'It was driving me mad' - trainer changes racecard name to avoid stable mix-up

Laura Morgan has changed her name on racecards after long-standing frustration at being mistaken for fellow trainer Laura Mongan.

The Leicestershire trainer now appears as L J Morgan – 'J' the initial of her middle name Jayne – as she tries to find a solution to a problem proving detrimental to her business.

Although Morgan is a jumps trainer and Epsom-based Mongan is known for her exploits on the Flat, including winning the 2016 St Leger with Harbour Law, there have been numerous occasions when the two have been mixed up.

"I couldn't carry on with the way it was," said Morgan, 33. "Commentators and the press were getting it wrong and I've had owners and jockey agents calling me about horses running on the Flat which weren't mine.

"It was driving me mad and affecting my business, so I contacted the BHA and they allowed the change. Hopefully it will be sorted now."

The trainer added: "There's a massive difference between us; we're a 15-20 horse jumps yard in Leicestershire and Laura Mongan is a Classic-winning Flat trainer operating on a bigger scale in Epsom.

"She rang me once to say someone had contacted her from the sales by mistake, but she doesn't seem to have had as much of a problem as me."

Laura Mongan: Epsom trainer won the 2016 St Leger with Harbour LawCredit: Edward Whitaker

The name change is not the only difference for the belated new season for Morgan, whose Melton Mowbray stable sits outside Leicester's coronavirus lockdown zone, as she is installing new gallops on the old site of Croxton racecourse at an estimated cost of £100,000.

Racing has not taken place at the Waltham on the Wolds site since 1914, but the land owned by the Duchess of Rutland has been used to train horses before, although not for a long time.

"It's been left for years and years and we're bringing it back to life," said Morgan.

"We've put in a six-furlong woodchip gallop and we're working on winter and summer grass gallops. We're going to put fences and hurdles the whole way around the two-mile two furlong gallop, and we'll be looking to hire it out to other trainers."

Morgan, the daughter of former trainer Kevin, has enjoyed two winners from five runners this month with the yard improvements already bearing fruit.

"As a yard with only a two-furlong round gallop, it's going to be a massive asset for us and we're hoping to see the benefits this season," she added.

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