A Tale of Two Yards (from today's Racing Post)

Link to article


'It's a shame because it was a wonderful yard'

BY STEVE DENNIS 7:49AM 20 JUL 2014

On Location: a tale of two yards in the hinterland of Goodwood

NATURE is taking it back. Weeds push through the concrete, push towards the sun. Spiders have spun their gossamer strands over every surface, a butterfly wags its wings as it perches on a blossom of the relentless invader buddleia, bird droppings speckle the floor of every box.

The silence is broken by a peal of bells from Arundel cathedral, a horseshoe’s throw from the neglected paddock behind the final row of boxes. Send not to know for whom the bells toll, for they toll for Castle Stables, once the busiest in Britain with more than 200 horses, now no more than a collection of shabby outbuildings with peeling paint and tarnished fittings ready for the bulldozer.

From here John Dunlop trained more than 3,000 winners, ten British Classic winners, some of the most resonant and well-regarded names of recent years. In times past the yard would have been gearing up for Glorious Goodwood, the local festival at which Dunlop reaped a mighty harvest over the decades; production ceased in the autumn of 2012 and at this time of year its dereliction is particularly poignant.

Over the hills and not far away, the desuetude of Castle Stables is thrown into relief by the thriving Angmering Park yard of William Knight, tucked away in a wrinkle of the South Downs about two miles east. From the top of his gallops, as he patiently steers his four-by-four through fields of sheep soporific in the midday heat, Knight can clearly see Arundel Castle, although the stables that bear the name are lost in the background blur of greenery.

There are similarities here – Dunlop rented Castle Stables from the Duke of Norfolk’s estate until abrupt retirement and voluntary liquidation followed, Knight leases his yard from the estate and has expanded his territory as Lady Herries, eldest daughter of the 16th Duke and trainer of the superlative Celtic Swing, has reduced her holding, and Dunlop’s head man Dave Kitcher now works for Knight – but the one salient difference is the one that jars. Knight is looking forward to Glorious Goodwood, has several contenders earmarked, all is as it should be; Castle Stables moulders, its present state as inglorious as the fashion of Dunlop’s departure.

“This is a fantastic place to train racehorses,” says Knight, 37, whose finest hour thus far arrived when Illustrious Blue won the 2010 Goodwood Cup. “It’s a fabulous place to live, to bring up a family, but if there is a downside it’s that we’re slightly out on a limb, well away from the main training centres, and I think some owners see that as a disadvantage.

“Once owners come here they see it for what it is, and that’s great, but it can be quite difficult to get horses – we’ve got 45 in at the moment and could comfortably take 20 more. Winners bring owners, and we’ll just keep on trying on that front.”

If you were a horse you’d love to be trained on the Angmering Park estate, on rolling countryside in clean sea air without a road in sight. Knight waves an arm at his long, sinuous, gently ascending Soft Track gallop that curves over the horizon, that marks the boundary with the Arundel estate, points out the woodland walkways that are carpeted with bluebells at the right time of year, follows the loop his horses take to bring them home, never having to retrace their steps. The Solent sparkles in the distance.

“The Glorious Goodwood meeting is important to us, we’ve been lucky there, and I always aim some of our better horses there,” says Knight, who has also been honing his talent for the Lord March XI v Lord’s Taverners XI cricket match on the evening of the opening day, and quietly worrying about facing the bowling of ex-England paceman Andy Caddick. He wants rain, not to wash out the cricket but to ease the way for his horses, the majority of whom want cut in the ground, and if it has been a season of frustration – 13 winners, 19 seconds – the forthcoming pleasures at Goodwood offer the chance to ease any discontent.

Beacon Lady, ideally suited by Goodwood if only because it involves next to no travelling, is on target for the Lillie Langtry Stakes, while Secret Art – the current inhabitant of Celtic Swing’s old box – will join Maverik over a mile if the handicapper gives him an inch. Fire Ship may go too, while Aussie Reigns may have his sights raised for the Group 3 Glorious Stakes, which offers a win-and-you’re-in incentive for the Caulfield Cup, a prospect that has Knight leafing through the calendar in excitement.

There’s an energy about the yard, a go-ahead style emphasised by the stark contrast with Castle Stables and its facilities left fallow. “The gallops are still intact, I was up there only the other day, but I’m pretty sure it’ll never be a racing yard again,” adds Knight. “It’s a great shame because it was a wonderful old yard and John had such great success there.”


IT WILL never be a racing yard again because the Norfolk Estate intend it to be developed for housing, families putting their feet up where Derby winners Shirley Heights and Erhaab once shuffled their feet in the straw, where the likes of Silver Patriarch, Ragstone, Bahri and Wassl returned in triumph from Royal Ascot, Doncaster and the Curragh. The world needs more houses, but it’s a shame a handful of them are expected to be built here, on the site of so much racing history.

