Category Archives: Latest News

The stylish success of Captain Teague in the Grade 2 Persian War Novice Hurdle at Chepstow was the highlight of a weekend when heavy rain on Friday disrupted our running plans the next afternoon.

Captain Teague had the best of the ground as he made a highly pleasing debut over hurdles against some classy rivals. He jumped well, cruised to the front before the second last and readily drew clear on his way to a highly pleasing victory by nine and a half lengths.
That was his first gallop on grass this autumn and he will have learned plenty because he was still a bit green. He is a gorgeous horse and we can plan his season now much like Hermes Allen last season by possibly taking him to Cheltenham next before the Challow Hurdle at Newbury.
On the same afternoon Florencethemachine ran with plenty of promise in finishing second in the mares’ novice hurdle in a time almost 43 seconds slower than standard which gives a fair indication of the state of the ground after all the rain.
Panjari, twice a Listed winner in the Flat, was a disappointment on his debut for us in the novice hurdle. He got really wound up before the start and totally lost his head but he wasn’t disgraced in finishing fifth and I’d imagine he wants better ground. I’ve put a line through that display and he could be out again in a couple of weeks.
Ioupy Collonges was another to perform below expectations on Friday. He was eventually pulled up by Harry Cobden and was later diagnosed as having atrial fibrillation which was a big surprise as he has been training nicely, has never had any issues before and ran all these good races last season. He will have some time off now while we get to the root of the problem.
The going was so soft at Chepstow on Saturday that it made sense to pull six of ours out which was frustrating but were all good ground horses who can go somewhere else. The conditions caught everyone out.
I knew the conditions were also against Knappers Hill but I wanted to give him a first run over fences before the Rising Stars Chase at Wincanton and in finishing a respectable second to the much more experienced Unexpected Party he enjoyed a lovely clear round of jumping. It was a nice introduction to fences and hopefully he can build on that and have a decent career as a chaser.
Sonigino was another to run well well in finishing third under 11st 13lbs in the competitive Silver Trophy. He travelled like the best horse for much of the race and looked like winning as he eased to the front after the second last before tiring late on. He will be going chasing sooner rather than later.
We ended Saturday with the tidy success of Kap Boy in the bumper in the colours of Diana Whateley. He kept on strongly to beat King of Tara after a sustained duel with the pair well clear. Kap Boy has been with us for the best part of two years but he is still a bit of a big baby and showed character to see off a more experienced rival. He will probably go to Ascot next, a route we have enjoyed with Knappers Hill and McFabulous.
The great thing is that we have a lovely bunch of fifteen or sixteen more bumper horses like him.
Looking ahead we will have runners at Newton Abbot on Saturday and Kempton on Sunday but with plenty of rain forecast through the week I will be keeping an eye on the weather.
For all the latest news on my weekend runners please be sure to turn to my Betfair column which goes live the previous afternooon.

Jump racing lost one of its greatest supporters with the death of my friend and landlord Paul Barber on Sunday morning at the age of 80.

