Ann Duffield
Website: www.annduffield.co.uk
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Ann out hunting
Duffield's Diaries
Ann Duffield
Racehorse trainer Ann Duffield is married to former top Flat jockey George Duffield MBE, and they have spent the last 10 years creating one of the most impressive private racehorse training establishments in the country at Sun Hill Farm near Leyburn, in North Yorkshire. And it’s right in the heart of the Bedale hunt country with which they both hunt with a passion.
The new yard has been a huge financial investment: a newly re-surfaced all-weather six furlong gallop with a gradient climbing 250ft; 70 horse boxes in American style barns, all with rubber mat flooring; three horse walkers; practice starting stalls; an isolation unit; daily turn-out paddocks, with a further 50 acres of post and rail summer grazing: and it’s all dedicated to one objective - the training of racehorses to be ‘first past the post’.
While Ann began as a national hunt trainer, the emphasis is now firmly on Flat horses. Her annual buying focus produces some useful racehorses in the making, and there is an impressive welcome extended to new and existing owners alike at Sun Hill Stables.
Ann and George are both self-confessed hunting junkies, particularly George who would hunt eight days a week if he could, and says: “I just love my hunting - I don’t want to come home when I’m out, and only darkness ends the hunting day.”
Ann has kindly agreed to write a monthly diary for TMV where we will be privy to some of back-room highs and lows as the months roll by - of a successful racehorse training yard: “Where Horses Come first”.
May, June and July:
Season just beginning to warm up for the yard now, as it usually does in May. During April we had plenty of encouragement with lots of placed horses and some frustrating near misses.
Horses are running very well, and with pleasing consistency. It bodes well for the rest of the season. Our quality horses owned by our main owner Mrs Steel are in great shape. Firebet, a fast improving three year old AND TWICE winner at two is looking amazing. He is rated 85 and while I think he has at least 10lbs up his sleeve I think he can improve much further and be good enough for Listed /Group three races. Even the not so easily impressed George D agrees with me .
The owner fancies going for the 2000 Guineas, but I explain running an as yet 85 rated horse against all those very highly rated horses at level weights, is really not a good idea.
Our first major goal is the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot. It takes an improving, progressive horse to win it and it's right up Firebet's street. A mile on a big galloping track run at a furious pace; no pussy footing around. It will be a truly run race but first we need to climb up in the ratings, not too much or he will carry too much weight, but just enough to get him in the RACE.
His first outing as reported in the April Diary was at Ripon, where Michael Fenton rode him, challenging late with a storming run to just be denied the race in the final stages. Next stop is Newmarket where a good run will confirm his well being AND improvement. He finishes second to the Barry Hills trained Infiraad, tipped as being a group three contender, it too is going for Gold at Royal Ascot, hopefully not in the Britannia! Firebet's rating has increased to 88- an excellent mark for a horse with plenty left in the tank.
At Newmarket on Guineas day he proved he can handle the big occasion, having been a nervous and sensitive soul last year, one we had to be careful with, forever employing the softly softly approach. When I see how confident he is nowadays, I am very proud of him and glad we really took our time. Also glad I was not persuaded to run him in a Group three last year, as that would have been very premature. Like going for the guineas on level weights- foolish,not only because we would be so badly in but because stepping a horse up so much in class when not mentally ready for it can and frequently does, ruin them for life, we have all witnessed talented horses being wasted or being turned sour and never actually fulfilling their true potential due to being overfaced when they are not ready for it.
He could have one more run in an ordinary handicap or we might go straight there off 88 and let them try to catch him off that weight. I don't have runners at Royal Ascot, nothing good enough to go there with but this boy is different and this has been the plan since the winter. Owner is happy to go, trainer is determined to, form man Keith Bradley is very keen on the route chosen and even trainers husband (the sometimes pessimistic G Duffield) is up for it, getting out of bed with more zest than ever on work mornings.
Ann with Firebet
Mrs Steel's two year old Ghostwing is a real horse in the making. He's working with Firebet and beats him three lengths receiving only 7lbs. Pontefract is the chosen track for his first foray into racing and unfortunately it looks a well above average maiden. He finishes third, but I am surprised he was beaten after the way he works at home, but, showing blistering pace he burnt himself out having been the only runner to take on the winner turning for home, he will learn a lot form this and will make amends next time: he looks a class horse.
