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Racing is a sport where superstitions are rife. Trainers and riders are creatures of habit. They follow methods that have worked previously. The late David Nicholson always wore red socks to the races; Sam Twiston-Davies salutes magpies on the way to the start. Everyone has their set place in the Weighing Room and it's not purely down to hierarchy. Habit, especially where it can be connected to su...

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Five winners for trainers based within Gloucestershire at today's two National Hunt fixtures have underlined the wellbeing of the yards surronding Andoversford with just a week before Cheltenham's opening fixture on October 23rd.  Carlisle is England's most northerly racecourse, but the long journey north was no impediment to the relentless winner machine that is Fergal O'Brien's Ravenswell ...

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Whilst most British racing fans are watching Enable's progress toward this weekend's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a little closer to home, British Jumps trainers have been taking the fight to the French on home soil.  Tom George, well established in the top rank of British trainers, was beaten a neck in a Conditions Hurdle at Compiegne yesterday with French bred juvenile Bannister, ridden by J...

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The 640 mile round trip from Ravenswell Farm to Kelso Racecourse on the River Tweed proved well worthwhile for Fergal O'Brien yesterday, as he maintained his relentless winning form with a double at the Borders track.  Kiruna Pike in the Novices Handicap Chase (Run 4 Won 2) and 4 year old Maiden All Clenched in the concluding Bumper made the journey home a little sweeter for Gloucestershire'...

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They say that blood is thicker than water, and it’s certainly true that in the introspective world of racing, successful partnerships are often built around family units. There’s many a training business which has been handed on from father to son, as the likes of David Pipe, Jonathan Geake and Andrew Balding would attest. Sustaining that business through a younger generation still req...

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Racing is one of those rare sports that is contested all over the globe. While sports such as American football, Aussie Rules Football, or even cricket are played in select countries around the world, forms of horse racing are contested worldwide. British racing is widely considered the best in the world, although this is an opinion largely held by the British themselves! However, we do excel in ...

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For every resident in Gloucestershire, there can be little doubt as which racing event is the biggest in the UK calendar; it's simply no contest that our home-grown Festival tops the charts every time against the likes of Aintree or Royal Ascot.  Although every Englishman grows up having watched the Grand National on a Saturday in April, the Festival continues to spread its wings as the most...

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Kim Bailey is renowned as one of the great trainers in National Hunt racing, having produced winners in the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, as well as being our Clerk of the Course at Andoversford for many years. Based just up the road from Andoversford, Bailey is in the perfect position to line up his charges for a run at Cheltenham Festival, although some time has passed since his l...

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Slad-based Tom George wouldn't be at the forefront of any pundit's list of pushy summer jumping trainers, although his record in recent seasons has illustrated a steady growth in winners from April - September.  However, he's the latest of the county's strong cadre of trainers to chalk up early season winners with a double at Cartmel on Friday, where Seddon justified 7/4 favouritism in the H...

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Withington trainer Fergal O'Brien, who more than doubled the stable strength of National Hunt yards within close proximity of Andoversford with his move to new premises last year, has started the season in fine style. The new yard has sent out more winners than any other British trainer in July, recording 10 winners from 35 runners at a strike rate of 29%. One could be forgiven for thinking yard ...

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