Saxon Gate Stables | ||||
If you can provide any photos associated with this stable, or additional information to fill any gaps then contact johnwslusar@gmail.com | ||||
1960-October 1983 Fulke Walwyn, Jack Mazey Fulke Thomas Tyndall Walwyn, son of Colonel Fulke Walwyn, an officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and Master of the Monmouth Hounds, was born in Wrexham on 8th November 1910 alongside his twin sister Helen, and was the cousin of Derby winning Lambourn trainer Peter Walwyn. He was initially educated at Malvern College before joining the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and after completing his military training he became an Officer in the 9th Lancers, although he resigned his commission in 1935. He was a successful amateur jockey, winning the Amateur Riders championship twice in the 5 seasons he rode as an amateur, experiencing his first ride in the Aintree Grand National in 1934, but fell at the 13th fence on Ready Cash (20/1). Although he did not have a mount the next year, in 1936 he partnered the Major Noel Furlong owned and trained Reynoldstown (10/1) to an easy 12 length victory. It was an amazing victory, on a horse which had won the previous years National, because he lost his whip early in the race, and lost a stirrup on the second circuit. Later that year, in October 1936, he partnered the 5-times Gold Cup winner Golden Miller (1/3 fav) at Wincanton when the horse won the Lattiford Optional Selling Chase. Less than a month later Walwyn rode Golden Miller over the National fences in the Beecher Chase where he was made the 7/2 joint fav, but could only manage second, beaten 2 lengths by his fellow joint favourite Royal Mail. He turned professional in 1937, joining the stables of George Beeby, but did not get a ride in the Grand National for the next 2 years, although surprisingly, he was back in 1939 aboard Dunhill Castle (28/1) but fell at the 3rd fence. In April 1939 his riding career came to an abrupt end at Ludlow when his horse fell and he fractured his skull, leaving him unconscious for a month and having a metal plate in his head, but it did mean that he could launch his training career, buying Delamere House Stables in Lambourn, training 18 winners in his first season. He married his first wife Diana, daughter of Major Carlos Clarke and a cousin of the Earl of Ranfurly, an accomplished horsewoman and a major asset around the Stables. He returned to active service at the outbreak of the War, serving with the 9th Lancers in France, although his skull injuries could have given him an exemption. In the latter stages of the War he purchased Saxon House Stables in 1944, replacing Edward Gwilt. Throughout the next 47 years he showed himself to be one of the top National Hunt trainers of all time, landing 4 Cheltenham Gold Cups, mostly famously in 1963 with Mill House who then had an epic battle with the mighty Arkle the next year before succumbing to that champion, 2 Champion Hurdles, including 50/1 outsider Kirriemuir in 1965, 7 Hennessy Gold Cups and the same number of Whitbread Gold Cups, and in 1964 became one of an elite group who have ridden and then trained a Grand National winner, when Team Spirit won the great race to pair with Reynoldstown, which Walwyn had ridden to victory in 1936. In 1947 he won the first Scottish Grand National at Bogside to be held after the War, when Rowland Roy, ridden by Mr R Black, triumphed, repeating the success again 17 years later with Popham Down. Tragically, his first wife Diana died, aged 32, on Thursday 29th December 1949 in Newbury District Hospital having been taken there on Boxing Day, Monday 26th December. |
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Two days later an inquest confirmed that her death was caused by the accidental taking of a number of pain killers, which she was accustomed to take on a regular basis after suffering pain from a parachute jump which she had made some years before. In June 1952 he married his second wife, Cath, daughter of the horse racing fan and amateur rider Sir Humphrey de Trafford, and the marriage was blessed with a daughter, Jane, om 29th November 1957, the couple going on to enjoy 39 years of married life. When the Hennessy Gold Cup was launched at Cheltenham in 1957, but staged thereafter at Newbury, Fulke Walwyn dominated the first two running's, winning the inaugural race with Mandarin ridden by Gerry Madden, and following up the next year with Taxidermist 10/1 ridden by John Lawrence, later Lord Oaksey, when Mandarin went off the 10/11 favourite to repeat his victory of the previous year. |
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I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the 1830 map shown above. | ||||
