new trainer

On a morning which only the Scottish word dreich could properly describe, it would be easy to opt for the indoor life, a nine-to-five salaried job in a centrally-heated office. But where's the fun in that, eh? Instead, as the days tick by until the winter solstice, racehorse trainers around the isles are out in the slate grey mizzle which a lethargic sunrise can't hope to shake off. The veterans among them could be forgiven for dragging their wellington boots a little at this time of year, but that is...

"Please, please don't make me cry," says Gerald Mosse as he is asked to recall his final day in the saddle at Chantilly on Bastille Day. "When you compete with all the riders, it's like we are a big family," he continues, remembering the guard of honour from his fellow jockeys as he walked out to take that one last ride for his long-term supporter the Aga Khan. "We take a risk all together, we travel all together, and when they make something like they did to say goodbye, it...

Whit Beckman would be the first to admit that his stable did not get off to the remarkably-fast start he had dreamed of when he first set out on his own last fall. Going into this summer, he had just two wins on his training record. But, the pieces have fallen into place in the past two months as Beckman has sent five horses to the winner's circle, including three in just the past two weeks. Sabalenka (Good Samaritan) leads the charge of recent winners for Beckman and now looks...

Riley Mott, a longtime assistant to his Hall of Fame father, Bill Mott, recently announced he was going out on his own. The 30-year-old will hang his own shingle after taking out his training license. Jen Roytz sat down with the younger Mott for this Q&A. JR: What has it been like coming up under your father? RM: To be honest, it's been like going to Harvard for horse training. Not only learning from him but from everyone involved in our operation, all the way up and down the ladder....

Hall of Famer Bill Mott's son, Riley Mott, will go out on his own as a trainer later this year after serving as his father's assistant for the past eight years. The younger Mott has been a familiar face of his father's stable, often traveling with the barn's stars to major races around the world. The 30-year-old took out his own training license in Florida this winter. "I learned from an early age that training horses wasn't just a business, but a lifestyle," said Mott. "I walked my first horse...

Godolphin Flying Start graduate Philip Antonacci won his first race as a trainer Saturday when Advanced Strategy (Karakontie {Jpn}) took an allowance/optional claimer at Gulfstream Park. Antonacci said he's only officially been training on his own since January, but grew up spending summers in the barn with his brother, Frank, a trainer for their family's prominent Standardbred operation. "We're very excited about [the first win]," said Antonacci. "It was good for the whole team, a morale boost. We've only had four starters, so we've got a good percentage going right...

Putting the success into succession is a familiar challenge in the British training profession. In contrast with America, with its racetrack communes, burdens of infrastructure and overheads often make a private yard in Britain resemble a farm: a family concern, to be passed down between one generation and the next. The dilemma is how to dovetail inherited advantages—in terms of reputation, clientele and facilities—with the imperative of putting your own stamp on a progressive enterprise. Latest to attempt this balancing act is Ed Bethell, who has just taken on Thorngill...