involved in racehorses’ galloping.

A spokesman for the RVC said “This technique, which has never been used for such large animals at high speed before, showed that horses had much lower levels of external work — how much work the horse has to do to move relative to its environment — than had previously been reported when studied using different methods.”

A jockey rode seven racehorses over a “instrumented runway of sensors” planted under a section of the surface at the British Racing School in Newmarket, allowing researchers to directly measure “the external mechanical work of galloping”, by measuring the forces the horses exerted on the runway.

The study produced lower values than those previously reported for external work in galloping horses.

“Estimated via different methods, those previously reported high external work values are at odds with the fact that horses evolved to move at high speeds over long distances,” said the spokesman.

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“A high external work value would make moving over long distances much harder. The RVC’s new results support that thinking.

“The researchers were then able to calculate the apparent muscle efficiency of galloping horses by combining the external work values from this study with published values for metabolic work (the conversion of food into energy used by muscles) and internal mechanical work (how much work is needed to move the limbs relative to the body). They found that the horse’s efficiency values were between 37 and 46%.”

The spokesman said the study findings will provide “useful insight” into the movement of racehorses and contribute details towards explaining how racehorses can gallop “so efficiently” over long distances.

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Life as an investment banker in London could not be further from the rolling hills of the Herefordshire countryside. One person who knows that all too well is City slicker-turned-racehorse trainer Ed de Giles.

Having spent 15 years in the Big Smoke, Ed decided to swap a suit for a pair of wellies eight years ago — returning to the life he’d previously known when serving his racing apprenticeship in Lambourn, aka the Valley of the Racehorse.

Over the years he has been growing his yard and now boasts a string of 30 horses, as well as top-class facilities which include an equine swimming pool, two gallops and a treadmill.

“I spent two years as assistant trainer to Nick Gaselee in Lambourn over the Party Politics era when he won the Grand National in 1992,” says Ed. “Then I went to the City to go and earn my fortune — which I didn’t do! The money I did earn, I have come to spend here very rapidly and we are enjoying it while we do it.”

As a former racehorse owner himself, Ed knows the realities of being an owner in the racing game.

“Whilst training is a lovely way of life, it is a business and you have to try and make it work. I was an owner in the City for a long time and I know what it is like to have the bills landing on your table every month, while the horse is not doing anything,” he says.

“You keep paying and nothing is coming back, so I try and have a plan for all these horses and try and have an exit strategy if the owner wants it. There will be some owners who might want to get a return out of the horse, so we try and sell in the blue with the horses and leave a little bit for the next man. If we do well, owners will reinvest and we have done very well in the past with horses we have sold.”

For Ed, it is a proven tactic that has worked in the past for both him and his owners; in 2014 Kashmiri Sunset was sold for 150,000 guineas — having been purchased for just 13,000 guineas two years earlier. While, Break Rank sold for 115,000guineas just over a year after being bought for 34,000 guineas. 

His 75-acre base near Ledbury is the perfect environment for racehorses.

“We have a lot of turnout paddocks — where the horses can be turned out after exercising, so they can let their heads down and relax,” says Ed.

“I think mentally for these horses, it is very important to let them out rather than them being cooped up all the time, so we try to get most of the horses out every day.”

The 50-metre equine swimming pool is also a brilliant addition to the facilities.

“It’s great, particularly for Flat horses who are often getting various niggles and problems — especially with running on fast ground, which puts quite a hammering on their knees and fetlock joints,” explains Ed. “They can continue training in their pool, as you can swim a lame horse and he might become sound in two weeks or so.

“We have got everything we want here to be able to do the job and it seems to be working,” he concludes.

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By the end of today (4 May), over 200 two-year-old horses will have gone through the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up horse sales in Newmarket.

The concept of a “breeze up” originates from the 1970s in America, when horses would be tacked up and cantered along a straight in front of potential buyers. The concept then arrived in Europe, where it has been very successful.

Plenty of bloodstock experts will be at the sales eyeing up the best horses for their racehorse owner clients, but what exactly are they looking for?

Star Bloodstock consignor Byron Rogers gives us some pointers…

“What we are looking for physically in a horse when buying is, firstly, that it’s nicely balanced — a neck that runs into a lovely shoulder. A shoulder that sits back well and a neck with plenty of reach to the head,” he says.

“You want a good length from his shoulder to elbow, which is important when it comes to his stride length. And also a long leg down to the knee, followed by a short cannon bone.”

However, most importantly, Byron adds: “We want to see plenty of depth from the withers down to the girth. This means there is plenty of room for the lungs. It is good to see that the withers are set back and he has a lovely short back to the point of his hip.

“The thigh muscle and gaskin are also important and we look for a lot of strength here because that’s the muscle that brings the horse’s leg underneath them — ultimately where their stride length comes from.

He concludes: “Finally, you are look that he has an alert eye and is a good-looking horse. He also isn’t too wide across his chest and his knees are sharp and clean.”

In this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (3 May 2018) we celebrate The Queen’s dedication to Royal Windsor, as the show prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary

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An Irish event rider who runs a solo operation buying and selling young racehorses at horse sales made a hefty profit when her Dabirsim colt sold for a remarkable €500,000 (£447,572) on Wednesday (4 October).

Co. Kildare-based Edie Murray-Hayden bought the colt (pictured, above) last year at Goffs November Foal Sale for €56,000 (£50,117).