The same day Mrs Steel's expensive purchase by Galileo makes her racecourse debut, a big strong stayer in the making - she was incredibly weak last year - too weak to do herself justice, in fact. She had shown nothing to get excited about and having spent weeks out at grass in Summer we took the decision not to run her at two, but to give her time. Indeed that decision paid dividends almost immediately. Now she is finally growing into her frame and had, albeit only a few weeks prior to her first racecourse appearance, started to work like a racehorse should. I called the owners having just watched her complete her best work to date and told them there was "a light at the end of the tunnel". Her maiden at Pontefract was a warm affair but she ran a very creditable fourth having been hampered, in fact she was a bit keen so a drop back in trip next time will teach her to settle better.
May 4th Beverley, we run three in the 0-55 classified stakes race for three year olds only. It looks a great opportunity to get off the mark, Suitably Accoutred is a stayer in the making but remains a bit weak. Marillos Proteras is the same but has a bit more speed .. Berriedale is a madam, moody but with ability; can give a lot of trouble in the stalls but has decided she likes me for some reason.
Out of the shadows- Horses walking back down the gallop
She has more pace than the others but is drawn appallingly in stall one - even for a mile and a half race. At Southwell in her last run she hated the surface and was in foul mood, wouldn't be saddled and worse than usual loading the gates. This time the mood was good and she practically ran into the stalls. I did not see the race in its entirety due to my stalls location but had managed to reach the finishing line in time to see her thunder past in front at odds of 40/1! Good to get the yard off the mark and particularly delighted to be able to give Evelyn Duchess of Sutherland, a new owner to the yard, her first winner for five years and with a home bred filly.
It is vital that Berriedale runs again quickly off a penalty as the handicapper advises me she is going up 12lbs, so a 6 lbs penalty is obviously preferable. She is declared to run again and is balloted out; her next two races also see her balloted out, and her chance to win off a decent mark again is long gone.
It was the very start of the new season and May was proving to be a good month for the yard. Every thing felt positive and there was so much promise of better things to come. On Saturday May 16th we took a dozen horses away to work when a text message arrived from my main owners Mr and Mrs Steel. Unhappy that we might not be able to have Michael Fenton on board their filly on Sunday, and those entered the following Tuesday. They told me not to make any more entries/ declarations while they reconsider their future position. I could run Lady Luachmhar if I so wished, as she was already declared, but they would not be at the track. Perhaps May wasn't so good after all...
It is of course very difficult for new owners to understand the often unusual way racing works, not least of all where jockeys are concerned. We all know racing can be complicated, confusing, and frustrating: it is often downright contradictory, and what can be absolutely the right thing in one situation can be patently the wrong thing for in another.
On Sunday May 17th Lady Luachmhar won the maiden at Ripon under an excellent ride by Seb Sanders, beating an exciting looking newcomer of Tom Tate's. Seb loved the filly he said she showed great aptitude for racing, and thought she would continue to improve with time and racing experience. It was, after all, only her second time on a track. Seb and Michael Fenton -(who rode her in her first race) both thought she was good enough to attain black type and while I couldnt be that confident, certainly the improvement she showed from her homework as a two year old was colossal and she has the potential to improve year on year providing she was not over faced.
On the Monday trainer Mr Fahey sent two lorries to collect all nine horses owned by Mrs Steel.
I could not bear to see them leave. I headed off for Wolverhampton leaving George to oversee events, making sure all the horses were loaded safely and left us in prime condition. Firebet, Ghostwing, Lady Luachmhar, Pacific Bay and six fabulous two year olds were taken away. The Fahey traveling head lad commented on the fantastic condition they were all in; my vet who had vetted them all that morning said the same.
The atmosphere on the yard was terrible. Once the horses had left, all of us were gutted. It was, quite simply, the worst of all body blows. And we all felt its full force.
That same weekend Hel's Angel wins first time out at Thirsk. Diamond Daisy still knocking on the door with another second and third behind stablemate Hel's Angel, Salerosa picks up the winning thread from last backend by winning twice more, as well as finishing second third and fourth. Minturno wins at Redcar.
