'I'd be back in a heartbeat' - Noel Wilson on first US winner and missing home

Noel Wilson is celebrating the first winner of his new training venture in the US but admits he would return to Britain "in a heartbeat" if the right offer came along.

He and partner Alex Porritt flew to Florida early last year after Wilson was forced to hand in his licence in Britain for financial reasons after nearly 20 years.

After working for several others, Wilson, 54, began training in his own right three months ago and got off the mark when Mollies Hope landed a maiden claimer at Gulfstream Park under Carlos D. Lugo on Friday.

"The filly is named after my mother and I've always liked her," Wilson said. "She was one of five yearlings I bought privately off Calumet Stud. I was going to go to the breeze-up sales but they weren't really fashionable enough for that so I said it was time to get a licence as I'd always wanted to get my own gig going.

"She was third five weeks ago and she's really come forward from that run. She's strengthened in the last few weeks and Carlos, who knew her, said he was going to go to the front and he got everything spot on.

"It was a maiden claiming race but it was worth $37,500. I'm not knocking British racing but you have to be winning a Class 2 handicap to be getting that sort of money back home."

Wilson is based in the training centre at Palm Meadows and said: "It's an hour from Gulfstream and it holds 1,400 horses. Everything is free here. They shuttle you in and out of the track when you run and you have no expense bar your own.

"We've been here three months and we've got seven horses – six two-year-olds and an older horse.

"An Irish friend in Boston is in with us but it's tough going. We're doing it off our own bat and we have no grooms or any help, so we do the mucking out, the riding, the hotwalking, the lot. I'm lucky I've got Alex, she's a real grafter."

The heat is rather more of a problem than at Wilson's former yard in Yorkshire and early starts are essential.

"With the humidity it's like it's 100F every day," he said. "We get up at 3.30am and we're in the barn for 4am.

"At about 9am you get a bit of a breeze and you really need to be finished by 9.15am as otherwise it's just too hot; once the sun gets up you're parboiling the horses."

Noel Wilson trained his first winner with City Gent (ridden by Calvin McCormack) at Musselburgh in 2001Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Wilson, whose next runner will be White Rose Spirit at Gulfstream Park on Friday, sent out just under 200 winners in his British training career.

He reflected: "I'm glad we made the move but British racing is in your DNA and you miss your family and your friends.

"If the circumstances changed or someone set me up in a good job I'd be back over to train in a heartbeat. I know you're not going to be rich doing it but we miss it."

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