The turf
Putting the horses first
Robin Oakley
When Sean Woods took over the run- down La Grange stables, sage heads were shaken and clucking tongues predicted his collapse within two years. That was five years ago. The yard was falling apart. The previous incumbent's debts were mounting towards the size of a 65-ton muckheap. There was no water or electricity. But the redbrick structure was sound. The young ex-jump jockey, formerly with Guy Har- wood and Nicky Henderson, who knew from the start that he did not have the tal- ent to be a top rider but did have the deter- mination to succeed as a trainer, had been quietly preparing a team of stable staff and owners to get him going. Now Sean Woods has an historic stable at the heart of New- market which is the envy of many, with first-class facilities and an impressive strike record.
Proudly he shows you the three yards, the first of 25 boxes for his older horses, the second for the youngsters and the third, quietly tucked at the back with 28 boxes, for fillies. He points out the covered indoor ride, the ten little paddocks to give the fil- lies some sunshine as they take a pick of grass, the woodchip outdoor menage for breaking in the youngsters, the roomy horse-walker. Already this season he has had 18 winners. More impressively still, of the stable's 105 runners so far this year, 70 have been in the first four. He does not hesitate to take on the big boys with horses of the quality of Green Card and Ukraine Venture but he does not believe in sending horses to the racecourse just for the sake of it. 'I take great care in placing my horses. You've got to send them out with a chance of winning.'
He likes to present himself as a toughie. `I'm extremely hard to work for. I won't tolerate late timekeepers. I probably have the highest sacking rate in town.' Up on the gallops at 6 a.m. for a meeting with some- one else, I noted that his was the first string out. 'It's the ground. If you wait for 200 other horses to use it first you're working on a ploughed field. It's a question of putting the horses first.' But there is strong sentiment too. As the eager trainer takes you round the facilities you cannot help but note the plaque which reads: `Mistle Cat 31-5-90 to 25-10-96. In memory of a great horse with a big heart.' His best friend and the first big advert for the new kid on the Newmarket block, the talented Mistle Cat won him a Group Three in Deauville and a Group One in Milan. Always running in the best company, he was in the first four in 26 of his 30 races. After the Deauville race, the would-be hard man admits, he cried like a baby at his horse, finally realis- ing his potential. 'It was like having three stone lifted off the top of my head.' Then, in a bizarre accident just as he was off to stud, Mistle Cat was asphyxiated in his box.
Sean Woods is certainly the only New- market trainer to speak fluent Tamil and Hindi. He spent his first 15 years in India, where his father was 17 times champion jockey and where his mother's Fownes family were successful trainers. They came back to Britain after his elder brother Dwayne, now a bloodstock agent, broke his back in a riding accident. His parents now run the family stud farm in Tuddenham while the other brother, Wendyll, currently helping out in the Far East close season, is a top jockey based in Hong Kong.
If there is family support, there is organi- sation too. Every horse in Sean Woods's yard has its own kit-bag including girth, bri- dle and everything else. The key to the operation, he says, is spending time with his horses and listening to what his staff say. And he seeks not to get too bemused with the science. 'I used to weigh the hors- es every week. But you can get too techni- cal. It was blinding the way I was training. I want the best facilities there are but in the end it is down to feel.'
Some say the likable Woods is inclined to overrate his horses. But there's no quar- relling with results. His first runner was third in the Cork and Orrery at Royal Ascot. His first winner Seabosan followed within a week and his first double within ten days. By last year he was up to 28 win- ners for the season. This year he looked to have a Classic hope with Ukraine Venture, but she flopped in the soft in the Lingfield Derby trial and ran no sort of race in the Oaks. After a foot problem she was turned out and will reappear in the autumn with 1998 in mind. Sean Woods insists she remains an exciting prospect.
Green Card, who met trouble in running to finish ninth in this year's 2,000 Guineas, did a piece of work before that which he describes as awesome. 'It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.' Having suffered with corns, Green Card too, rated at 107, has been given a couple of months off. He could, says his trainer, be the best he has ever had, and he is still looking to a Group win this year. As for his ten two- year-olds, whom he rates as 'a good bunch', they have been given time, with only two out so far. But Little Indian has won twice already and Wuxi Venture was third to Greenlander.
A yard which has been home to Major Holliday, to Atty Corbett and from which Dick Hem was champion trainer is climb- ing back towards the big time.
Robin Oakley is political editor of the BBC
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