Buy a racehorse on the high street - welcome to the world's first ownership shop

There are plenty of ways to spend your money around the Brompton Road, from the boutiques that don’t need your custom if you have to ask about the price to the loaves of artisan sourdough costing something close to many of our weekly food bills.

One new storefront has no wares at all in its window, not that it would be the most practical idea in any event, but what James Ramsden would hope to sell you is no less aspirational than any of his competitors.

Sandwiched between two estate agents on the upmarket London street is Ellipsis racehorse ownership shop, his syndicate headquarters. With a desk, television and racing paraphernalia, it serves not only as Ramsden’s office but as an adjunct to his main business, the quite newly established The Brompton Cross pub and restaurant further along the street.

Ramsden says: "We opened in June and I knew the chap who had the shop two doors down, he was struggling to make it work and the people who own it came to me and said, 'You’re the new guy around here, do you want to open a wine shop or something?'

"I said, 'Wine shop? I’ve got one called the pub’, but I thought I could use the unit if we came to a friendly deal. I think I’ve done pretty well to ignore their advice on that, but they’re happy for it to be used. They said as long as you don’t make it look too much like a bookmakers."

Ramsden co-founded Chelsea Thoroughbreds, the syndicate linked with The Sydney Arms and another establishment he set up with a racing affiliation. This represents branching out on his own.

The son of renowned trainer and punter Jack Ramsden, he started off his venture Quantum with his brother Jonathan buying horses in training, and has added Ellipsis for yearlings.

Jonathan, who is absorbed in the world of form study and pedigree, provides the purchasing and race-planning advice and James more the role of maitre d', in keeping with his career in hospitality.

There have been good results from the likes of Ascot novice winner Cadmus, bought for 57,000gns as a yearling and sold to Australia for 160,000gns at the Tattersalls Autumn Sale, progressive Nathaniel filly Nikhi, and Hilts, who won the Edinburgh Cup.

"I’ve always said that 98 per cent of ownership is kind of waiting around for your horse to run, so why not stand around in a nice pub or restaurant and talk about it while it’s happening," he says.

"My brother and I started buying lots of horses in training about four to five years ago and that went very well, but the bottom kind of fell out of that market. Those we were buying - rated 70, 80 and we could sell at 90-odd - were being snapped up earlier, or people were waiting until they had got them to 90 themselves.

"We couldn't be in the market for £300,000 or £400,000 horses, we were looking for 30 to 80, and only ever look to buy horses who are in one piece, or else they will never have any resale value, no matter how many races they win, be it horses in training or yearlings.

"The dreams are often burst with horses in training, maybe the fun year at three is kind of gone by-the-by, so we were looking to get involved in buying some yearlings.

"Jonathan has always been an incredibly astute judge of form and bloodstock, he maybe isn’t as good on conformation but the trainers we buy with generally are, and there’s a really good system there. Everyone does what they’re good at."

Ramsden is trying to work things a little bit differently and the operation focusses on putting ten to 15 like-minded people together, perhaps with £25,000 or so each to spend, and rather than selling them a specific horse, the money goes into a fund and they then attempt to purchase some new stock.

"For other syndicates that I’ve run, that sort of pinch point might get you a share in one horse but this might get you five, maybe at a smaller percentage," he says. "I’ve always felt people want to share their risk rather than having all their eggs in one basket.

"I think as well, for anyone trying to run syndicates these days, there's a massive risk putting things together. You buy the horses, maybe host a big lunch, outlay a lot of money to get people there and you might still end up with loads of shares still left to sell. It's stressful and commercially unsustainable in the long run.

"Here we’re involved all the way through; once we know we’ve got X amount of horses, then we’re done. The fun starts the moment you put your money in in September or October and we go to the sales.

"We tell everyone on the morning the lots we’re going for, we keep it to ourselves and have it on the WhatsApp group. They show the sales live nowadays, everyone’s following it and when we get one, the whole thing lights up."

With horses placed with the likes of Jedd O’Keeffe, Andrew Balding, Richard Hughes and Ralph Beckett, the idea is to hopefully trade alongside providing fun racedays for the owners. Gleneagles two-year-old Come Together, trained by Beckett to win at Wolverhampton last month, is among those open to offers.

"We’ve tried to look at middle-distance horses; obviously you need a bit of patience but you’ve got four or five opportunities to get off the roundabout with them, maybe at two and then three or when they’re older," he says.

"You can keep them as long as you want if you can, but we’re trying to be as sustainable as possible, to regenerate every year’s pot to go and buy another pot for the next year.

Ascot winner Cadmus proved a good buy for the Ellipsis ventureCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"I think everyone is basically a trading syndicate, you have to sell them eventually even if they’re no good. The idea is to keep them and have as much fun as possible but, if the right offer comes along, you have to sell."

The Brompton Cross, transformed from what used to be quite a humdrum hostelry, has racing on the TV and Ramsden has even installed a vintage radio playing, among others, Sir Peter O'Sullevan's greatest commentaries.

"People do tell me it makes them pee faster," he says, which is no bad thing if you’re in the drinks game.

For all that the walk-in trade to the shop has not been enormous, it does at least help Ramsden offer a human-contact aspect to getting involved in ownership. He feels that it is quietly serving its purpose and should be more than a short-lived novelty pop-up.

"If a widowed lady wants to open a chocolate or jewellery shop, I might get my marching orders, but it’ll stay until then!" he says with a laugh.

"Loads and loads of people have asked me about it, it’s been only a couple of months and it’s a bit like a motorboat or a car showroom, you need only the odd person to get bitten by the bug and enjoy it.

"You could argue that combination of having a place to enjoy yourself and watch the racing, along with a little shop and a talking point next door, maybe got a few people over the line.

"We try to keep it fun, and if it all falls on its arse, at least there’s somewhere nice to go and have a glass of red wine."

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