Everyone involved with Team Ditcheat is feeling his loss deeply because day by day he took such an interest in everything that happened in the yard, on the gallops and on the racecourse.
He loved racing with a fierce passion, enjoyed plenty of success at the highest level and is warmly remembered as a man who helped give so many youngsters a decent start in life.
Paul had a massive influence on my career from the day he chose me from a dozen applicants to train at his stables below his farmhouse in Ditcheat. From the moment Paul gave me the keys to his yard and gallops in October 1991 he backed me to the hilt. What began as a business arrangement swiftly developed into a friendship that grew stronger with the years.
He immediately promised to buy me two horses at the next Doncaster sales and generously added that he would delay my first payment of rent for six months to help me .
See More Indians, a big, scopey sort, was the first horse I bought at public auction. As we both liked him Paul said get on and buy him.
It turned out that we struck lucky with See More Indians who was my first really good horse, quickly developed into a classy chaser, and ran up a sequence of wins including the Grade 1 Feltham Chase my first Grade 1 winner and the Jim Ford Chase at Wincanton.
We felt he was heading to the top and it was a tragedy that we lost him that summer in a freak accident while turned out in the cider orchard beside Paul’s home.
It took us a while to get over that day as I think deep down we both felt our chance of winning a Gold Cup had gone forever.
Paul had this long held dream that he would like to milk 1,000 cows and own a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. I’m so proud that in time I was able to train him two Gold Cup winners, See More Business and Denman and by then, of course, he was milking more than 2,000 cows.
Over the last few years he was milking 3,000 cows and we were trying so hard to come up with a third Gold Cup winner. We hoped Clan Des Obeaux might be the one but he wasn’t suited by Cheltenham and while we had high hopes of the RSA winner Topofthegame he was so hard to keep sound.
Paul Barber was wise beyond his years in the ways and rhythms of the countryside and fearless in his business dealings as he developed and grew the family’s dairy business in Ditcheat.
From the start he took me under his wing and in some ways treated me like one of his sons. I certainly saw him as something of a father figure. He taught me so much about running a business, especially in the early years.
Having him around when I needed advice was a big plus. His benchmark was always pay and be paid. That was just about the best tip Paul ever gave me. He always maintained any decision was better than no decision and warned me about the pitfalls of owning too many horses myself. ” Dont have your hotel full of your own family ” was another!
Another of his favourite sayings was ‘Delegate my boy. Delegate’.
Looking back now I realise how lucky I was to have such an astute businessman at my side to pass on sound advice from the moment I started training.
I’ve been lucky really that I’ve had two dads. Brian, my father, and Paul who have both played equally important roles in my life.
Owning racehorses gave Paul a release from running such a successful business. He loved his horses who were stabled less than a hundred yards from his house and most evenings he would wander down to the yard to see them.
I know he got enormous pleasure from that daily routine and often he would join Clifford Baker and myself as we walked round evening stables.
We enjoyed so many great days together and even when his health was failing over the last six months he insisted on going racing to watch some of his best prospects. I’m so pleased that he was at Sandown on the final day of the season late in April to cheer his multiple winner Knappers Hill to victory the last day he went racing .
Every big day he shared with me, every big winner he shared with me as if it was his own. He deserved all the success he had because he was such a tremendous enthusiast and put so much into racing and life .
My life will not be the same without Paul Barber. I owe him more than I can ever say. Thank you Paul for giving me the chance . RIP

The funeral for Mr Paul Barber will be held at St Mary’s Church, Ditcheat, Somerset on Wednesday 5^th July 2023 at 2pm.

We secured our fourteenth trainers’ championship title and recorded a new high regards prize money on Saturday.

At times during the afternoon at Sandown it seemed that we might fall just short of our previous best tally of £3,646,511 set in 2007-08.

But we cracked it in the end in the very last race of the campaign with Samarrive and Iceo earning enough to set a new record by the slender margin of £74. While it wasn’t a massively important thing it was nice to do it having got so close after a season when our horses have been in consistently good form with a strike rate of just under 28%.

I’ve now finished first or second in the trainers’ championship for the past twenty five years and couldn’t have done it without all my loyal owners and the whole-hearted support of Team Ditcheat led by my long-time head lad Clifford Baker who is such a key player.
Harry Cobden has been riding at the top of his game all season supported by our other jockeys. We have missed him in a few races just as Manchester City suffer when Erling Haaland is out of action. Harry knows the horses, has a great temperament and rides with so much confidence.
The next ambition is to win another trainers’ title which would match the record of Martin Pipe. We will not be that busy over the summer but as usual will move into top gear from the start of October.

I’m pleased to report that Bravemansgame is A1 after going so close in the Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday given a confident ride by Harry Cobden and will soon be on holiday in the field in front of my house with with Pic D’Orhy. 
Knappers Hill proved to be our only winner at Sandown with a few of ours under performing after a long season on ground that was a bit softer than ideal. With Harry stood down for the day after his fall with Enrilo in the bet365 Gold Cup Bryony Frost proved an able substitute.
I was a little concerned about him getting the trip on the ground so was keen for her to take her time and let Knappers Hill creep into the race late on and she carried out the tactics to perfection.
He has won ten of his sixteen races for Paul Barber and Paul Vogt and will be going over fences in the autumn with the Rising Stars Chase at Wincanton a possible target.
McFabulous was sensibly pulled up by Lorcan Williams in the Oaksey Chase after suffering an irregular heartbeat. We ran plenty of tests after it happened the previous time at Newbury and need to investigate further to discover what is causing the problem. The good news is that he was right as rain on Sunday morning.

We ended a memorable season with 163 winners and a total of £3,646,585 prize money, almost £1 million more than the runner up Nicky Henderson.
Now we are all back to zero. It’s exciting that we have a lovely collection of horses including a nice bunch of young prospects that we have been buying recently. The future looks as bright as ever.