After 11 months spent at Edie’s 35-acre Gormanstown Stud, during which time he was backed, the youngster was sold for half a million Euros to agents Sackville Donald at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale.

“His sire was unknown when I bought him, but I fell in love with him and was willing to take a chance on him — there is a lot of luck involved in this game,” Edie told H&H.

“He was very good-looking and an exceptional walker. Despite his unknown sire, he looked a good enough horse and I had done my homework.”

The Irish rider buys and sells — referred to as “pinhooking” in the bloodstock industry — from her 10-stable farm and usually buys one or two foals each year.

“It’s great to see the horses go on and race — it’s even better when they prove themselves,” said Edie, who previously worked for big breeding operations including Coolmore and Godolphin.

“I knew he was an exceptional colt, but I didn’t think he’d go for that much money. Once the price went above €200k it all became a bit of a blur — usually you can remain astute but I definitely got a bit lost at that point.”

Edie (pictured, below) was a member of the first Irish pony eventing team and was the first reserve for Ireland at the 2002 World Equestrian Games. She also produces event horses up to two-star before selling them on, alongside pre-training racehorses.

This is not her first “pinhooking” success — after setting up Gormanstown Stud, she bought Sir Prancealot for €52,000 as a foal and sold the future sire for €142,000 at the 2011 Orby Sale.

The Willie Mullins-trained Black Hercules, a Cheltenham Festival winner, also spent time in Edie’s care when she bought him as a three-year-old before selling him on.

“I actually find it harder to sell the eventers because you take them up the levels and they gain your trust — you get to know them over a longer period of time,” added Edie.

“With the yearlings, it is slightly different because I only have them for about 10 months before they are sold.

“The profit will be re-invested into my farm — I have been overwhelmed by the media attention and the well wishers.”

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A £20million racehorse training system designed by roller coaster engineers and introduced in Lambourn has received mixed views on social media.

The pioneering machine — called the “Kurtsystem” — is the brainchild of Turkish racehorse owner Mehmet Kurt and has been constructed at his Kingwood Stud.

No riders are required for the innovative concept whereby racehorses are loosely tethered within “cabins” powered by an overhead monorail. The speed can be set from walk to canter around an oval circuit of just under a mile.

“I was delighted to provide the British racing community with an introductory demonstration of the Kurtsystem’s technology — trainers, owners, breeders and their staff were able to see the pre-training system operate at speeds varying from a walk and trot to a canter with both yearlings and two-year-olds,” said Mehmet.

“The system will improve the preparation and pre-training of young racehorses before they enter a full training regime — it will reduce injuries in horses and allow us to measure their physical growth. It will also have a role in rehabilitation, particularly for injured National Hunt horses.”

At first glance, it may look more like a theme park ride than a racehorse training facility, but the unique system — the first of its kind in the UK — has received some positive feedback from industry experts.

The 20-time champion jockey AP McCoy has branded it “amazing”.

He told ITV News: “I never thought I’d see something like this in my lifetime — to train a racehorse or to be successful in any sport, it’s all about repetition, but whether this works, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Top Lambourn trainer Nicky Henderson previously told H&H it was “a very novel idea and highly interesting”, while former jockey and TV presenter Mick Fitzgerald described it on Twitter as “quite an eye opener”, adding he “wasn’t sure what to make of it but the horses looked very relaxed”.

Racing UK presenter Nick Luck said it was “very interesting” and that “some [people] are always ahead of the game”.

However, some racing fans were not convinced by the new technique.

“Can’t see the new Kurtsytem ever replacing the thrill of watching your horse canter up the [gallops] in the morning,” added Twitter follower @hgriffiths55.

Should the Kurtsystem — which has been approved by the Royal Veterinary College — prove a success, it could potentially revolutionise the training of young racehorses in the UK. However, as AP McCoy highlights, time will indeed tell.

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A FORMER racehorse who found a new career in the art world is now signing copies of his biography.

Metro Meteor, who had won more than $300,000 on the track in America, retired as a nine-year-old owing to severe knee injuries.

His new owner, artist Ron Krajewski of Pennsylvania, US, taught him to create “abstract paintings”.

Ron said: “He’s got a habit of putting stuff in his mouth and bobbing his head.

“I thought if I could teach [him] to hold a brush, maybe we could do something with him.”

The bay gelding took to his new career with alacrity, developing a style of building up his pieces over several days. Word has spread about Metro’s talent and his paintings are being snapped up, with one selling for more than $2,000.

His work has also been displayed at Gallery 30 in Gettysburg, where there is a waiting list of 80 people interested in Metro’s art, according to a gallery representative.

The money has been used to pay for Metro’s own vet bills, and his talent is also helping other thoroughbreds. Half the proceeds from the sale of the paintings is donated to the New Vocations Adoption programme, which helps retired racehorses find “second careers and loving homes”.

So far, Metro has raised more than $80,000 for the cause.

Ron said: “Sometimes Metro can be a jackass. He is temperamental, stubborn, dominant, and just plain cranky.

“But I have to remember that he is just a horse. I have grown to love him and gave up trying to change him a long time ago. He is Metro. And he paints.”

Related articles:

• Talented ex-racehorses celebrated at RoR awards
• Laura Renwick: How to improve an ex-racehorse’s showjumping
• Buying an ex-racehorse? Here’s what you need to know

Metro is now the subject of Ron’s book Painting With Metro: How a Crippled Racehorse Rescued Himself (and Me) With a Paintbrush, which is out on 5 April.

