Interview with Nicky Richards

Having worked at Carlisle on Monday evening where there was an excellent crowd enjoying ladies night, I returned north on the M6 on Tuesday. Following a trip to the printers in Penrith - sorted out the front and back cover of One Jump Ahead - I made the short journey to Greystoke for my annual trip to Nicky Richards' yard. The Cumbrian trainer, who sent out 33 winners last season, has a strong team of youngsters which has been bolstered by some new recruits from Ireland during the summer. The yard look particularly powerful in the novice hurdle department and an interesting bunch of bumper horses for the Autumn and beyond. Nicky told me about a racecourse gallop which took place in the spring and has already produced a couple of winners.

As regular readers are aware, I am a big fan of Tim Easterby and the Great Habton trainer continues to send out winners like it is going out of fashion. Tim is responsible for 6 winners this month already and 84 during 2021. Two years ago, the stable had a personal best season with 126 winners but he is currently well ahead of schedule to better that tally this time around. He had trained 78 winners on the 31st July 2021 compared to 57 in 2019.