Harry Derham opens up on 'enormous blow' after tough period following gallop flood

Harry Derham has spoken of his devastation after revealing that his gallop was washed away by Storm Bert.

The trainer's gallop at his base in Boxford, Berkshire, was left "unfit for purpose" after 74mm of rain fell in just under 40 hours at the end of last month.

The episode explains the reduced number of recent runners for Derham, who thanked the patience of his owners and generosity of his parents in loaning him the money for a new gallop surface.

"Having been running my business for 23 months, this was an enormous blow to encounter at a crucial stage of the season, just as the horses had hit form," said the trainer in a statement on his X account.

"I was left with very little choice but to pause with my runners for a time and totally re-drain and resurface my gallop. This has made for the most unimaginably stressful last month or so and I'm more grateful than I can explain for the unflinching and unanimous support from my owners.

"Training is a stressful job on its own and this last month encountering this enormous problem has tested me more than anything before."

Derham, who has sent out just three runners in the past two weeks, is now looking forward to the second half of the season. He notched a double at Doncaster on Sunday, with Matwana and Jus De Citron winning under Paul O'Brien.

He said: "I’m relieved to say we finished the emergency resurfacing project in good time and, thanks to my mother and father's selfless act of generosity in loaning me funds for a new gallop surface, we're back up and running and have been on the new gallop for just over a week.

"We flu-jabbed the vast majority of horses in early December and are now in a position to move on from this. Hopefully, we can put it all behind us and have a fruitful last four months of the season."

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