And, showing himself to be as handy with a pen as with a brush, the former racehorse even signs his own book.

Painting With Metro: How a Crippled Racehorse Rescued Himself (and Me) With a Paintbrush by Ron Krajewski with Susy Flory

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From time-to-time we see trends in the types of horses that are referred to us for therapy and/or rehabilitation. At the moment we are mainly spread between racehorses and dressage horses, so we are dealing with two ends of the equine spectrum on a daily basis.

Until around three years ago we would have up to three racehorses a week come to stay for exercise testing on the high-speed treadmill (pictured top). This incorporated video-endoscopy and simultaneous EGC (Electrocardiogram) obtained while running the horse at speeds of up to 12metres/second on a steep incline, effectively simulating a race.

Unfortunately, despite testing more than 500 horses since we opened in 1999, these cases have evaporated due to a new era of wireless video-endoscopy, whereby the horse can be sent up the gallops with a scope and transmitter attached to the front of its face with images viewed on a laptop. The racehorses we are now sent tend to come in for either soft-tissue rehabilitation, pre-training, or for the equivalent of human cross-training; giving them either a little freshener or providing alternative work for those vulnerable to issues such a sore shins, foot pain and other concussive injuries.

I have to say, despite appreciating nice horses from any discipline, I do love working with racehorses. I rode work on point-to-pointers from the age of 15, and thereafter throughout my career, and would very much class myself as a ‘thoroughbred person’. There seems to be a ‘Marmite effect’ with racehorses and thoroughbreds generally; you either love them or hate them. I love Marmite, and love racehorses too.  I believe that they are very trust-orientated, particularly those who have either just come out of racing, or as is the case with one of our horses at the moment, who has come to us for pre-training.

There is no getting away from the fact that thorougbreds are inherently insecure, hence why they’re more than happy to follow 15 horses around a track galloping their hearts out, just to be in with the in-crowd. I think this insecurity is the deal-breaker for many people and it can indeed be tricky, but this is where the trust factor comes in.

In our situation, I think the racehorses benefit from having a very small number of people handling them, and perhaps even only one that does the riding or groundwork. It’s a different story when they are in a big training yard with a huge support network of other horses around them, but take them away from this and ask them to go off ALONE and work over trot poles with their ‘face in’, and you can have an entirely different story. I really enjoy the challenge of addressing their uncertainty.

In my experience, thoroughbreds thrive on routine, love learning, and really like being tired. They live to work — it’s what they do. Turnout also plays a big role in keeping their sharp minds happy and I believe that if you strike the balance right, they can be the best horses in the world. Certainly some of the most amazing horses I have ever ridden have been racehorses.

Think the unthinkable

As everyone knows, two weeks ago the unthinkable happened — our favourite dressage superstar Valegro was beaten by Totilas in Aachen. It is all too easy to forget that Blueberry is indeed a horse, and that Charlotte [Dujardin] is not entirely superhuman, however there was still a feeling of shock reverberating through the channels of the horse world following their grand prix test on the Thursday.

What struck me was the response from Team Valegro. “They will come back stronger for the weekend,” said Carl Hester on Twitter. And boy did they. A win in the freestyle on Sunday put them back where they belong and the pictures show him looking fit and strong. So bring on the World Equestrian Games. I have no doubt that the gloves will be well and truly off in Normandy!

I write this from my home in Scotland, having come up here to visit my family and have a few days holiday. This is the first time I’ve been home since Christmas and so it’s well overdue. I am meeting my new niece for the first time and am really enjoying some proper chill out time. Saying that, I’ve already been put to work since I’ve been here, having been given the mission of helping my step-mum get her new driving pony, Breeze, going … a change is as good as a rest as they say!

 Fizz

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Jockey’s health is to be overseen by a new chief medical adviser.

Dr Jerry Hill, 49, takes on the role at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) from Dr Michael Turner, who left in January after 21 years. Dr Guy Straight held the position in the interim.

Dr Hill is a senior racecourse medical officer, a member of the Football Association Medical Committee and former sports physician at the 2012 London Olympics for the equestrian events.

He will be responsible for setting the standards for raceday medical care, monitoring jockeys’ health and recovery from injury, overseeing the implementation of the policy for the banned substances tests and working to enhance safety standards.

“Jerry brings to the role not only his extensive experience as a physician in sport and trauma incidents, but also years of working with jockeys from his time operating on racecourses,” said the BHA’s Paul Bittar.

“He was the chosen candidate from a number of strong applications. We were impressed not only by his CV but also his commitment to, and ideas for, further enhancing jockey health and safety.’

Dr Hill has worked on racecourses for more than 10 years, most recently at Lingfield Park, and has also been a Medical Incident Officer for Sussex, Surrey and Kent Ambulance services.

“He’s clearly very well qualified, seems passionate about jockey health and wellbeing, has a number of good ideas and we look forward to working closely with him,” added Paul Struthers of the Professional Jockeys Association.

Dr Hill said he was “delighted”.

“I look forward to working with colleagues from all areas of the racing community, to build upon the ground-breaking work of my predecessor,” he added.

“With the aim of delivering optimum care to the jockeys at all stages of their careers, I am keen to identify relevant best practice in our sport, and in trauma, general and sports medicine by consulting widely both in and outside of racing. Any changes should be subject to regular review and a programme of educational support.”

