(Chiddingfold, Surrey)
|
|
- Oilver (Olly) Stevens. 33 years old in 2012. No British raced 2yo prior to 2013.
- New trainer in 2013 employed by Sheikh Fahad of Qatar (& Pearl Bloodstock). The Sheikh bought Peter Winkworth's training establishment in 2012 after that trainer had retired at the end of 2011. He was looking for stables close to London that he could easily commute to. The plan was to use half the stables to train his own horses and half available for outside owners. The Sheikh has said regularly that he wants his racing interests to be commercially viable and not just a money sink. Stevens moved in in late 2012 and spent time assessing the gallops before he had his first runners. This included using heart rate monitors & GPS position & speed sensing. This information is reported as being made available to owners.
- Stephens was born near Newmarket but had no direct racing connections. Starting getting experience as young as 12yo when he used to go to Julie Cecil's yard. Worked for Jessica Harrington in Ireland then James Fanshawe for 3 years and then for a Newmarket bases pre-training operation. The moved to the US and worked for Kentucky based Keelyn Gorder for five years. Gorder's string went from 6 to 80 horses in that period and he also ran a pre-training set-up which was the starting point for a number of Graded winners such as Drosselmeyer. Stevens returned to Britain in 2012 with his wife Hetta just before their twins were born. Hetta is a previous winner of the 'Alex Scott Scholarship' for assistant trainers. She had worked for Rae Guest & Henrietta Knight before going to work for Michael Dickinson in the US as part of her scholarship. She is also a regular work rider at the yard.