Owner of the Month - January 2007

How did you come to co-own King Of Gothland?
In 2002, a mutual friend introduced me to Richard Wilson (KOG’s main owner) who doesn’t live too far from me hence the horse running under the name of the Norfolk Neighbours.  Originally there were four of us in a mini syndicate in a horse called Combe Castle.  He was beautiful but didn’t do much so when Richard said he wanted to replace him with another, better quality horse I stuck with him.  Richard bought the King as his main owner with myself and the others taking smaller shares.

How important was it having a runner on Boxing Day?
I love the idea of getting out of the house after Christmas and Boxing Day is such a great day for racing.  When Kim mentioned the race to us, Richard who was not that keen as it can get so busy at Huntingdon but I had a lot of family in Newmarket who were keen to come along so Richard, being the great guy that he is, agreed.  Whilst we’re a million miles apart in lifestyles, we have a fantastic time in ownership together.  So my son, daughter, wife, mum and mother in law all went and it was the first time for them in the parade ring which was fun.

Did you expect King of Gothland to win?
He had a lot of weight but my main worry was that there were unexposed horses from top yards in the race.  Kim was very quiet before the race, something I like as he doesn’t end up over-promising.  I was hoping he would finish in the top three especially with everyone there. 

When he turned into the last circuit and we saw his jockey, Alan O'Keeffe, out of the saddle we all looked at each other and said “no way, impossible” but he just needed to get his rhythm and his jumping back.  Even still, three furlongs from home  you wouldn’t have had a penny on him but when the leader fell two out, our horse was staying on, overtaking everything else and Alan said he had a job pulling him up after the line!  So who knows perhaps he would have beaten the leader anyway.

How did you celebrate?
The whole family came into the winner’s enclosure and the people at Huntingdon were fantastic; all of us went in and watched the race and had some champagne although sadly I was driving so I had to wait until we got home to open the bubbly! 

How do you combine your racing with family and work life?
It is a difficult balance but I look upon racing in the same way as people who play golf.  It’s a hobby, it’s not about making money and anything you win is a bonus, you have to look at it that way.  I’ve been working 16 hour days so haven’t been racing other than when we’ve had a runner but it’s great to have the interest.  My kids are 18 and 16 and I believe weekends are sacrosanct for families but quite often they come along and it’s a fun thing to enjoy together.

Where did your interest in racing come from?
I come from Newmarket and my father was a builder who did quite a bit of work for trainers.  As part of payment for one job, a trainer gave him a half share in a racehorse who ended up being quite successful so that had something to do with it.  My only sadness is that my father, who was killed in a road accident four years ago, hasn’t been able to enjoy the King’s wins with us.  He was a workaholic and his only time off was going to the Cheltenham Festival, he would have loved it there on Boxing Day and it would have made a huge difference for me.

Having always been surrounded by Flat racing and had shares in a couple of Flat horses but I reached a point when it suddenly didn’t appeal.  I saw how National Hunt owners looked at their horses completely differently, not as a business but as a hobby with the horses virtually considered as pets.

How would you describe your experience as an owner?
A major factor is taking on board the actual achievement of actually getting the racehorse to the track.  There are so many things that you need to get right (fitness, ground, type of course, jumping ability) and you only realise the amount of patience that is needed once you become an owner.

King of Gothland is a perfect example of this.  He had a fairly disastrous hurdling season but Kim said he would never really show his true ability over hurdles.  At that stage, the other two owners dropped out but the next time KOG ran it was over fences and he won.  It just goes to show that you need to be patient. 

It also helps having a trainer like Kim who’s judgement we trust and we know that he has the experience to only run the horse when he’s 100%.  At the beginning of the season we went to Warwick and Kim pulled him out after the second race because the ground was too firm.  We understood his reasons and earlier caution in the season has now paid off.

The King has shown us he has promise for the future as a staying chaser and no matter where he goes next, even if he’s 100-1 there’s always the thought he just might win.  It’s that feeling you get which is a massive part of ownership and makes going racing such a totally different experience as an owner, I suppose it has become an obsession now!

How do you find Kim as a trainer and what do you make of the new set up at Thorndale Farm? We initially chose Kim from a short list of trainers we’d selected in a two and a half hour radius from us.  We contacted a number of trainers and their response to our letters made a lot of difference.  We’ve always found that Kim is someone we can trust and he has the added experience to know what’s right.  Even if we don’t have a winner, he makes sure we have a good day out.  His attitude is the same no matter how big an owner you are, he’s just a bloody nice guy.  He’s great at calling us with updates and I really admire and appreciate his efforts to keep his website updated daily. We actually loved Grange Farm where there was so much space and a lovely setting but Thorndale Farm is another step up.  It’s just beautiful.  Obviously Norfolk is a long way away but it doesn’t really worry us.  When we came up three weeks ago, Kim found us a lovely place to stay, we then spent the morning on the gallops and then onto the races at Cheltenham so we can now make a real weekend of it.

PREVIOUS OWNERS OF THE MONTH:

December 2006 - Kevin Hawkins
November 2006 - David Simkins
October 2006 - Elizabeth Kellar
September 2006 - Mark Vestey