First published in Horse & Hound magazine on 31 July 2014

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Rules regarding steroid use in racehorses in Britain are to be bolstered with the implementation of a zero-tolerance policy, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced.

Under new rules to be introduced on 1 January 2015, a racehorse “must not be administered an anabolic steroid at any time, with no exceptions”.

Bans have also been substantially increased. Horses that test positive for anabolic steroids will be stood down from racing for 14 months — up from the current six months.

The move follows two high-profile steroid cases that rocked British racing last year.

In April, Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni was banned for eight years for giving anabolic steroids to 22 horses in his care.

Then, in December, Newmarket trainer Gerard Butler was warned off for five years after nine of his horses tested positive.

The BHA said the zero tolerance policy, which was announced last month (26 June), was designed to “ensure a level playing field in Britain” and was a “further step toward international harmonisation”.

The BHA’s Paul Bittar said: “After a challenging 16 months, as a result of the actions taken already by several nations, the sport globally is now in a much better place when it comes to the regulation of anabolic steroids.”

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (10 July, 2014)

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Last week’s Royal Ascot was as good a race meeting as I can remember. I’m pretty sure it gets harder to win there every year.

Toronado cruised through the Queen Anne before winning with the minimum of fuss. Whether he will be able to match the fast improving Kingman is debatable, but he has got better from three years old to four.

The aforementioned Kingman annihilated Night Of Thunder and others in the St James’s Palace Stakes. Held up off a slow pace, he winged past them all and looks as though he is improving from race to race.

If he were mine, it would pain me that he was beaten in the 2000 Guineas. He is clearly miles better than the rest of his generation, but the history books show he was second on the day that matters most of all.

We can assume that many of his peers will be ducking him in the future. Though I doubt that will be the case with Toronado.

It looked like being a sensational meeting for Toronado’s owner, the new powerhouse of Al Shaqab Racing, which owns the Norfolk Stakes winner Baitha Alga and last year’s brilliant Arc de Triomphe winner Treve.

But Treve moved poorly to post for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and ran poorly in the race. Perhaps she had a difficult preparation, but it must be remembered that she is by Motivator out of a mare by Anabaa, a pedigree that suggests last week’s fast surface was unsuitable.

Furthermore, it was the first time she had run outside of Paris, a mere 30min from her Chantilly stables. No doubt we will see her back at her best in the autumn in France.

The Gold Cup was an epic contest. Irish hurdler Missunited set a steady pace before quickening up out of Swinley Bottom and getting the whole field off the bridle, under a fine ride from Jim Crowley.

But Joseph O’Brien on Leading Light and Ryan Moore (Estimate) were wise to it, and the former prevailed in a pulsating three-way finish.

There was plenty of sympathy for Estimate, who had missed work in the spring and rightly so. But Leading Light was the best horse on the day.

Rizeena bounced back from a poor run in the 1000 Guineas to win the Coronation Stakes. The best two-year-old filly of her generation, she had not run well at Newmarket in four starts.

Probably because of this her trainer, optimistic octogenarian Clive Brittain’s faith in her never wavered. I can’t think that I will still be at it at his age, or with his enthusiasm. His record in Group Ones is remarkable and one that should be revered.

Of the trainers, Sir Michael Stoute came out on top, just outpointing John Gosden, each of them with four winners. But they were both upstaged by Irishman Eddie Lynam who brought four horses and returned home with three winners.

Sole Power and Slade Power won both the Group One sprints and he won the Queen Mary with Alexander Anthem.

A year ago in this column, I wrote that Ryan Moore is the best jockey around because of his consistency. This year, he has been peerless in the saddle, and he continued with fine rides on the likes of Telescope and Arabian Moon.

Our very best jockeys over the decades have got to the point where they dictate how a race is run — and the rest follow. Ryan’s ride on Telescope being a good example.

Lester Piggott in the 1960s and 70s, Steve Cauthen in the early 80s, followed by Pat Eddery, Frankie Dettori and Kieren Fallon through the 80s, 90s and into the noughties.

Ryan has reached that level and is without doubt the complete jockey. There are, of course, days when Richard Hughes is his equal, particularly around Goodwood and some of the lesser tracks such as Windsor and Kempton.

However, the clamour for Ryan’s services in Hong Kong and Japan, where racing is more part of the public consciousness than here — and with prize-money to match — justifies the view that he is the best rider in the world.

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Like many, I thought the 2000 Guineas was an unsatisfactory event in that the field split.

Inevitably, when that happens, the groups tend to race each other, rather than all runners and riders concentrating on their own race and what is immediately going on around them.

Having said that, Night Of Thunder was a worthy winner and I was delighted for my friend and neighbour Richard Hannon. Winning a Classic at your first attempt is some achievement, but I am sure there will be more before long.

Miss France looked as though there was more to come when winning the 1000 guineas. She was just doing enough at the line and, with master trainer Andre Fabre in charge, she will be tough to beat wherever she shows up.

If you exclude the St Leger “winner” Encke — who tested positive for steroids four months later — there hasn’t been a Newmarket-trained Classic winner since 2011 St Leger victor Masked Marvel.

Impressive Pretty Polly Stakes winner Taghrooda looks to have a very good chance of changing that in this year’s Oaks.

The future of the sport?

The big industry announcement last week was the news that Chelmsford City (formerly Great Leighs) and Newcastle have been invited to apply for fixtures in 2015.