San Silvestro has been transformed by his schooling sessions over hurdles courtesy of jump jockey Keith Mercer, and manages to go very close at Newcastle before winning at Musselburgh under an interesting and informative ride from 5lb claimer Barry Mqhue. Barry was in contention in the final furlong when, having given San Silevstro a couple of sharp backhanders the horse put his head in the air and stopped going forwards. Accidentally Barry dropped his stick, the horse sensing this stuck his head out and went on to win quite cosily. Ok San Silvestro, message received!
Very importantly we managed second and third in a Listed race at Pontefract with fillies Just Lille - rated 87 and Lady Rangali - who is rated just 83. A very important move as it will add to their appeal as broodmares and encourage buyers, if and when they go to the sales. Just Lille goes on to finish a very gallant second in the feature race at Hamilton two days after her second in the listed race. She deserves to win a bigger race soon. Between her and Lady Rangali they have earned almost twenty two thousand pounds in three days, without actually winning. However Just Lille was soon back in the winners enclose in a valuable race at Hamilton, and ran a blinder in the Old Newton Cup at Haydock.
Apart from one or two of the horses being adversely affected by the high pollen count, the others are all running very well indeed. Many trainers reckon oil seed rape is a killer, and they curse the time of year when the countryside surrounding them is bright yellow. But for my boys and girls it seems the grass and tree pollen at certain times is worse and I try some specially made drops which de-sensitize them. Angelo Politician and Berriedale are especially effected some days, but the drops work a treat as Angelo wins impressively under Silvestre De Sousa at Wolverhampton.
Its June and the BBC's coverage of Royal Ascot has been as impressive, fun, and informative as ever. The proof that we had got it right about Firebet's potential was there for all to see. Only it didn't matter any more. It is clear he would not only have run very well in the Britannia but, barring falling over or some other such unlikely event taking place, he would have won. The winner is not a fast improving sort. In fact the first four home were handicapped to the hilt and separated by less than half a length. There was certainly no Firebet in the line up. Our loss is compounded when Firebet goes on to show how good he is, but at least Mr Fahey was magnanimous enough to admit that he had inherited some very smart animals, and among them the seriously well handicapped and improving horse Firebet, saying on live TV that he was only reaping the rewards of our hard work.
The winners continue to flow. San Silvestro wins again at Musselburgh, under an excellent ride from Barry (without the whip). Other winners include Suitably Accoutred at Hamilton, Mintuno follows up with a second win this season at Ayr. What A Fella loses the nickname given to him by his owner of What a Failure when scoring at Hamilton under a super ride from Amy Ryan, who was given the greatest of compliments a lady jockey can be given when George said: "You wouldn't know she was a girl"! There isn't a pro riding today who would have done a better job on that monkey of a horse!
Hel's Angel wins decisively at Pontefract recording her second race this season. Josephine Malines and Keith Mercer get the better of the great Tony Mcoy in an eternal tussle in a maiden hurdle at Cartmel when relishing the rain softened ground. Diamond Daisey who had been seemingly very harshly treated by Mr Handicapper won at Beverley and our two year olds start to fire with some real enthusiasm. Firetrap is the first to be placed followed by an unlucky Cian Rooney at Beverley who it must be said would have won had he not been boxed in approaching the final furlong, but at least he gave owner Harry Findlay a reason to get excited and the plot began to take shape for his next race. Harry is a one off; a real character, and as the larger than life owner of the great Steeplechaser Denman, he is also a huge supporter of small trainers like me. Harry provided a much needed boost last August at the yearling sales when he called me over and told me to buy a horse for him. The yard was seriously in the doldrums thanks to the outbreak of ringworm, and I couldn't see how we could possibly attract any new owners, let alone one of Harry's standing. I did ask him if he was sure because having had a crap year I was "pretty much unable to train pigs to be dirty!" Harry laughed and said he hadn't noticed and didn't care either. It was, according to him, the people that mattered. What a man.
Hel's Angel after her Pontefract win
Harry ended up buying two fabulous yearling's and he will never know quite how much that meant to me and George at a time when things were not great. You can imagine the sheer delight we both felt when Cian Rooney stormed up the hill at Pontefract on a busy Sunday to win his maiden when the Findlay money was down. The plan came together and we were thrilled, as was "Arry and his team". Later that same day our other runners ran well with Firetrap second at Carlisle, Angelo fourth, and Just Lille third at Ascot, to continue the good run from the majority of the Sun Hill horses
The following Wednesday we unearthed a horse we had high hopes for. Since he arrived as a yearling the tall, good looking chestnut colt always had something about him. He looks like a good horse, moves like one and just could be one. By Observatory, and appropriately named Spying, he was bred by Evelyn Duchess of Sutherland and was sent to us to train having been unable to take up his engagement at the sales due to a minor injury.
