‘We came up with this madcap idea and it's been the best thing we ever did’
Andrew Dietz talks to Sir Michael Stoute's former protege and his new boss
Times are changing at one of Middleham's most historic racing yards. Manor House Farm, where the last northern-trained Derby winner, Dante, was born and raised, has been demolished and the old wooden boxes erased from the landscape forever.
There will be those sad to see such relics of a bygone era disappear, but a new multi-million-pound development is under way to put the once-famous stables back on the map.
Leading owner John Dance, the stockbroking CEO who hit the big time with multiple Group 1 winner Laurens, is behind the ambitious project and has turned to young talent by installing James Horton as his private trainer.
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Published on inInterviews
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Copy- 'Other trainers say how difficult it is to get staff, but I can't say the same - when people come here, they seem to stay'
- 'People love having horses with Willy rather than a miserable git like me'
- 'It's tough financially and last year I said I might get a job driving a lorry instead - although to be fair I'd probably crash!'
- 'I'm not here to tell people how to train but if you hide something from me, I'm gone, I'm done - and you won't see me again'
- 'I had to fly back from Saudi on the day for the awards before flying back the following day but it really was a great evening'
- 'Other trainers say how difficult it is to get staff, but I can't say the same - when people come here, they seem to stay'
- 'People love having horses with Willy rather than a miserable git like me'
- 'It's tough financially and last year I said I might get a job driving a lorry instead - although to be fair I'd probably crash!'
- 'I'm not here to tell people how to train but if you hide something from me, I'm gone, I'm done - and you won't see me again'
- 'I had to fly back from Saudi on the day for the awards before flying back the following day but it really was a great evening'