ANDREW BALDING STABLE VISIT, THE BALDINGS and KINGSCLERE - 29 May 2008

by Barbara Allen

History - Park House Stables, Kingsclere
Sir Joseph Hawley - a colourful figure of the Victorian turf, ran a successful stable at nearby Cannons Heath with John Porter employed as his private trainer. In 1867 Hawley built a new yard at Kingsclere, when Hawley died eight years after appointing Porter, he generously included a clause in his will giving his young trainer the option to purchase the estate for half what it had originally cost.
John Porter designed and had stables built in the 1880’s with three yards namely Baron Hirsch’s, the Duke’s yard and Sainfoin Buildings or Stud Yard. The stabling was almost perfect in a quadrangle yard open to the south so that each wing received the sun at sometime during the day. At that time it was normal practice for apprentices to use empty horseboxes to sleep in but John had dormitories built, a washroom with showers, hot and cold water, and a recreation room. These stables have lasting beauty derived from being utterly functional – spacious airy boxes, excellent drainage and no slippery surfaces. He also had Strattons built as a stud farm.
Another legacy from that period are the superb gallops laid out by Porter on Watership Down, His famous Derby gallop, a winding valley gallop cutting through the undulations of the Downs, survives today, albeit in slightly altered form.
John Porter trained seven Derby winners at Kingsclere – Blue Gown 1868, Shotover 1882, St. Blaise 1883, Ormonde 1886 (A Triple Crown Winner and ridden by Fred Archer), Sainfoin 1890, Common 1891, and Flying Fox 1899.
As there were so many racing stables within easy reach of Newbury, Mr. Porter thought Newbury would be an excellent place to have a racecourse. The Jockey Club at first rejected the idea, but eventually the licence was granted.
Since Porter’s retirement in 1905 other successful trainers have followed William Waugh, Major Bruce, Fred Butters and after the war, Evan Williams and Peter Hastings-Bass. In 1964 following the death of Peter Hastings-Bass the training licence was handed to his assistant Ian Balding.

Ian Balding
Ian inherited influential owners as Her Majesty the Queen, Lord Sefton and American millionaire Paul Mellon, his love and knowledge of horses came from his father Gerald a success racehorse trainer. Ian had already ridden over seventy winners on the flat and over jumps. So it was not long before Ian proved himself as a shrewd trainer and took early advantage of the opportunities offered by campaigning his string in Europe.
During a fruitful career, spanning more than 40 years, Ian trained over 2,000 winners including victories in 41 Group 1 races, 33 Group Two races and a further 60 Listed races. Add to this a tally of major Handicaps and it is easy to see why he was regarded as one of the very best trainers in Europe.
Ian has trained some very successful horses, including the legendary Mill Reef, Selkirk, Lochsong, Forest Flower and Mrs Penny. Although a predominantly renowned for being a flat racehorse trainer, Ian has always been a great enthusiast of the national hunt scene and has many triumphs in this sphere, including 1991 Cheltenham Festival winner Crystal Spirit, great Yorkshire Chase winner Moor Lane and Grand National fourth Gunner Welburn.

Mill Reef (1968-1986) - Even though Mill Reef was born and bred by Paul Mellon in America he was sent to England to be trained by Ian Balding to race here and in Europe.
Notable Wins: Group 1 = The Derby, Eclipse Stakes, Prix Ganay, Coronation Cup, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Dewhurst Stakes.In 1972 Mill Reef fractured a foreleg on the gallops; thankfully he was saved and was retired for stud duties to the National Stud in Newmarket. To this day his legacy lives on as his name persists in many of the great pedigrees in Europe and beyond. He is widely recognised as one of the greatest thoroughbreds of the modern day.

The bronze statue of Mill Reef - keeping an eye on the new stars - at Park House
Selkirk (1988) - Bred by his owner George Strawbridge came to Kingsclere as a tall, gangly and unfurnished rig in the winter of 1988. It was not until he had undergone an operation to remove a trapped testicle that Selkirk really fulfilled his potential on the racecourse. Although a Group 1 winner and a Dual Champion, it could be argued that Selkirk was unlucky not to be recognised as one of the truly outstanding milers of the modern era. Notable Wins: Group 1 = Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Carrying out his stallion duties from Kirsten Rausing’s Lanwades Stud in Newmarket, Selkirk is widely regarded as one of the leading British based sires of the current day.

Lochsong (1988) - Arrived at Kingsclere at the end of her two years old career. The brief from her owner Jeff Smith was to try and win a little race, so that she could return to his Littleton Stud and join his expanding band of broodmares. Two wins from three runs encouraged Jeff Smith to send Lochsong back into training for another season. 1992 saw the filly turn into a mare and the transformation saw her win a unique hat trick of big sprint handicaps – The Stewards Cup, Portland and Ayr Gold Cup all in the same year. Lochsong made the transition from handicap to group level and was crowned “The Queen of Speed”. Notable Wins: Group 1 - Nunthorpe Stakes and the Prix de L’Abbaye – twice. Lochsong ended her career on a high as she was voted the Champion Sprinter for the second season running; she is now a broodmare at Littleton.

Andrew Balding
Joined Toby Balding’s Fyfield Stables as the yard’s amateur jockey, where he rode 20 winners under rules. In 1997 he joined the Yorkshire based trainer Lynda Ramsden for two seasons. During this time he was closely associated with horses such as Nuclear Debate, Hawksley Hill, Bishops Court and Top Cees. The last named joined the Kingsclere team when Lynda Ramsden stopped training in 1998 and Andrew returned home to assist his father. Top Cees overcame a serious injury and advancing years in 1999 he gained an emotional victory by winning the Cesarewitch at Newmarket. In 2001 Andrew took on a principal role at Kingsclere preparing the horses although his father still held the licence. Amongst the winners at that time were Firebreak, Pentecost, Distant Prospect and Palua.
In 2003 Andrew took over the licence from his father, Ian, since then he has trained the winners of over 260 races and £6 million in prize money, he has enjoyed Group 1 success in England, Dubai, Hong Kong and Canada. 2008 saw the launch of the Kingsclere Racing Club, with 15 horses running under its banner this year, in the colours made famous by Derby winner Mill Reef.
Since the 2008 season started Andrew at Park House Stables is enjoying a fantastic season. There are over fifty staff (some part time) employed at Park House with the majority of staff involved directly with the riding and general care of the horses in training. The full time staff look after 3 horses each and work from 6am until 11.30am carrying out stable chores and morning exercise and from 4pm until 6pm when the horses are groomed and some are exercised. Overseeing the day-to-day running within the yard, is Andrew’s assistant, Chris Bonner, who offers a wealth of experience and boasts an enviable record over the Grand National fences as a jockey.

This season’s jockeys are Neil Chambers, Liam Keniry, Franny Norton (now back riding for the stable after breaking his leg last winter), William Buick (20 years old and heading towards this season’s apprentices’ title), and David Probert – (19 years old, assigned the nickname of Baby Dave from Bargoed by colleagues, is very good value for his 5lb claim).

Our Stable Visit – Thursday 29th May 2008.
Our day started with a chill in the air - lovely and warm though in my WBRC sweat shirt!!
Ian and Emma made us most welcome with refreshments in the room that contained the racing colours for the stables. Following this we passed through the yard and on to the indoor exercise yard where Andrew gave instructions to his riders, we then walked across the meadow, to the middle of the gallops, where we were able to watch the group of horses being exercised.

Watching on the gallops
Returning to the yard we looked round the stables and after more refreshments from Emma, we had the opportunity to ask further questions before thanking our hosts and leaving with much to discuss.