Both tracks will be all-weather, as Newcastle has plans to rip up its — perfectly good — turf track and put down a Tapeta surface.

It seems unlikely that they will be given new fixtures because we are at saturation point — 25% of Flat races in 2013 had fewer than eight runners.

Each-way betting becomes negligible on those races, which in turn forces lower betting turnover, and has a downward effect on the levy that funds prize-money.

So where will the fixtures come from?

Newcastle — like a dozen other tracks — is owned by ARC [Arena Racing Company], that closed Folkestone and Hereford in 2012. So it is safe to assume it has every intention of further streamlining.

I believe ARC will close Bath, whose grandstand was condemned and demolished last winter, and whose race programme has suffered significant downgrading in the past five years.

As a result of a conversation I had with the CEO of ARC a few years ago, I have no doubt that the Flat track at Chepstow is doomed as well.

And if there had to be more, I would guess that Yarmouth and Southwell’s all-weather — not least because it is prone to flooding — would be in the mix.

Furthermore, because the fixtures are owned by the group the track belongs to, jump fixtures can be switched to Flat too. It would never happen, would it?

In each of the past 3 years, 33% of all National Hunt races have had fewer than 8runners. That is an extremely unhealthy state of affairs, given that there is nothing to stop ARC and others switching fixtures between their tracks, Flat to jumps and vice versa.

The tragedy would be that by losing Flat tracks such as Chepstow and Bath, we are losing the grass roots of the sport.

If we are not careful, racing could easily go the way of the USA, where it has been downgraded to a sport where no one goes, unless to bet, and the only time they get a crowd is at the big festival meetings.

Lastly, I fear for jump racing, not least because it is drifting away from its core period. Summer jumping now has bigger fields and crowds than many of the mid-winter jumps fixtures.

This year, 10,000 fewer people went to Newbury’s big Saturday February fixture than 10 years ago.

Furthermore, Wetherby, which used to be the best jumps-only track in the north, has announced it is experimenting with a Flat fixture next year.

This is because it is worried about the future of National Hunt racing, due to the public perception that injuries go hand in hand with the sport.

For years, the Snaffles print of a point-to-point paddock some-time in the 1920s has hung in countless horsey homes across the country.

“Oh, to be in England now that April’s there” reads the caption, the opening line of the homesick poem written by Robert Browning in Italy in the 1840s.

It might not have been the immortality he intended, but last week its perfection rang truer than ever.

On Wednesday it was the opening of the Craven Meeting at Newmarket, all thoroughbred promise on the hoof and Frankie Dettori returning to win the Classic trial on the filly Sandiva.

On Thursday it was a farewell to the jumping season at Cheltenham, complete with a comeback by the failed chaser Kingsmere.

His jumping has been reformed by hunting with the Quorn with his owner-breeder Joss Hanbury, to whom a five-bar gate is but a standard schooling obstacle.

On Friday — well, it was Good Friday and at last the scales dropped from racing’s eyes. Of all the well-intentioned but muddled-thinking nonsenses, few have beaten the arguments against Good Friday racing.

As was accepted with Sunday racing way back in 1992, the sport is part of the entertainment industry.

But we are here to celebrate spring, not decry it and last week only the stone-hearted could fail to rejoice in the uplift that first stirred old Robert Browning’s pen 170 years ago.

To match the mood, Newmarket on Wednesday was also the scene of the annual prize-giving of the Martin Wills Young Writers’ Awards, presided over by the ever youthful Jilly Cooper.

Who knows where last week’s winners will end up. But the memory of four of them sitting spellbound as Jilly extolled the timeless virtues of the written word was proof, 20 years on, of how good a memorial such schemes will always remain.

Frankie Dettori has not yet reached the professor stage, but at 43 he is into the sunset years — albeit that, for a Flat race jockey, they can be among the most rewarding of all.

It is 29 years since he came over to join Luca Cumani at Newmarket and his life since has been something of a roller coaster, with its dazzling highs challenged by self-inflicted lows.

But watching him close up, as he held Sandiva together over the last demanding, uphill yards to the winning post, was to marvel once again at his incredible toe-tip balance and his unique compressed mid-Atlantic technique.

The thought, as Frankie made his obligatory flying dismount, was that this latest chance was his to lose. Self-destruction should be off the menu.

The same applies to Kingsmere, whose fall first time out last season was followed by such a comprehensive loss of nerve that he failed to complete in all his remaining efforts over fences.

It hardly sounds like the sort of conveyance that a 60-year-old should take to the front of the field with the Quorn, but then Joss Hanbury is not your ordinary 60-year-old.

The best criterion of style and courage is that people should not brag about it. In his position after Kingsmere was led away in triumph, many of us would have regaled listeners with his prowess out hunting.

With Joss, I had to drag it out of him. “Jumped a gate? Oh yes, I think so.” May his horses always have wings.

Especially in April and before we leave, a final bow to Robert Browning. For although brought up in literary Camberwell rather than hunting Leicestershire, Robert was also responsible for How they Brought the Good News from Aix to Ghent, which remains one of the most exciting poems ever written about the galloping horse.

If you haven’t read it lately you must, because the rhythm of the lines echoes the rhythm of the gallop.

But be warned, it is not for the faint-hearted. Two of the three horses keel over mid-ride with exhaustion and the scene at the finish might have problems for the dope test.

