Jeremy Scott: Good Vibes

Jeremy Scott is a National Hunt trainer based at High Holworthy Farm in Brompton Regis, near Dulverton, Somerset. Scott first took out a public training licence in 2007, but for the previous 15 years he and his wife, Camilla, had successfully trained point-to-pointers under permit.

Officially, his first winner under Rules was County Derry in a hunters’ chase at Stratford on May 14, 2001, but his first winner as a professional, licensed trainer was Gone To Lunch in a novices’ hurdle at Uttoxeter on June 7, 2007. The following season, Gone To Lunch also gave him his first major success, in the GPG Novices’ Chase at Newbury, under A.P. McCoy. All in all, Gone To Lunch won eight of his 34 starts over regulation hurdles and fences between 2007 and 2012 and earned just over £223,000 in win and place prize money.

Scott saddled his first Grade 1 winner, Melodic Rendezvous, in the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown in January, 2013. In fact, the 2012/13 was his best ever, numerically, with 30 wins, including three from Melodic Rendezvous, three from Quaddick Lake, whom he acquired from Ashley Farrant in July, 2012, and five from On The Bridge, who officially improved by 25lb between August and November.

Melodic Rendezvous continued to fly the flag for the yard for the next couple of seasons, winning the Plymouth Novices’ Hurdle at Exeter and the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton in 2013, followed the Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock and the Kingwell Hurdle, also at Wincanton, in 2014. Melodic Rendezvous also ran in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2014, but was never travelling and trailed in seventh of eight finishers, beaten 19 lengths, behind Jezki.

Melodic Rendezvous was retired, as an 11-year-old, after finishing last of seven in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton in November, 2017. He won eight of his 31 starts and earned just over £270,000 in win and place prize money. Scott said of stable star, “He was always a bit of an underdog, fighting against the big stables… He always ran above his ability because he was so tough and one season he was absolutely brilliant.”

More recently, Scott appears to have discovered another real money-spinner in the form of Unison who, while not in same class as Melodic Rendezvous, has recorded 10 victories since joining the yard from Peter Makin in February, 2016. The son of Jeremy – the sire, not the trainer – put up a career-best performance to win a handicap hurdle at Taunton in February, 2018. Scott said afterwards, “He’s in the form of his life at the moment, and if we had a yard full like him it would be happy days indeed!”