In the 1960s Fulke utilised Saxon Gate stables, calling it the 'Botttom Yard' and putting Head Lad Jack Mazey in charge. It is difficult to assign horses to Saxon Gate during this period because there would have been some chopping and changing between the main yard and the Saxon Gate yard, but two which were trained at Saxon Gate were Diamond Edge and Gay George. Fulke retained ownership of the yard after October 1983, leasing it to Simon Christian and then Mick Channon. In 1963 Mill House scored a famous victory in the Hennessy Gold Cup, beating Arkle into third place. Although he was champion National Hunt Trainer on 5 occasions, he did venture into flat racing occasionally, winning the 1950 Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot with Aldborough, owned by Dorothy Paget and ridden by Gordon Richards, and the 1950 Doncaster Cup with the same horse when partnered by Doug Smith. In total he trained 40 Cheltenham Festival winners, a record which stood until beaten by fellow Lambourn trainer Nicky Henderson in 2012., and Fulke's achievement is rightly marked by a race which is named after him, the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup. He trained for the great and good, the eccentric, Dorothy Paget, and Royalty, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother from 1973, and 10 years after he began training for the Queen Mother, he was made Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. He retired in 1990 at the age of 79, suffering from Parkinson's Disease, and his wife Cath took over the training license about a year before he died peacefully at Saxon House on 18th February 1991. |
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October 1983-1989 Simon Christian |
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1989-1999 Mick Channon |
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2003-2008 David Arbuthnot |
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February 2012-September 2014 Paul Fitzsimons |
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2016-present Archie Watson Archie Watson, born in 1989, grew up in the vicinity of Lambourn and was fortunate to have relations who took him to the races from an early age. He recalls going to Cheltenham in 1996 with his step grandfather when the seed was sown which grew into a desire to train racehorses. He began riding out for Charlie Morlock at Kingston Lisle from the age of 13, gaining additional experience during his long summer holidays, working with Alan King, Paul Webber and venturing to the USA, to work at Graham Motions in Maryland. He enrolled in a history degree course at Edinburgh University, but chose not to complete it when a not to be missed opportunity arose for him to work in the South Africa stables of Alec Laird, even managing a satellite yard in Summerveld, Natal. In between he worked at Shadwell Stud, Norfolk, and travelled to New Zealand, working at Windsor Park Stud. He returned to the USA for a six-month contract with Group 1 winning trainer Simon Callaghan, but was delighted to be offered the chance to assist William Haggas, at Somerville Lodge Stables, Newmarket in 2012, spending almost 4 years with William and Maureen Haggas. In 2016 Archie felt the time was right to embark on his own training career, successfully applying for a licence and purchasing the historic Saxon Gate stables in Lambourn. |
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He saddled his first runner, Ebony & Ivory (5/1) owned by the Ebony & Ivory Partnership and ridden by Michael Murphy, on 29th August 2016 at Ripon in the Billy Nevett Memorial Handicap, running unplaced behind Penny Pot Lane. His first winner came almost 2 months later at Kempton when Ride The Lightning (9/4) won the 32Red on the App Store Handicap partnered by Jim Crowley. Since that lowly first winner, Archie has gone on to record Royal Ascot successes with Soldiers Call in the 2018 Windsor Castle Stakes, and Bradsell in the 2022 Coventry Stakes. Archie has made the most of opportunities abroad, winning at Chantilly, Deauville, Doha (Qatar) and Gowran Park (Ireland), although up to 2022 a classic success has eluded him. An integral part of his success has been the partnership he has struck up with wonder woman lady jockey Hollie Doyle, and it can only be a matter of time before the pair win an English Classic and she captures the Flat Jockeys Championship. |
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2016 32Red on the App Store Handicap at Kempton RIDE THE LIGHTNING 9/4 owned by the Ride the Light Partnership, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Jim Crowley |
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2018 32Red Casino Conditions Stakes at Newcastle CORINTHIA KNIGHT 11/10 fav owned by Ontoawinner & Partner, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Edward Greatrex 2018 Queens Club Handicap at Musselburgh BRANDON CASTLE 10/1 owned by C R Hirst, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Andrew Mullen 2018 Windsor Castle Listed Stakes at Royal Ascot SOLDIERS CALL 12/1 owned by Clipper Logistics, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Danny Tudhope 2018 Hurry Harriet Listed Fillies & Mares Stakes at Gowran Park SNOWY WINTER 25/1 owned by Boadicea Bloodstock, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by G F Carroll 2018 Byerley Stud Listed Stakes at Newbury SHUMOOKHI 15/2 owned by Saeed bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Oisin Murphy 2018 Prix D'Arenberg Group 3 Stakes at Chantilly SOLDIERS CALL 11/10 fav owned by Clipper Logistics, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Danny Tudhope |
