Dean Ivory enjoyed his best season
ever, monetarily, in 2017, earning £903,291 in total prize money. He
also trained his first Group 1 winner, Librisa Breeze, in the Qipco
British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot.
Librisa Breeze had also contested the
same race the previous year, after displaying an astonishing turn of
foot to win the totescoop6 Challenge Cup, over 7 furlongs, at Ascot
two weeks earlier. At that time, Ivory – who had trained Sirius
Prospect to finish third in the Champion Sprint Stakes in 2012 and
Tropics to finish second in 2014 – said of Librisa Breeze, “This
might just be the one. I always thought he was going to be a real
good horse, but what’s surprised me about him is the speed and how
he finishes off his races.”
On his first attempt, on good going,
Librisa Breeze could only finish a never dangerous sixth, beaten 3¼
lengths, behind The Tin Man. However, back on soft going, he reversed
the form in no uncertain terms, keeping on stoutly under pressure to
beat Tasleet by 1¼ lengths, with Caravaggio third, Cartier Sprinter
of the Year Harry’s Angel fourth and The Tin Man only fifth, beaten
3½ lengths.
Dean Ivory is based at Harper Lodge
Farm, a private training establishment covering 115 acres in Radlett,
between St. Alban’s and Borehamwood in Hertfordshire. Ivory Jnr.
took out a training licence in 2002, when his father, Ken, retired to
Spain. However, his previous experience of owning a moderate horse
called Ivory’s Grab Hire – named after his transportation company
– provided an insight into his future career. He later remarked,
“Relationships with owners are important to me because as an
owner, I learnt that this personal liaison makes so much
difference.”
Ivory, 45, saddled his first major
winner, Miss George, in the Fleur De Lys Fillies’ Stakes at
Lingfield in 2004, but really started to climb the training ranks
from 2011 onwards, courtesy of the aforementioned Sirius Prospect and
Tropics, who won seven races at Listed or Pattern level between them.
More recently, Librisa Breeze and Lancelot Du Lac, winner of the
Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood in 2017, have continued to fly the flag
for the yard. On the yard celebrated its 400th winner when
Hello Girl hacked up, at odds on, in a novice auction stakes race at
Wolverhampton. At the last count, Ivory had saddled 421 winners and
earned nearly £2,750,000 in total prize money.
