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it was Paul Barber who discovered Breedsbreeze, so it would have been difficult for Mr. Lewis to send him to another stable…
Incidentally, I noticed that Breedsbreeze’s breeder – try saying that after a bottle of wine – is listed as Mrs Helen Walsh. Is that the same Helen Walsh who is Ruby’s mother, or is it just a coincidence? I would have thought that would be the kind of ‘human interest’ detail the press would pick up on if it were the same person (although I suppose the "Jim Lewis has potential successor to Best Mate, succeeding where the GC winner failed in the Tolworth" was all the human interest they were looking for yesterday).
Miss Knight may be an endearing barmpot lumbered with a husband who’s a bit of a berk but she’s a fine trainer of chasers. For me her hallmark is the attention she would seem to place on the thorough schooling of her novice chasers before unleashing them over fences in public; they exhibit a notable proficiency and air-of-confidence.
Not too bad with established chasers either. As has been pointed out, the way she’s nursed the tricky Harris Bay to such a high wins-to-runs ratio reflects great credit on her skills.
I suspect she’s the sort who will always prefer to run a stable with relatively few inmates enabling her to concentrate or ‘dote’ on each and every one. Hence few winners, few runners and, superficially, lengthy periods ‘out of form’: patience and softly-softly are her methods in a nutshell.
She did very well with the Jim Lewis trio, but I have to say that on her general level of performance, I think she is overrated.
This is what Ms. Knight has to say in The Guardian:-
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/horseracing … e_continue
Regards – Matron
She’s like Jonjo, Nicholls, King, Henderson, Murphy, Morrison, Moore, Quinn, Hobbs etc.etc
All of whom have shown that if given the material they can train horses to win races
Yes – if they can train a good horse to win a race, then they must all be of similar ability
Yes – if they can train a good horse to win a race, then they must all be of similar ability
TDK, would any of em got more out of Flint River than Hughie, would any of em get more out of Salute than P Murphy???
Would any of em get more/ less out of Kauto Star, Denman, Katchit etc,etc???
Very interesting thread I have to say! My own view is that I don’t think she was ever up there with Nicholls, Pipe or Hobbs. I wasnt aware that she was ever compared to the big three or four now if you throw King into that mix. Does anyone know if she had a large string or if she had many cash rich owners apart from Lewis before Best Mate?
Looking on her website, she seemed to train pointers up to 1989 before moving into rules. Since then she has trained the winners of the Stayers Hurdle, the Sun Alliance, the Champion Chase, King George, three Gold Cups and a host of other grade one races. Now, as I have stated I am not sure how much ammunition she has had over the years, but I think she has a damn impressive CV, one most trainer in Ireland and Great Britain would give their right arm for.
JohnJ.
Yes – if they can train a good horse to win a race, then they must all be of similar ability
TDK, would any of em got more out of Flint River than Hughie, would any of em get more out of Salute than P Murphy???
Would any of em get more/ less out of Kauto Star, Denman, Katchit etc,etc???
They would all get different results with all of the horses you quote as they all have differing methods and are of different abilities. To ignore the ability of the trainer when assessing horses is to ignore one of the fundamental elements of the sport.
The main reason we bought FR and put him with Morrison was that we thought he would do significanltly better with the horse than the previous trainers had done. I’d like to think the horse’s record after moving yards proved that that assessment was correct.
TDK,
Who may ask was "biging up" or inflating Henrietta Knight’s status, I can’t recall the media comparing to say Nicholls or Pipe.
JohnJ
HK is a grand trainer and would never cross my mind to discard a horse because she trained it……….well thought of in every quarter, the very sight of her name inspires confidence.
Overrated by who?
I’m not saying she is hugely hyped up by the media, I just don’t think she does particularly well with the horses she has in her care. If I had a jumper, there are several trainers I would send it to ahead of HK.
I’m not saying she is hugely hyped up by the media, I just don’t think she does particularly well with the horses she has in her care. If I had a jumper, there are several trainers I would send it to ahead of HK.
TDK,
I agree, her taste in knitwear is a bit disturbing
.JohnJ
I suspect she’s the sort who will always prefer to run a stable with relatively few inmates
That’d be my take on it. Wasn’t the whole point of her big sale of tack, equipment, etc. not so long ago part of an overall plan to get her operation (and with it string of horses) back down to a size more manageable for her?
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Depends what type of jumper and at what stage of their career. If (like the awesome looking Calgary Bay) they are young and would possibly have masses of potential, then she would certainly be an ideal trainer. Frustratingly cautious of course but the animal would be schooled as well as any in the country
But not a trainer for a handicap hurdler perhaps….
I like her. Theres room for all sorts in the sport and she has a nice intelligence as well as being a bit batty
but wonder what was behind the split with lewis….
I also wonder what is behind Jim Lewis sending his horses to Paul Nicholls.
IMO, it cannot be a good thing for the sport as a whole to have one trainer who is perceived as owners as being head and shoulders above the rest and therefore sending their charges to that trainer alone.
For example, if Denman was trained by a different trainer, we would already have had 2 Denman vs Kauto Star vs Exotic Dancer races rather than having to sit on our hands until March for the "big one".
I’m not saying she is hugely hyped up by the media, I just don’t think she does particularly well with the horses she has in her care. If I had a jumper, there are several trainers I would send it to ahead of HK.
TDK,
I agree, her taste in knitwear is a bit disturbing
.JohnJ
Wouldn’t disagree with you there DK that there are better places to put a horse. If you can afford it…however she has had some real good winners in her time from limited resources.
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