TRAINER PROFILES

John Weymes

John Weymes trains from the beautifully restored and refurbished Ashgill Stables in North Yorkshire. It is from here that John continues the family tradition of training racehorses, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him. Ashgill Stables was the home to Lanzarote when trained on the flat and has also sent out runners in the English Classics.

John gained vital experience over the years working for T.P.Tate, M.Tompkins and the late G.W.Richards. He was also a successful amateur rider, riding winnners both on the flat and over jumps.

John works alongside his partner and assistant Kirsty to bring first class care and training to his string of 35 horses, they achieved this in their second season by sending Brigadore to be Group placed as a two year old.

John started training for Sporting Occasions Racing in October 2004, since then he has trained them 10 winners and over 29 placed horses.

T. D. Barron

Master of Maunby House, North Yorkshire, David Barron has 4 Sporting Occasions horses under his wing this coming flat season. 5 years old Partners in Jazz is probably the pick of the 4 at the moment being rated 97. The other 3 are new 2 year old colts.

David thinks a great deal of these 2 year olds, having kept a serious share in each.

Statistics Last 5 years of David Barron

Ian Wood

Ian Wood started training in December 1999 and has since saddled nearly 150 winners form his Upper Lambourn Stables, Neardown. He has also enjoyed success at all bar a handful of Britain’s Flat courses.

Whilst particular success has been enjoyed in the juvenile department, with the likes of Enchantment and Justaquestion both landing valuable auction races, and Protectorate and Sweet Return running second in Group company, the stable also has a proven track record of rejuvenating older horses. There is probably no better example of this than Swynford Welcome, who joined the yard rated 40, yet gained one of eight subsequent wins off a mark of 64 at Newmarket.

A promising team of around 35 horses has been assembled for the forthcoming Flat season in 2006, and, with a nice mix of 2 and 3yr olds as well as a couple of older horses.Hopes are high for the season.

Roger Fisher

Roger Fisher has been training winners since 1977. He found himself very quickly amongst the big league of National Hunt trainers with horses like Ekbalco, Amarach, Aonoch , Flarey Sark and many others. Training winners gets the headlines but finding the horses is the crucial job that comes first. Fisher is second to none in finding the right ammunition. As a leading national hunt trainer he became as renowned for the horses he bought as those he trained. Corporal Clinger, Jinxy Jack, Run and Skip, Lazy but Lively, all went to graduate school at the Fisher Academy.

The emphasis has changed now to flat racing. But the Fisher model still keeps working. 2004 saw 22 winners from 16 horses in training, including Beckermet bought for £8,600 and now rated 100. Buying well is still the key to his success. Twenty five years on he’s still doing it: Tedburrow, Sea Storm, H Harrison, Joe’s Edge, they all started at Great Head House Stables. Three of those horses hold track records, add in Azaam and Bunrannoch House and that’s five record holders all produced by the Fisher team.

These days Great Head House is geared to producing winners on the flat but old habits die hard and the Fisher Academy is still turning out young graduates ready to go on and have a career over obstacles.