Davidson/Dobbin

[ivanjica]

I didn’t realise you could access old issues of Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder magazine online. In trawling through them I came across a 2008 edition which interviewed Rose Davidson and Tony Dobbin as they were setting up their training establishment.

http://issuu.com/ownerbreeder/docs/ob_m … mode=embed

Given the level of investment in the place, and the experience both gained at a number of high profile yards, is anyone able to explain what has gone wrong? Is it simply a case of bad luck in terms of Duncan Davidson seriously reducing his string just as they were starting out? Or are there other issues, eg virus, etc?

I know when Rose was riding the horses it was often suggested that if seasoned professionals were on board the strike rate would have signifcantly increased, however this hasn’t been borne out since she hung up her boots. If anything the Davidson owned strings fortunes seems to have taken a dowward turn since Rose stopped riding and started training.

I suppose it is a timely reminder that you can be given a significant advantage in terms of investment, however it is no guarantee of racecourse success.

[Hippo Joe]

This is a strange tale indeed, Ivanjica, and it’s one I think about often as I watch Rose struggling for a winner.

She and Tony are married now, and the idyllic set-up must feel bitter-sweet the more time goes by.

I’m sure the Dobbins have moved Heaven and Earth to try to discover what is going wrong, but sometimes these things remain a mystery forever.

I know some small trainers who turn out winners year after year from little more than a ploughed field, which makes the Dobbins’ problem even more of an enigma.

Ivor Herbert used to say training is a knack, and if you find you don’t have it you should cash in your chips as soon as you can.

I hope that’s not the case here, and I’m sure we wish them well, and a run of success sooner rather than later.

[cjboy]

It seems to be a simple problem; they don’t have the ammunition. It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you don’t have the horses you cannot win the races.

Mr and Mrs Davidson have gone down from about 25 horses to less than half that over the last 5 years.

Apart from Henderson and Nichols, this is a problem hitting many jumps trainers, the reality of the situation is that owners are not replacing so many horses when their career ends, trainers have ever decreasing numbers and the age profile of the strings is increasing. Racing is not in a good place.

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