“And all I remember is friends flocking round

As I sat with his head ’twixt my knees and the ground;

And no voice but was praising this Roland of mine

As I poured down his throat our last measure of wine.”

A prostate cancer suffer has bought a two-year-old colt and named him Prostate Awareness in order to raise awareness of the disease.

Colin Peach, 66, from Middlesbrough, was originally diagnosed with the disease in 2006.

He told H&H: “I had been toying with idea for a year or so and then in May I decided to go for it.”

“My father had prostate cancer but never spoke about it. I want to shout about it from the rooftops.

“My aim with the horse is to raise awareness so that more people get tested. It is such a simple test and all they need to do is ask their GP.”

The name has been approved by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the horse is now in training at Foulrice Park Racing in North Yorkshire. Trainer, Patrick Holmes, told H&H that he is hopeful that he will race for the first time at York on 27 July.

“When Colin first mentioned the idea I was a little worried,” Patrick admitted. “I mean, Prostate Awareness is not like calling a horse good old Number 7.

“But everyone that we have talked to has been very receptive and has taken on the message in the right way.

“It is fun to be apart of and if it makes one person aware and that one person survives because he gets tested then I think it’s job and done well.“

Mark Bishop, director at Prostate Cancer UK, told H&H that most people don’t know enough about the disease.

He said: “Thanks to Colin and others taking action, awareness of the disease is growing.

We wish Colin, and Prostate Awareness, all the very best and hope that their experience will inspire others to find out more about prostate cancer.”

Anyone concerned about prostate cancer can call Prostate Cancer UK’s confidential Helpline on 0800 074 8383 or visit www.prostatecanceruk.org.

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Racehorse vet John Gray died on 19 September, aged 87.

John qualified as a vet in 1947 and looked after the horses of Gerald Balding and Peter Hastings-Bass during his time in Lambourn.

After a spell as vet at Perth racecourse, he moved to Kenya attending to racehorses and the occasional elephant.

In the mid-1970s, he returned to England and became manager of the Sussex Stud, then Lockinge Stud, before starting a practice in partnership with Barry Park.

His expertise on tendon injuries was legendary and he became known as “the man with X-ray hands“.

He also hunted with the Old Berks and rode several point-to-point winners. John is survived by his wife Mo. Any donations to be made to the Injured Jockeys Fund.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (11 October 2012)

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Trainer Paul Howling tells H&H about the busiest British racehorse of the modern era.

Fact file

Age: 11

Stable name: Dave

Height: 16.1hh

Breed: thoroughbred

Sire: Stravinsky

Dam: Festive Season, by Lypheor

Sex: gelding

Discipline: Flat racing

Trainer: Paul Howling

Owner: David Hardaker

Rider: currently Tom McLaughlin

Groom: Larry Mancini

Three things you didn’t know…

1 As a yearling, he was sold at auction for €200,000 to Michael Tabor, for whom he earned £2,975 from one victory in six runs in the famous blue and orange colours. Eight years later, he was bought by his present owner, his sixth, for just 1,800 guineas.

2 His biggest payday came when he earned £5,180.80 for winning a class four handicap at Kempton four years ago. He has earned £118,000 in 10 seasons. Compare that with Frankel’s £2.2million, and counting, in three years…

3 Sharp Hat, the previous holder of the numerical record, completed his tally of 217 races between 13 July 1996 and 6 November 2007. Dvinsky has been the quicker to his milestone, having had his first race on 20 August 2003. But despite their careers overlapping and both being sprinters, the two never met.

To read the full interview with Paul Howling about Dvinsky see 4 October issue of H&H

Read all the latest racing news

Racehorse Dvinsky, trained by Paul Howling, is set to break the record for the most runs this evening (21 September).

It comes a week after he finished fourth and equalled the record held by Sharp Hat.

Dvinsky will take to the track at Wolverhampton this evening for the 218th race of his long career, which began back in 2003. It will be his 34th appearance at Wolverhampton, a track at which he has won twice before.

The 11-year-old by Stravinsky has won 19 times earning £117,000 in prize money.

Paul Howling has even set up a Twitter account for Dvinsky ahead of his record-breaking run.

He tweeted this morning: “Up and about and ready for action”

Dvinsky faces 11 rivals in the 32Red.com handicap in the 8.00 at Wolverhampton this evening.

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Walter Haefner, a stalwart of Irish racing and breeding has died at the age of 101.

Mr Haefner, who founded the Moyglare Stud in Co Kildare, Ireland, 50 years ago, died in his native Switzerland on 19 June.

His famous winners as an owner-breeder include Go And Go (1999 Belmont Stakes) and Refuse To Bend, winner of the 2000 Guineas in 2003.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (5 July 2012)

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Trainer Lucinda Russell has spoken of her “devastation” at the loss of the exciting young hurdler, Brindisi Breeze – who has been killed in a freak accident.

The six-year-old jumped out of his paddock at Lucinda’s Kinross yard in the early hours of Saturday (19 May) and was hit by an oil tanker.

He died instantly.

Brindisi Breeze became the first Scottish-trained Cheltenham winner for 10 years in March, when he trounced the field in the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle.

In a statement on her website, Lucinda said: “To go from the pride of standing at Cheltenham watching Brindisi and Campbell [Gillies] stride up the hill to victory to the devastation of today’s bizarre incident leaves me deeply saddened.

“With the love and the care that is given to these wonderful athletes, to lose any of them is difficult but when it is a horse who has achieved so much in his short life, it is deeply upsetting.

