Favourite Trainers.

Thought I would start a wee thread to enquire which particular stables we all have a soft spot for and who we tend to follow.

Personally over the sticks I am a great admirer of Alan King, I am very biased here as Alan is a fellow Larkhall Academy pupil, although he was much brighter than me as I spent most of my schooling days in the snooker hall studying the Sporting Life.

On the flat I am a great fan of Mark Johnston, I think he is a fantastic trainer who does not get the recognition he deserves, if he was based in Newmarket he would be thought of more. I have had the pleasure of meeting him twice and he is an absolute gentleman, and a great Glasgow Rangers fan into the bargain.

Over to you's for your favourites, and reasons why!

Great thread Swansea......I'm off here very shortly.....will post tomorrow : )

Solerina

David Pipe's my favourite trainer....mainly because I was a big fan of Martin Pipe.......David was an excellent trainer in his own right ( Point-to-Pointers and Hunter Chasers) before taking over as trainer at Pond House and thoroughly deserves the success he is having. Martin Pipe must be a huge influence but I think David's his own man and has done things his own way from day one.
He seems a thouroughly genuine, nice, person too.

Of the smaller trainers I'm a big fan of Emma Lavelle......I saw an excellent documentary about her a few years ago and thought she was lovely with a wonderful attitude and totally dedicated to her horses.

Which makes me ask.....what happened to Crack Away Jack? I will go and find out.

Solerina

A quick Google search and HERE'S my answer.........I didn't know he'd been moved to Paul Nicholls.....poor Emma.

Some interesting comments attached to that article.

Solerina

Flat : Henry Cecil

Jumps : Jonjo...

I've got to say, i quite like Alan King as well however my favourite trainer over the sticks is Venetia Williams....I've got a lot of time for her and if i'm honest, she's one of my 'Secret Desires' ... But enough said about that the better !!!
Flat trainers ..... I've always liked Dandy Nicholls. I know he can be preceived as a bit of a 'rogue' sometimes where punters are concerned, however if i was to ever own a horse on the flat and it had some speed then i couldn't think of anyone better than DN to place it to win a few sprints.
I did have a share in a horse once, a very very small share which was trained by Conrad Allen ..... Needless to say, he is NOT one of my favourite trainers !!!!

Had a long association with FERDY MURPHY,so i always look out for his,still get so good info from the yard and i dont keep it to myself.People say hes a fiddler and sails close to the wind but ive known him for 12 years and hes never been anything but a perfect gent with me,my wife and kids.Theres times of the year to pay close attention to his runners and times when you avoid them.Stable if top form at present ,you avoid them at all costs just after new year(inoculation time then easy list for a week)so they always need their first run back after that period.
Ive grown up following the fortunes of "Sir Henry" and i wont change now.Used to follow the double act of Cecil/Piggott come hell or high water when i was first hooked on this game and HRAC has become an absolute figurehead for the racing game.
Trainers to avoid and ive got first hand knowledge of them are..
Dandy Nicholls...little baldy fat burglar
Brian Meehan....if he told me the grass was green id go and look for myself
Mel Brittain...more faces than big ben
John O Shea... couldnt train dolphins to eat fish.

Sorry to waffle on,hope somebody finds this interesting