Ken ‘Scobie’ Bedford was part of that history for 33 years, his award-winning career spent under the patrician rule of Major Dick Hern and Major Michael Pope before he came south to join Dunlop. Bedford, 63, now works in the building trade and pursues a burgeoning career as a DJ in his spare time. He’s a gregarious soul but his voice takes on a wistful cast at the mention of Castle Stables.

“It all ended in a sad way,” he says. “One week we were told that Mr Dunlop was packing up at the end of the year, but that we’d all be looked after. The next week we were told the company had been liquidated and there was nothing for anyone.

“The horses left, we tidied everything up at the yard and that was that. We shouldn’t have been told we’d be looked after – we weren’t even supplied with references. I’d been there 33 years and all I got when it ended was £11,500.”

He snorts derisively, yet he’s reluctant to cast aspersions towards his old boss, who he calls “a gentleman, someone who’d always help you out, and it was such a shame that he just sort of slipped away out of the back door of racing”. And although it galls him that it ended badly he emphasises that he enjoyed his time at the yard immensely, travelling Europe and beyond with the likes of Alwuhush, Big Bad Bob, Lucido and Leggera.

“I remember when I took Alwuhush to New York for the Turf Classic. I had an awful time sorting out my passport – which had just expired – and my visa, and in the end the guv’nor paid for me to take a special flight to the US because he didn’t want to send anyone else with the hors e, I knew him so well.”

In Bedford’s hands the past comes alertly to life, tales of painting Arundel red after big-race victories, shaking up the staid little tourist trap in a way that must make the town’s publicans bitterly regret the yard’s passing.

“They called us the Stable Rats because we got in everywhere,” he says, the glint in his eye bright enough to dazzle. “The night Quick As Lightning won the Guineas [1980], we went out and drank Arundel dry.

“We went in the Eagle and a chap called Angus was hanging off the rail above the bar, and he shouted across the room to a load of bikers ‘now call us the Stable Rats, we’ve got money in our pockets and we’re going to spend the lot’. We went from pub to pub to pub, did the lot, and yet not a lad or girl was late for work the next day, all there at half past six. Headaches, yes, but all on time.

“I had a bet going on – Sea Chimes to win the City And Suburban, Quick As Lightning to win the 1,000 Guineas and Posse to win the 2,000, had them in each-way doubles and trebles. The first two won and if Posse had won instead of finishing second . . . I’d have been a rich man. I still picked up a lot from the each-way patent, mind.”

And then he comes back to earth with a bump. “One of the best yards in the country, and now look at it.”

Now look at it. The cathedral bells stop, and in the sudden silence the imagination conjures up the sight of Salsabil, Shadayid, Habibti, Circus Plume, Quick As Lightning and Awaasif walking out of the particularly decrepit ‘fillies’ yard’, off to conquer the world for John Dunlop and Castle Stables. The weeds wave in the breeze, wave goodbye.

 

I did hear a rumour that one of the reasons John Dunlop's company went into liquidation is because the Norfolk Estate kept putting the rent on the yard up as they wanted him to vacate so they could redevelop it. A travesty in my mind.

 

Tks vm PNkt, a fine article by Steve Dennis, but very very sad. John Dunlop was a great trainer and did not deserve that his career should end in such a way. I feel for his loyal staff too, 33-years and........

 

Risky business renting a yard, especially with that many commitments, and even more so if the landlord is a bastard. We rented a yard to fill in the gap between selling our house and finding a property in France (almost 2 years) but the only increase the landlord could impose was to pass on any increase in water rates, which was minimal. Sounds like the landlord had him over a barrel. Very sad.

 

Very sad but I would imagine common in that the little guys get no consideration at all. To leave without even a reference after 33 years means someone has ducked out of reasonably expected responsibilities. There are ways of doing things in life and sometimes they are not the easiest ways or the most beneficial for ourselves personally, but a man of integrity does things the right way regardless of any of these things. I am not sure why Castle stables closed so quickly and in such an inappropriate way rather than being wound up in a way befitting such a fine institution based around hardwork and loyalty but someone somewhere ducked out clearly.

 

It was all very controversial. Because the training yard was being run as a business, John Dunlop was not personally liable for any of the debts run up by the company, but I've heard some people in the industry say they think it was very badly handled. After all it's not like the debts were run up overnight.

 

I used to ride regulary round angemering as my horse was kept in storrington ( pretty much next door ) and is a real place of beauty to ride let alone train and when Dunlop left there was definitely a sense of something missing.

You stole my point princess lol it is very sad for the staff as it says 33 yrs and nothing I return but in a lot of yards u r just a lot number ( personal experience) and u do the job for the love and not the money. But the liquidation would not have hurt dunlops pocket at all he would have been nicely kept and as u say it was a company so had no impact on him but still very sad espc for the staff