“It will be hard to overcome,” she added.

Lucinda continued: “He will be sorely missed by the whole yard and especially his sporting owner, Sandy Seymour, who adored his horse.”

Mr Seymour said of “Brin”:

“He had already, in his tragically short career, formed a huge fan club and had become one of those special athletes who instantly capture the attention of the public.”

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Click here for Runners, Tips and Free Bets on the Grand National 2012

Around 12,000 horses came out of training last year, according to British Horseracing Authority records.

That teamed with the increased profile of classes for former racehorses means many more are ending up in inexperienced hands, charities have said.

The Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre (TRC) in Lancs, said calls to its helpline from “inexperienced but well-meaning” individuals and trainers wanting help have risen to around 50 a week in the past year.

Operations director Nicky McDonald said: “If trainers have a surplus of horses that aren’t running or winning they don’t want them on the yard.

“They can get sold to people who don’t have the money or experience to handle the ride.”

People buying straight from trainers or from Ascot sales are “going in blind” said Grace Muir of Oxon-based charity Heros (Homing Ex-Racehorses Organisation Scheme).

“It happens time and time again – people take on horses they can’t cope with. These horses are cheap, or free, for a reason,” she said.

Trainers and owners have a responsibility to care for their horses when they leave racing, said Nicky McDonald of the TRC.

“Some trainers are very good but others don’t feel they have any duty of care.”

And Mary Henley-Smith of Moorcroft Racehorse Welfare Centre, in West Sussex, concurs.

“They need to take responsibility – not just stick them in a sale to be bought by whoever.”

And Tessa Westlake of the Racehorse Rehoming Centre in Somerset, is concerned about parents who see former racehorses as a cheap way to move their children into horses.

“They see they are £200 or £300 as opposed to ten times that amount and with money so tight at the moment that looks like a good idea,” she said.

As well as funding four re-homing centres, racing’s charity Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) runs courses, numerous series and offers a wealth of advice to people taking on a racehorse.

“Obviously the centres are a good place for people to start – they can try horses and see whether owning one is suitable for them,” said Di Arbuthnot of RoR.

“But we also have a great deal of expert information on our website and we offer clinics and help.

“There is always someone you can turn to if you are unsure what to do next.”

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (29 March 2012)

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Two Newmarket racehorses – named after the last British veterans of the Great War – have helped to launch this year’s Poppy Appeal in Suffolk.

“Harry Patch” and “Henry Allingham” are seen here with Harry’s owner, Gay Jarvis [widow of the late trainer, Michael] and cadets from The Queen’s Royal Lancers Detachment, based in Ipswich.

“Harry” was bought by the Newmarket-based owner and trainer, Michael Jarvis, who died last month.

He decided to name “Harry” after the war veteran, because the horse was bought during the Poppy Appeal in 2007.

“Harry Patch was alive then,” said Mrs Jarvis, “so we wrote to him at his nursing home and asked permission. He was thrilled.

“Our Harry won his first two races, so we sent Mr Patch a picture – and he sent us one back of him in all his medals, holding up the picture of the horse!”

“Henry”, Harry’s chestnut half-brother, is owned by Richie Baines. A “rather immature two-year-old”, he has not yet run his first race.

Mrs Jarvis told H&H that both horses behaved impeccably at the photoshoot.

“They were incredible. We put poppies on their bridles and the cadets – who weren’t used to horses – were giggling away as the horses nibbled their hair,” she said.

“Like all racehorses, they loved the attention. I hope the picture encourages everyone to give generously to the Poppy Appeal.”

Nationwide, the British Legion is seeking to reach a record-breaking target of £40 million for the armed forces.

The real Harry and Henry were the last two veterans of the First World War in the UK. Harry Patch, the last British “Tommy”, fought in the trenches of Flanders and was wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. He died in July 2009, aged 111.

Henry Allingham, who also died in July 2009 – aged 113 – served in the Royal Navy during the First World War and was a founder member of the RAF.

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The body that represents racehorse trainers is trying to establish how often horses are spooked by low-flying military aircraft – after one of its members suffered what she believes was a “deliberate” attack.

Ann Duffield and her husband, George – the former top Flat jockey – were on the gallops near their Sun Hill yard in North Yorkshire on 9 September when they spotted a Chinook helicopter approaching their string.

“George said ‘God, he’s coming right at them’,” she told H&H.

“The pilot circled the first five [horses in the string] then came back and hovered over the second bunch who were going up the hill, panicking the horses.”

Mrs Duffield said the “gung ho” pilot – from RAF Odiham in Hampshire – then dipped below a nearby farmhouse, before flying over the horses again “as low as he possibly could, maybe 50 feet above us.

“It was indescribable – the noise was unbelievable,” she said.

Mrs Duffield said the pilot’s actions “left jockeys hanging on to neckstraps for dear life”.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) confirmed it is investigating.

Rupert Arnold, chief executive of the National Trainers Federation (NTF), said it was “almost unbelievable” that the pilot could have been acting deliberately.

“But one wonders if official guidelines are being breached by pilots with their own agenda,” he added.

He is asking riders to report their experiences, in an attempt to establish the scale of the problem.

“If it turns out these incidents are frequent, then we have a basic systematic problem,” he said. “We will then make representations to the MOD on behalf of the whole equestrian sector.”

