'I was totally and utterly shocked' - Lucinda Russell on her secret weapon at the sales and a big surprise in Doncaster

The jumps fraternity have enjoyed a busy week at the Goffs UK Spring Sale in Doncaster, but Lucinda Russell has had a more fruitful time than most. 

The dual Grand National-winning trainer not only secured eight new recruits during the first three sessions of the four-day sale, but also collected the coveted Willie Stephenson Memorial Trophy midway through a frenetic Wednesday afternoon of selling. 

Russell purchased a diverse array of young talent, including Irish pointers ranging from the £150,000 Primoz to the £20,000 filly Somebody's Fortune. She also snapped up four unbroken three-year-old stores by sires such as Cokoriko, Jet Away and Kapgarde for between £30,000 and £40,000. All told the haul cost a combined £421,000. 

Reflecting on a productive few days, she said: “We love buying horses and we’ve got a great team behind us. We’ve got quite a few people wanting a really good horse but we’re buying all of them on spec and then we’ll sell them when we get them home.

Primoz: heading to Lucinda Russell's yardCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

“We’ve bought some fantastic horses here and not always the obvious ones, but what’s nice is that we’re now in a position where we can buy the expensive ones as well, we don’t just have to buy at the bargain level.”

Russell gave special mention to Paul McIvor, the yard’s in-house race-planner and sales ring talent scout whose name appears on the dockets of the trainer’s purchases. 

“Paul advises us on what to buy,” she said. “He looks at all the videos and is a very good race-reader. He’s got a fantastic strike-rate for us. We bought seven horses here last May and one got injured, which happens, but the other six all won first time out. That includes black-type horses like Snake Roll.

“There’s no emotion to it, he does everything on form and is very accurate. He does all our race-planning too and he’s great at that as well, he’s very reliable.” 

McIvor joined the team shortly after Russell’s maiden Grand National triumph with One For Arthur back in the spring of 2017. 

Although Russell now credits the former Timeform man with playing a pivotal role in the yard’s success, she confessed - with no shortage of irony - that she was not always so convinced about his contribution. 

“He sent Scu an email and said he could help us with our race-planning,” she recalled with a broad grin. “When Scu told me I said, ‘Oh he’ll just be some idiot trying to get involved just because we’ve won the National!’ 

Paul McIvor: "He does everything on form and is very accurate."Credit: SARAH FARNSWORTH

“Anyway, we gave him a trial and once he started doing his stuff we knew he was the right person within about 48 hours. He’s been fantastic for us and he’s one of the reasons for all our recent success.”

The trainer and her team will be looking to build on their success with shrewdly purchased talents like Aintree and Cheltenham hero Corach Rambler, a £17,000 buy, and Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle heroine Apple Away, a £35,000 signing. 

Corach Rambler and the high-class chaser Ahoy Senor were both sourced from the Goffs UK-backed Yorton Sale in November 2020, and their triumphs contributed to Russell being awarded the Willie Stephenson Memorial Trophy. 

The award, which has been won by the likes of Clive Cox, Eddie O’Leary and Richard Hannon, commemorates the co-founder of DBS (now Goffs UK) and is presented to the person the Goffs UK board deems to have made the biggest contribution to the success of the company that year.

Russell was presented with the trophy by Goffs group chief executive Henry Beeby, with a giant picture of Corach Rambler jumping an Aintree fence providing a fitting backdrop. 

“I was totally and utterly shocked,” she said shortly after receiving the trophy and a hearty round of applause. “No-one told me so it was a complete surprise. I was listening and was actually thinking, ‘Oh come on, let’s get on with the bidding!’. 

"Then I heard them say this person has trained two Grand National winners so I thought, ‘That’s quite good, I wonder who this is’ and then I heard him say Corach and I thought, ‘Oh Lord, it’s me!’ It's quite overwhelming really.”

Lucinda Russell being awarded the Willie Stephenson Memorial Trophy by Henry BeebyCredit: Sarah Farnsworth

Russell added that her long-running association with the Doncaster sales, and the company’s former chairman in particular, made the accolade such a source of pride. 

“I could get quite emotional about it because I was a huge fan of Harry Beeby,” she continued. “I remember back when I first started training and buying horses, in fact before that I used to come here to buy horses to go eventing, and Harry was always so kind to me. 

“I was always on my own and he’d always invite me for supper and was really very generous. I feel a huge admiration for Harry and for Henry and for the way Goffs has changed. Really I should be giving them an award because I’ve just tagged along.

“It was very overwhelming. You can go back and talk about pedigree and Henry’s the man he is because of his father and I’d like to think my father would be really proud of what we’re doing. It’s a lovely award to receive and I was shocked by the reception.”

Russell, who finished sixth in the 2022-23 trainers' championship with a personal best tally of 71 winners and £1,528,225 in prize-money, is set to join forces with fellow trainer Michael Scudamore this summer.

Read more from the Goffs UK Spring Sales

'We had help from above the ring as well' - high emotion as Blue Bresil filly sets British record at £210,000 

'He's beautiful and uncomplicated' - Doyle leads the way with £125,000 No Risk At All gelding 

‘If you want the horse then you have to pay’ - £215,000 pointer Roadlesstravelled heads record day in Doncaster