Having been a part of the sport for years, John certainly knows his stuff about racing and was happy to answer any questions that visitors had. He and his wife Emma have got a lovely, quaint establishment in the heart of Newmarket where they keep their team of horses. Taking a hands on approach, John knows each of his horses as individuals and has taken the time to build a bond with them and learn exactly what makes them tick. It is obvious to anyone how much he cares for his horses and how much he loves the sport, and I had the pleasure of asking John a few questions:
You have had a variety of roles within the racing world, so what originally drew you to the sport?
I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm in Scotland where we had horses and my parents both loved racing. I was riding ponies from an early age, and the racing was always on the TV and the Sporting Life was always on the table. So I had every chance of becoming bewitched by horses and by the sport!
Who would you say has been the biggest influence or inspiration in your career and why?
Many people. I was lucky enough to work for two trainers when I was younger who are great men as well as great horsemen, Andy Turnell and Luca Cumani. Both were great mentors. Chris Dwyer has been a great friend to me since long before either of us was training; while Lawrence Wadey, who had a horse with me in my first year of training (1995) and still has one here now, has been a solid tower of strength for over thirty years.
What is your favourite racecourse or race-meeting to visit and why do you like it so much?
Hard to answer. Any racecourse where you have a winner goes straight to the top of your affections! I’ve always had a soft spot for Brighton, and Roy Rocket (and others – we had three individual winners there last year, with Kilim and Sussex Girl also winning) has helped us to have some really happy days there in recent seasons. Looking at the wider world, two of best race-days which I have attended have been Cox Plate Day at Moonee Valley and VRC Derby Day at Flemington. The atmosphere on the big days in Melbourne is terrific as the sport is so very popular there.
What moment or achievement in your career have you been most proud of?
Hard to say, really. In the greater scheme of things I have achieved next to nothing as a trainer as I have always been in the lower tiers. But just keeping on keeping on it is an achievement in itself. I’ve been training for 24 years now, and a lot of good trainers have come and go in that period.
Winning the world’s oldest still-existent and documented horse-race, the Newmarket Town Plate, as owner, trainer and rider with Kadouchski in 2011 is something I am very proud of; and I have also been very proud of winners of whom I have been both trainer and breeder (Roy Rocket and White Valiant). An unusual achievement was training what I believe is the lowest-rated winner since the current ratings-scale was introduced: Quakeress was rated 16 when she won at Wolverhampton in January 2000. It is likely that she will hold that record for a long time.
Are there any other horses in the yard that you see as exciting prospects for the future?
To me they are all exciting prospects, but then I’m an optimist. Plus I’m their surrogate parent – and have you ever heard parents saying anything other than that their child is a genius who has a bright future?! In practice, we’re operating at the lower levels of the sport financially and the horses who end up here are generally the ones whom none of the big spenders wants. That obviously means that we rarely figure in the big races. In practice, most times a horse ends up achieving less than you hope – but what Jenny Pitman called the ‘glorious uncertainty’ is that once in a blue moon a horse (and it can be the one you least expect) turns out to be far better than you had expected.
What about your work for At The Races? How did that opportunity come around and what lessons have you learned from it?
I’ve been an occasional guest on the channel since its inception, which is great as I love doing it. I started doing something similar for the old Racing Channel. I can’t remember how it came about, but my first day in the studio was with John Hunt on the day that Pilsudski won the Champion Stakes at Newmarket, 18th October 1997. I think that the main lessons which I have learned from working for the two channels is that I wouldn’t be good enough a broadcaster to be the main presenter, and that you can’t cut any corners: if you don’t know the subject, you will fall short. I just try to be myself and give an honest opinion. I’m not enough of a showman to create an on-screen persona and be someone I’m not.
Roy Rocket has added 3 more wins to his tally this year and continues his brilliant form at Brighton. What do you think it is that he likes so much about that course and what is his character like at home?
He’s a wonderful horse, a great character, very friendly and very gentle. But he can be very impatient so he isn’t always an easy ride. As he is so headstrong, one needs to put him to sleep in the first half of the race, and Brighton works well for him because – as the races are usually strongly run and there is a very stiff finish – it is a place where it is often possible for winners to come from well off the pace. Furthermore, he is a small horse and a sound one, which helps him to cope with the undulations; big horses and/or horses who are a bit jarred up often don’t handle the track at all, especially the downhill sections.
In order to sustain racing for future generations, what would you say is the most important thing that needs to happen to the sport and do you have an idea of how that can happen?
It needs to continue to appeal to people. Racehorse ownership needs to appeal to people, and racing needs to appeal to people as both a spectator sport and a betting medium. How can we help it to retain (and, ideally, increase) its popularity? Everyone, including the sport’s authorities, has his/her own ideas; some good, some less good. As a trainer, I think that what one can do is to be open and approachable. At my level it’s not really an issue, but at the very top the practice of retiring horses almost as soon as their merit (and, consequently, stud value) has been established does the sport no favours at all.
With all of your experience in the racing industry, who would you say is the best racehorse you have ever watched?
Frankel, by a wide margin. Black Caviar would rank as the best sprinter, although whether she would hold that title if Frankel had run in a few sprints is debatable. As regards National Hunt racing, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star were superb horses, while Red Rum will always be the King of Aintree. I was only six months old when Arkle ran his last race, so I never saw him.
What career do you think you would have liked to have done if you had not chosen to work in racing?
No idea. If I had stayed at Oxford rather than dropping out, I would have ended up with a degree in theology, but I doubt it would have led to me taking holy orders.
If you could invite any four people to a dinner party, whom would you invite?
Lawrence Wadey and his one-time Racing Post colleague Paul Haigh are always excellent company. Looking at the ranks of my fellow-trainers, time spent in the company of Sir Mark Prescott is never wasted and always enjoyed. Of people whom I have never been lucky enough to meet, I have long held Clive James in the highest esteem and I would imagine that an evening spent in his company would be (or would have been, because, of course, sadly he is in very poor health nowadays) a wonderful experience.
Finally, what would your advice be to anyone looking to start working in the racing industry and what has been the most important lesson you have learned?
Work hard. Remember that if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Learn every aspect of the sport, particularly the basics. Be honest (even if it is easy to find evidence to suggest that that can be as much a drawback as an asset). Treat people as you would like them to treat you; and treat everyone equally, irrespective of their station in life. Don’t judge the importance of tasks by how much money you will or won’t earn from doing them; and don’t judge the importance of people by how much money they have. Don’t fall for the ‘work-life balance’ myth: your work will be your life, if you’re doing it well, anyway. The main lesson which I have learned is that it is a very competitive field, far more competitive than one realises when one sets out, and it isn’t easy. A few people have things handed to them, but not many; you have to work hard for everything. You need luck, but you have to make your own luck too.
Thank you very much for your time, John!
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