If you wish to report an incident of low-flying, contact the NTF, tel: 01488 71719 or email: info@racehorsetrainers.org

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (29 September, 2011)

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Racehorse owner the Marquesa de Moratalla is selling her 400-acre, 130-stable Childwick Bury Stud, in St Albans, Herts.

She cites age as the reason behind her decision to downsize her breeding operation, which produced Tin Horse, the French 2000 Guineas winner.

She is also considering selling some of her mares at Deauville in December.

The asking price for the stud is £9.5m.

Tel: Bidwells on 01223 559352.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (1 September, 2011)

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Not satisfied with the size of the jumps on the course, Australian racehorse Banna Strand, leapt over the barrier at the Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warrnambool carnival in Victoria (May 5).

The seven-year-old gelding lost jockey Rowan Waymouth before veering to the left of the hurdle, during the first lap of the 33-fence course.

Leaping the 2m brush fence into an unexpected crowd of about 50 people, the horse then careered into the streets of Warrnambool before being picked up by police.

Seven people were injured, with three being held in hospital over night.

The fence had reportedly been put up four years ago to corral loose horses.

Warrnambool Racing Club chairman John Green told local press it was likely spectators would be restricted from that area at future races until an investigation was carried out.

“It’s unfortunate that this horse chose to jump a fence that had been installed a number of years ago as a means of trying to corral these horses,” said Mr Green.

The incident comes at a unfortunate time for steeple chasing in Australia, with Victoria the last state to allow it.

Racing Minister Denis Napthine has asked Racing Victoria to conduct an inquiry into today’s events and review spectator safety.

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A total of 29 horses have died and another 26 were rescued after fire tore through stables at a US racecourse on Monday morning.

Three horse barns adjacent to the Charles Town Races in Ranson, West Virginia, were set alight in the blaze at 4.20am.

The wooden barns were not owned or managed by the racecourse but were rented out to the owners of horses that trained or raced at the track.

The dead horses belonged to a number of different trainers.

One, Ronney Brown who lost 7 horses in the fire, told a local newspaper that he was “in shock”.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

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Blue Chip Feeds is to sponsor a new showing class for former racehorses — the Ex Racers Club 2010 Scottish Showing Series and Championship.

To be eligible to compete, horses need to have either raced under rules or in point-to-point, or been in recognised training and be registered with the Ex Racers Club.

Qualifiers will take place across Scotland from this month and the final will be held at Blair Castle International Horse Trials (26-29 August).

Unlike other showing classes the judges will ignore any blemishes the horse may have incurred during its racing career.

Jenny Townley from the Ex Racers Club said: “So many ex-racehorses out there are good performance horses but are knocked back. With this Championship series, we are encouraging them to come out of the woodwork and show us their true worth.”

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National Hunt trainer Kim Bailey is offering potential owners the chance to buy one of his racehorses and not pay training fees until it wins a race.

Admiral Dundas, a five-year-old gelding out of Noverre and by Brandish, is on sale for £25,000.

“I’m offering this ‘no win, no fee’ deal as it’s a good way to raise a bit of interest,” said Kim.

“It’s the ideal chance for someone not involved in racing to get their first horse.

“They’ll have to pay the jockey and entry fee, but there will be no training costs until they see results. I’ve done it once before a while back, and the horse won 10 days after it

was sold.”

Kim, who has over 40 horses at his yard in Andoversford, Glos, bought Admiral Dundas in October.

“I’m backing my own judgement really. He’s an exciting horse that will win races and give someone a great deal of fun.”

Previously trained by William Jarvis, the horse has already won four races on the Flat.

“I do know of trainers who have offered reduced training fees,” Rupert Arnold, of the National Trainers’ Federation, told H&H. “Trainers use lots of incentives to attract clients and this makes good business sense for Kim.”

For more information, visit: www.kimbaileyracing.com.

This article was first published in Horse & Hound (11 March, ’10)

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A nine-year-old racehorse collapsed and died just minutes after winning the Toals Ulster Grand National yesterday (3 March), one of the biggest events in the Northern Irish horse racing calendar.

Chief Oscar, trained by Brian Hamilton and owned by Bobby Donaldson, had taken the lead five fences from the finish to claim the £16,000 first prize, but stumbled and fell as he was pulled up.

“There was no indication as he jumped the last fence in front that this drama would follow,” jockey Andrew Lynch told the Belfast Telegraph.

“I pulled him up after passing the winning post and it was only when cantering back to the start that he lost his rhythm and went down.”

Vets believe that the horse ruptured an artery and suffered a heart attack shortly after passing the finishing posts at the Downpatrick racecourse.

“There seems no obvious reason for it. The horse just ran his heart out. I have never known anything like it,” said Mr Lynch.

The trainer, Brian Hamilton, said: “It is a terrible way to end the day. I had always wanted to win the Ulster National, which is on my home ground, but it has ended in tragedy.”

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A 60-year-old work rider in Florida has died after a racehorse fell on top of him.

Robert Shields was exercising three-year-old gelding Gael Lea on Monday (1 February) at Tampa Bay Downs racetrack when the horse was spooked.

The horse reared and fell back, crushing Mr Shields. He was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital but was pronounced dead.

Mr Shields lived at the racecourse, where he worked as a groom, handler and jockey.

The horse was unhurt.

Gael Lea’s breeder, Joanna Reisler told local press: “He was a very good horse, very kind. It’s a very unfortunate accident. This has nothing to do with the horse and nothing to do with the professionals who care for him.”

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