'Long term I'd love to breed and race my own' - big ambitions for Emma Palmer as Cheltenham date looms for Samuel Spade

Racing and breeding horses is an addictive pastime - just ask Emma Palmer, who has gone from Cheltenham Festival-winning owner to prospective owner-breeder of the future thanks to her involvement in a number of syndicate-run breeding projects.

Palmer, who works in property and private equity, comes from an equestrian background having competed in dressage, but she caught the racing bug when she met Ben Pauling during her gap year. 

The Pauling-trained Le Breuil carried her colours to success in the 2019 National Hunt Chase at the festival, while promising young hurdler Samuel Spade is on the Prestbury Park path this year.

Palmer said: "Racing is my biggest hobby. I started going to Cheltenham and initially had a couple of shares with Highclere on the Flat before Charlie Longsdon and Ben Pauling set up. 

"I had shares with them, Ben's a great mate so we carried on and I said to him one day I'd love to get a horse of my own - that was Le Breuil and it's gone on from there."

Le Breuil (right) on his way to success in the National Hunt Chase in 2019Credit: Alan Crowhurst

Le Breuil was certainly a great start, his gruelling success at Cheltenham under Jamie Codd four years ago putting his owner's navy and pink silks firmly in the spotlight. 

A second victory at jump racing's Olympics is not out of the question as Palmer has another exciting prospect set to appear at Cheltenham in juvenile hurdler Samuel Spade, who has the JCB Triumph Hurdle and Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle entries.

The son of Myboycharlie was a winner on the Flat for David O'Meara but, after being picked up by Pauling and Highflyer for 47,000gns at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale last October, has taken his form to a new level over hurdles with two wins and a second from three starts, including a 16-length strike at Huntingdon last week. 

Palmer said of his Prestbury Park target: "We're still slightly unsure, he's got entries in the Boodles and Triumph, the Boodles is probably the preferred, but we've not 100 per cent discounted the Triumph. 

"He's in good form, he had a good win at Huntingdon, where we picked what we hoped would be a straightforward race and it was. 

"That third-race box was ticked last Thursday and, looking at the race at Kempton and other juveniles races, you'd hope he's been less tested than some of the others. On paper his form is hopefully saying he's good. For a Flat horse he was quite a chunky one, he holds his weight well. 

"He's taken to his jumping, we're still doing a lot of work on it to make sure he respects his hurdles and he's probably not quite as natural as Le Breuil, but with a bit of work he's picking up his feet a bit more."

Samuel Spade pictured winning at Huntingdon last monthCredit: Alan Crowhurst

While the Cheltenham Festival looms large this month, Palmer also has her eye on longer-term goals such as breeding her own runners. She has plenty to look forward to on that front with a new arrival this year and more to come in 2024. 

She said: "Myself, Kevin Blake and another friend have got a mare we picked up at the sales a couple of years ago called Ape Attack. She's just had a lovely filly by Holy Roman Emperor who is a full-sibling to [dual winner] Capuchinero. 

"I'm quite keen to get into the breeding more and we bought her barren so she was quite cheap to pick up and have fun with.

"It's a great learning process. I've also got a filly who was in an Australian racing syndicate run by Hannah Wall of Tweenhills. The syndicate bought her to race and after racing Hannah, David [Redvers] and myself bought her back to get in foal to Zousain in Australia. 

"More recently I joined Golden Farm Bloodstock, run by Kevin Blake; this is another syndicate where we have four more serious mares. One is a Frankel mare called Fragrant Storm, who has just had her first foal by Starspangledbanner and is going back to him; another is Entrancing, who has just gone to Wootton Bassett."

Emma Palmer's Entrancing has just been covered by Wootton BassettCredit: Coolmore

Palmer continued: "It's a fantastic way of learning about the breeding side more as Kevin gives fantastic, informative updates, including the graphic videos such as the one I got of Entrancing being covered at the weekend, which I wasn't quite expecting! 

"Long term, I'd love to breed and race my own and have a bit of a bloodline going that I'm part of."

Palmer also has lightly raced five-year-old Vadamos gelding Silver Atom - who has an entry at Southwell this Monday - in training with Pauling  while as for the duo's older stablemate Le Breuil, connections are taking it day by day with the 11-year-old. 

Le Breuil continues in good order, his victory at Huntingdon on his penultimate start making it eight career wins, while he was a fair fourth in last year's Foxhunters' at Aintree.

Palmer said: "The last couple of seasons we've had conversations about retirement, but if he keeps wanting to do it and his body can keep doing it, then we'll just pick one race at a time. 

"The Foxhunters' was the aim this season; whether it still is, we will monitor him and see how he's getting on."

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