Her Grace came to send her horses to us following recommendations from the great breeder Miss Kirsten Rausing, and retired trainer Denys Smith who previously trained for her Grace and The Duke of Sutherland. So we have a lot to thank them for, especially after Spying romped home to easily to take what looked like being an above average maiden by two lengths at Beverley over the extended seven furlongs.
Evelyn Duchess of Sutherland and Ann at Beverley
Can we dream on? Well, time will tell, but I wish we had a yard full like him, although life with Spying hasn't been entirely straightforward. His arrival was delayed by weeks when he panicked and tried to smash up the horse box bringing him here. Upon arrival at Julie Wilson's breaking yard he presented me with his front feet at my head hight by way of an introduction before giving Julie several good doses of migraine. Back at Sun Hill he was so sharp that only the evergreen, light and still very agile George, or James our head lad were able to come close to actually staying on board during exercise, although he did unship them both with relative ease. At Beverley on his first foray in racing he behaved reasonable well although he was a bit tricky to saddle up, stamping his feet into a bucket of water sending the entire contents all over George's trousers making it look as though he had missed the lamp-post in the wind. In the parade ring when I legged up Silvestre he put on a bit of a show as many two year olds do, making out that he hadn't actually been broken in until his arrival at the track.
The stats for a relatively small yard have been pretty solid, the horses have run consistently well, and apart from last season which yielded only 16 winners thanks to the seriously debilitating bout of ringworm, the past four and a half seasons have seen us notch up approaching 430 winners and placed horses; 104 of those being the winners (mostly Flat). It would be great it we can, despite the setbacks and lack of numbers, beat our best season total of 30 winners. We are on the 21 mark at the time of writing.
While the yard is swinging along nicely, life on the home front is pretty much the same as usual except our part time housekeeper is absent. So the house cleaning bit falls to me, although George is well house trained, he is also used to cooking his own breakfast each day while I am otherwise engaged on the yard. The evening ritual is the same, after evening stables I always try to be out of the office by 7pm to maintain some kind of family life and normality, and to cook dinner, the process of which is probably nothing short of amusing. I clatter round the kitchen, boiling, mashing, chipping, frying, and trying not to burn the dinner but not noticing if I do as the mobile remains clued to my right ear so I can discuss race plans with owners who probably never have to think about where their fabulously prepared Chateaubriand has come from, all done as the dishwasher is loaded, the dog fed, kitchen polished and George's shirts and the bedlinen for the holiday cottages ironed ready for the next changeover (thank God I don't have to do those as well). Note to self "as not doing too well as a domestic Goddess must earn more cash to pay someone more able". Racehorse trainer is one thing, but wife of, and mother to, is altogether a different story, especially when the hubby suffers from OCD (obsessive compulsory disorder) and cannot stand untidiness or a mess of any kind. While the nineteen year old son has the opposite disorder where teenage blindness bought on by the male hormone testosterone stops him seeing the mess he makes or the trail of domestic destruction he leaves behind him.
Ann relaxing with her son
We are now on the cusp of yearling sales season and our own runners will slow down slightly. Numerically speaking we just don't have the required firepower to keep running the same number of horses and many of the older ones have already raced eight or nine times winning and being placed with regular consistency; they cannot go on forever, the petrol runs out eventually. We need the two year olds to really start to pick up the baton from now on. While everyone knows we are more than capable of properly preparing yearlings for racing nothing attracts new owners than being reminded of that by them winning. I have no idea at this stage how many yearlings we will be buying or will be sent to us from breeders but I would be delighted to get to the twenty or thirty mark, it is, after all a numbers game and we have promises of some very nice types and a few orders are starting to come in.
Personally I have learned a lot this last couple of months. I have been reminded that life is short so there no point worrying; that this is only a game after all, and there really are more important things going on in the big wide world than the seemingly vital things that occupy one's own tiny space. That people you thought were honest - were not, and people you didn't know cared: actually care a great deal. For those people let's hope we at Sun Hill can keep up the good work.
Ann Duffield