Jamie Snowden profile

With over 400 winners to his name, Jamie Snowden has enjoyed plenty of success since obtaining his license in 2008, including two Cheltenham Festival winners. 

Jamie has been involved in horse racing from an early age, through a mixture of Pony Club, hunting and point-to-point racing. During his school time, he rode out for Nigel Twiston-Davies and during his gap year he went over to New Zealand to work as an Assistant Trainer for a flat yard. 

He followed this with a career in the army, where he cotninued his affiliation with horse racing by competing in the Grand Military Gold Cup and Royal Artillery Gold Cup, winning both races a record equalling four times as a jockey. 

After spending a year as pupil assistant for champion trainer Paul Nicholls, Jamie switched to Seven Barrows to become assistant trainer and amateur jockey for trainer Nicky Henderson, before taking out his trainer license in 2008. 

It took him three years to land a Listed winner, but the big winners kept coming after that, including a win at the 2014 Cheltenham Festival winner, when Present View landed the Novice Handicap Chase on the opening day of the Festival. He landed his second Cheltenham Festival winner in 2023, with You Wear It Well winning the Jack De Bromhead Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

Last season, Jamie had his best season to date in terms of prize money won, largely thanks to Datsalrightgino winning the Coral Gold Cup. He had plenty of other memorable winners during the season, including www.racingclub.com syndicate horse Farceur Du Large winning both the Grand Military Gold Cup and the Royal Artillery Gold Cup - a fitting winner for the trainer having been so prolific in the race as a jockey.

Jane Chapple-Hyam

 

Australian-born Jane Chapple-Hyam is the former wife of trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam, to whom she was married for 18 years. However, with her marriage coming to an end, she decided, in her own words to 'give it [training] a go myself.'

Chapple-Hyam had studied stud management at the National Stud in Newmarket as a teenager and worked for trainers Michael Dickinson and Barry Hills – employed by her late step-father, Robert Sangster – at Manton, Wiltshire, as well as alongside her former husband. Nevertheless, she effectively started again, from scratch, when she took out a training licence in her own right in 2005.

Chapple-Hyam saddled her first winner, Chief Commander, at Wolverhampton in January, 2006. The following August she made history by saddling the longest-priced winner in the history on the Ebor at York, Mudawin, at 100/1. His £124,640 winning prize money remains her biggest payday to date. She won her first Pattern race, the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury in 2010 and, in 2012, 2013 and 2014, recorded three more Group 3 wins, courtesy of Mull of Killough. Indeed, Mull of Killough contested as series of races in Australia, including the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, in 2013.

Nowadays, Chapple-Hyam operates what has been described as 'boutique' stable of 30 or so horses in Dalham, near Newmarket. Her current stable star in undoubtedly the filly Safforn Beat, who won the Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket in 2020 and subsequently finished second in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Horse Trainer Bill Turner: Brocklesby Stakes Review

If Bill Turner is associated with one horse race it has to be the Brocklesby Stakes. The first two-year-old race of the season. Finally, the Flat turf season has arrived after a cold winter and the eternal hope for winners warms the spirit.

I’ve never been to Doncaster racecourse. However, watching a replay of this year’s Brocklesby Stakes I saw Bill Turner attending his two-year-old colt Bob The Bandit, a sizeable son of Aclaim. The horse looked a picture and groomed perfectly with stars on its hind quarters.

It would have been a pleasure to congratulate him on a gallant second place behind Zminiature, who ran out a fair winner. I would like to shake Bill Turner’s hand and say: ‘Thanks for all those Brocklesby Stakes memories...’

Bill Turner, as for so many other handlers across the country, has a passion that comes from his love of the sport. We can only imagine how difficult it must be to find an owner with money to spend, or a breeder who chooses a smaller stable to send their horse. And for that horse to keep sound and have enough ability to win a race.

Look through the results in the Racing Post it seems every horse is a winner. You couldn’t be further from the truth. Winners are few and far between. I have the statistics for every trainer of two-year-old horses and even the biggest trainers have times when they struggle to win. It’s fair to say some of the powerhouses make it look easy.

It’s sad that so many smaller stables struggle to find wealthy owners. One person with a pot of cash could transform their career. It happened with Dominic Ffrench Davis when Amo Racing Ltd sent class horses his way. It proves the point, a trainer is only as good as their horses. In fact, many of the smaller trainers may be better because they have to try harder not being able to rely on a classy thoroughbred.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the money to visit Bill Turner at Sigwell’s Farm, Dorset and say: ‘Bill, have you ever fancied training a Frankel colt?’

Wouldn’t that be a lovely day.

Now, I’m sure Bill Turner isn’t a man to be down on his luck. Certainly not a gentleman to feel sorry for himself. After all those years of training horses he is a realist and someone who appreciates success when it happens. He doesn’t take it for granted. And that’s why seeing Bob The Bandit claim second place in the Brocklesby filled my heart with joy.

There’s always hope of that elusive win.

He’s been waiting for the next Brocklesby victory since 2013 when Mick’s Yer Man won for the yard.

True, he will have to wait another year if not longer. However, the stable staff, and their governor, would have been smiling when they returned with Bob The Bandit. I’m sure on the drive home a few of the stable’s Brocklesby Stakes winners were mentioned.

‘Bob The Bandit did us proud. He’s a winner waiting to happen.’

You can bet he is.

For me horse racing is more than simply the next winner and then moving swiftly on. True, for many punters it is exactly that. But those who do are missing out on the reality of life. They miss out on the story beyond the gamble. Don’t ever forget that every horse, trainer, jockey, owner and punter have their story to tell.

But for that to happen there is a need for someone to listen.

Someone like you.