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Michael Stoute to retire at the end of the season.
Not a great surprise, I suppose. Desert Crown in the Derby was in effect his swansong.
Understandable to an extent but still somewhat of a surprise.
I almost felt that he might be able to do something similar to what Sir Henry did and come back after a period in the doldrums with some better horses but I guess maybe some of his more longstanding owners (who may not have anyone who wants/can continue their legacy going forward) are unable to continue to supply the firepower he needs to compete with the new modern group of upcoming trainers.
Having grown up for so long with the likes of Cecil/Stoute/Dunlop/Hern/Harwood/Hills/Tree/Walwyn/Hannon/Elsworth/Balding etc you don’t really think they will be going anywhere but as they say Father Time is undefeated and it kind of now leaves Sir Mark as one of the most notable trainers of that era left standing so to speak.
Fingers crossed Stoute can fire in a few bigger winners before the end of the season as it would be rather sad if he went out on the current low ebb.
I will certainly miss him, but looking back at the past few years he rarely had a horse to be competitive at the highest level. It was as if he started the retirement process some years ago.
Agree with LD 73, it would be great for him to finish on a high note.
Best wishes to Michael.
A shame that Passenger has had an interrupted campaign as he could have been the one to go out with a bang with..
He has aged from his days of hosting bamboozled quiz on teletext
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Perhaps the last of the great trainers who used to farm the best races when I first started betting. Remember trying to listen to Shergar’s Derby on my radio in Double Biology. Still have a picture of the great racehorse with Walter Swinburn up – on my study wall.
“True gentleman” indeed Glad.
But in being so he’s also got away with telling the press / punters as little as possible about his horses.SMS didn’t / doesn’t have the numbers of well bred top racehorses he once had, but is still capable of producing top class racehorses when given the ammunition. Desert Crown not so long ago and even this year… Make no mistake, Passenger showed form good enough to win a Grouo 1 race – just not actually in a Group 1.
Have a happy retirement when it comes Sir Michael.
Value Is EverythingInteresting to read the ‘true gent’ comments, as I’ve always thought he came across as haughty and condescending in brief interviews in the paddock. Obviously didn’t like being bothered at work.
Whatever the case, he’s put together quite some body of work.“True gent”, MM. But as I said, he didn’t like talking about his horses. Could be he had the old timers attitude of what his horses have done should solely be between him and the owner. ie No business of TV presenters or punters. He was after all, training before the change (encouraged by the authorities) to more openness happened. It is by no means unique of trainers around in the 70’s and 80’s… But they are usually “gentlemen” in every other way.
Value Is EverythingI agree with the comments above about Stoute’s manner. He could have been a bit more forthcoming with the press and public. Some of his post race interviews were painful.
RTV showed an interview with him about his career. He didn’t say very much even about long gone horses, other than that they were “sound” and had “a good temperament”. We didn’t really learn much about his training methods, although that is partly due to Persad and Mellish being such rubbish interviewers.
However, I suppose we should bear in mind that Stoute started training in the early 1970s, long before dedicated racing channels and instant communication. It was a very different world and trainers did not have to be quite so open. Perhaps he struggled to adapt to that changed media environment.
Sir Michael Stoute.
The only person in racing history to train two horses that achieved a Timeform Rating of 140 or more.Shergar and Harbinger.
Value Is EverythingSaw both win the King George at Ascot. Still not sure why I opted for the previous year’s Derby winner (whose name escapes me) to beat the latter, but did have the DF with Shergar and Madam Gay.
I find it a little ironic that before becoming a trainer, he went for the horse racing job at the BBC; which Julian Wilson got.
And during the period in 1989/90 he had the Champion Miler, and Champion Hurdler.
I still have an issue with the Harbinger rating; the King George VI performance screams ‘outlier’ to me…..like Hawk Wing’s Lockinge.
A very fine trainer who had success with all manner of different types of horse. A master of late maturing middle distance horses such as Opera House Harbinger and Pilsudski. The type of racehorse I like best.
Rather sad to see his career end on a bit of a low note with reduced numbers and quality in recent years.
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