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2018 Flying Childers Group 2 Stakes at Doncaster SOLDIERS CALL 4/1 owned by Clipper Logistics, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Danny Tudhope 2019 Prix de la Californie Listed Stakes at Cagnes-Sur-Mer BARYS 10/1 owned by Nurlan Bizakov, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Edward Greatrex 2019 Hever Sprint Listed Stakes at Lingfield GORGEOUS NOORA 2/1 owned by David Redvers & David Howden, trained by archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2019 Betway Condtions Stakes at Wolverhampton CORINTHIA KNIGHT 9/2 owned by Ontoawinner & Partner, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2019 Betway Handicap at Lingfield GORGEOUS NOORA 7/4 fav owned by David Redvers & David Howden, trained by archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2019 Chelmer Fillies Listed Stakes at Chelmsford ISAAN QUEEN 28/1 owned by C R Hirst, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Oisin Murphy 2019 Bro Park Listed Sprint Championship at Bro Park (Sweden) CORINTHIA KNIGHT 71/10 owned by Ontoawinner & Partner, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Luke Morris 2019 Criterium de Vitesse Listed Stakes at Chantilly BAND PRACTICE 7/2 owned by Clipper Logistics, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Oisin Murphy 2019 Al Rayyan Conditions Stakes at Dohar (Qatar) MAYSTAR owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2020 Bombardier British Hopped Amber Beer Handicap at Newcastle GLEN SHIEL 4/1 owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2020 Prix Moonlight Cloud Listed Stakes at Deauville MAYSTAR 32/1 owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2020 Phoenix Group 3 Sprint Stakes at the Curragh GLEN SHIEL 12/1 owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Oisin Orr 2020 Sirenia Group 3 Stakes at Kempton MIGHTY GHURKA 11/2 owned by Mohammed Rashid, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Adam McNamara 2020 Garnet Listed Fillies & Mares Stakes at Naas PARENTS PRAYER 12/1 owned by Ecurie Ama Zingteam, trained by archie Watson and ridden by Ben Coen 2020 Phil Bull Trophy Conditions Stakes at Pontefract STAGHORN evens fav owned by Ben & Sir Martyn Arbib, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2020 British Champions Group 1 Sprint Stakes at Ascot GLEN SHIEL 16/1 owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2021 Oaks Trial Listed Fillies Stakes at Lingfield SHERBET LEMON 28/1 owned by Apple Tree Stud, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Paul Mulrennan 2021 Surrey Listed Stakes at Epsom MEHMENTO 11/8 fav owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2021 Princess Elizabeth Group 3 Fillies & Mares Stakes at Epsom PARENTS PRAYER 4/1 owned by Ecurie Ama Zingteam, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Oisin Murphy 2021 Fred Archer Listed Stakes at Newmarket OUTBOX 6/1 owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2021 Firth of Clyde Group 3 Fillies Stakes at Ayr NAZANIN 16/1 owned by Imad Alsagar, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2022 Leamington Grade 2 Novices Hurdle at Warwick STAGHORN 100/30 owned by Ben & Sir Martyn Arbib, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Nick Scholfield 2022 HH the Amir Group 1 Trophy at Doha (Qatar) OUTBOX owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2022 Coventry Group 2 Stakes at Royal Ascot BRADSELL 8/1 owned by Victorious Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2022 Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at Newbury EDDIES BOY 15/2 owned by Middleham Park Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2022 Porsche Handicap at Ascot TEMPUS 9/2 owned by Hambleton Racing Ltd, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2022 Tattersalls Group 3 Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury TEMPUS 11/4 owned by Hambleton Racing Ltd, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2022 Barriere Prix Quincey Group 3 Stakes at Deauville TEMPUS 6/5 fav owned by Hambleton Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle 2022 Prix Eclipse Group 3 at Chantilly EDDIES BOY 7/2 owned by Middleham Park Racing, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Hollie Doyle |
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Top 5 Saxon Gate Stable horses of all time DIAMOND EDGE (1981 Hennessy Gold Cup, 1979 & 1981 Whitbread Gold Cup) GLEN SHIEL (2020 British Champion Sprint, Phoenix Sprint Stakes) TEMPUS (2022 Tattersalls Sovereign Stakes, Barriere Prix Quincey) SOLDIER'S CALL (2018 Windsor Castle Stakes, Prix D'Arenberg, Flying Childers Stakes) OREGON TRAIL (1986 Arkle Challenge Trophy, Glen International Gold Cup) |
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© John Slusar 2023 |
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ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3 652 pages 774 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0 352 pages 400 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7 180 pages 140 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4 264 pages 235 former courses |
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Copies of the above books are only available by emailing johnwslusar@gmail.com stating your requirements, method of payment (cheque payable to W.Slusar) or Bank transfer, and the address where the book(s) should be sent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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