Charlie Fellowes Blog: Why Trainers Are Creatures of Habit

This is the second installment in a blog by Newmarket trainer Charlie Fellowes, who is entering his fifth season of training from St Gatien Cottage Stables.

Well, the turf season is underway and my yard has got off to an encouraging start. Admittedly, owing to the frustrating nature of the turf season here in England, I have only had one runner on grass (Doncaster's Lincoln meeting is followed by two weeks of all-weather racing), however that was an unlucky fifth in the Lincoln itself with a lovely older horse called Repercussion (GB). Elsewhere we had a second at the All-Weather Championship finals with the admirably consistent Carolinae (GB) in the fillies' and mares' race, however the result that will have caught most people's eye, was the success of a filly called Snazzy (Ire).

Now the subject matter for my second blog is all to do with the sales and what sort of horse we look for when trying to buy for clients. Well Snazzy is the perfect example of everything I wouldn't normally go for, but that is exactly the reason we bought her. I will explain further.

In my eyes, the best trainers are the guys that can train anything; sharp 2-year olds, stayers, milers, fillies, colts etc. I am now starting my fifth season with a licence and I am very aware that a lot of my best horses have been older horses that stay further than a mile. I therefore made the conscious decision to look for some sharper types at the sales last autumn, as I knew that I would probably be sent more backward types by my owner-breeders. Up step Snazzy. The earliest I have ever run a 2-year-old before last weekend was Guineas weekend in my first season as a trainer, however not only did Snazzy run in March, but she also won first time out. On pedigree she is born and bred to be out this early (by Kodiac (GB) out of a mare who heralds from a family full of speed), and as a neat well-developed filly, it meant that she was more than ready to make an early debut. Hopefully she will turn out to be good enough to head to Royal Ascot and raise the profile of our fledgling yard further.

The problem with buying smaller, sharper types is that generally speaking, demand is higher, and with higher demand you generally get higher prices. I buy a lot of my horses on spec and therefore can't afford to go overboard on the price front, so you have to give way on certain things. If you want to buy a horse who ticks the boxes both physically and on pedigree then you need to be ready to fork out plenty. I am not willing to give way on the physical aspects of a horse so I am happy enough to forgive a light pedigree. In my first year we bought Wet Sail, a Henrythenavigator colt out of a stakes-producing but very old mare. Henrythenavigator had gone a bit cold by this time and the mare hadn't produced a decent foal for a few years but he was a lovely strong individual that I fell in love with. Endless Acres (Ire) was another very good example as he was by Champs Elysees (GB) out of a mare that had produced just two winners, but once again he was a lovely type with a great walk and plenty of scope. The mare was from a staying family (by Alzao) and therefore his late-maturing pedigree was unfashionable, making him more affordable. Both horses achieved official BHA ratings of 103 and 98, respectively, and cost less than £40,000.

As a trainer, I am a creature of habit, and if we have success with something, I love to go back and revisit it. No, I am not talking about my appalling habit of wearing odd socks, so kindly pointed out by TDN's European editor Emma Berry on Twitter recently, but instead an affiliation with certain stallions.

One who stands out in particular is Showcasing (GB), and although I am working on an extremely small sample, there is no doubt he has been a very lucky stallion for me. The first of his produce I was lucky enough to train was a gorgeous colt called Kasseopia (GB) who myself and Charlie Gordon Watson Bloodstock bought for £40,000 at the Craven Breeze-up Sale.  His breeze was shockingly slow but he was a very good-looking horse and had only got going right at the end of his breeze, resulting in a slow time. Pretty quickly it became obvious he was smart and he duly won his third star by nine lengths at Kempton. Sold on to Team Valor, he sadly left my care after a second in a Grade III at Woodbine, but to this day he remains the most talented horse I have ever looked after. My first stakes winner, Moonlit Show (GB), was another Showcasing I was lucky enough to train for Peter O'Callaghan and the team at Yeomanstown Stud. She won a listed race at Fairyhouse impressively, before being retired at the end of her 2-year-old season, and was a huge landmark in my career as a trainer.

We secured one Showcasing yearling at the sales last autumn and were he by a different stallion, I am sure I would not have been as brave, as I spent far more than I would normally be comfortable with. He is out of a mare called Moving Sea (Ire) who has not produced a winner from two foals but the pedigree does boast top-class sprinter Muharaar under the second dam. So far, this lovely colt is doing everything right at home and hopefully he will continue my lucky run with the stallion.