The Big Interview: Richard Spencer

Richard Spencer accepts the Coventry S. trophy | racingfotos.com

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In 2017, Richard Spencer and Rebel Racing enjoyed a great year together that was capped off by their 2-year-colt Rajasinghe (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) winning the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot. Rajasinghe is now working towards the G1 2000 Guineas and both Richard and Rebel Racing are in the process of moving yards to the newly acquired Sefton Lodge. The TDN's Alayna Cullen spent a morning catching up with Richard as he is nearing his first Classic as well as getting ready to move yards.

AC: Richard, you are about to move to Sefton Lodge, that must be hugely exciting. What does Sefton Lodge offer you that your other yard didn't?

RS: Well, firstly, the numbers have gone up from last year to this year, so it's enabling us to have all the horses under one roof, which will be massively beneficial for staff and myself. We will be able to keep an eye on everything. Hopefully, it will make a big difference.

AC: When are you planning to move in?

RS: I think, hopefully, in the next three to four weeks, all being well. There's work being done there now: steam cleaning, decorating and painting the stables. We are going to try and put another horse walker in and redo the trotting ring, a few little bits to be done whilst it's empty before the horses move in, but in a month's time, hopefully.

AC: Phil Cunningham of Rebel Racing bought Sefton Lodge. How did the partnership with Rebel Racing come about? You're their sole trainer.

RS: Well, it was maybe three years ago there was an advert in the paper. I'd known Phil through working at Barry Hills's and Charlie Hills's. Our paths crossed there. After I'd finished working for the Hills's, we didn't really see one another after that, but the job was advertised in racing publications. I put my name forward and I think there were about 75 to 80 applicants. I managed to get the job, that's sort of how it all started. Hopefully, we can continue the success we've had and come back bigger and better.

AC: Tell us a little bit about Rebel Racing.

RS: Well, it initially started off with Phil Cunningham wanting to have a private trainer for Rebel Racing. He purchased Albert House, where we are at the moment. It's been a wonderful yard for us. We've had a lot of success from here. It was intended to be just this yard with 23 horses, really, for Rebel Racing, and Phil being the head of it to try and organize owners and what have you, but with Rebel Racing, most of the owners are his friends and people he's known for a good while, so they've been very supportive. From the success that we've had in a short space of time, it's sort of gone from strength to strength and that has allowed us to have outside owners come in and the demand for us to be training for other people, which is fantastic. That's the real reason for purchasing Sefton Lodge.

AC: You said it's gone from strength to strength and 2017 was a breakout year for you, mainly with Rajasinghe winning the Coventry S. Were you expecting him to go and do that?

RS: Well, no. He was always doing everything we asked him at home and he was showing us some good signs. His prep work before Newcastle had been very good. Ascot was always in the back of my mind. Everything went very smoothly from his debut through to Ascot. He proved on the day that he was a good horse, breaking the track record as well. Hopefully, with this year's bunch, we have a few that are showing us the same signs.

AC: He's been a great servant for you with the trip to Del Mar thrown in. What are your thoughts on how his 2-year-old year played out?

RS: I think it started off great but we live and learn. Probably the one little mistake we made was running him at Newmarket after the Coventry, because he had a penalty. I think the stats say that it hasn't been done for a good while. We were unlucky not to be able to go to Deauville for the [G1] Prix Morny. He had a dirty scope beforehand. We were sort of clutching at straws where to go and what to do. Although he disappointed at Newmarket on his last start in England the ground was on the slow side. I think he prefers top of the ground.

Then he ran a great race in America. He was drawn 14 of 14. To overcome that draw I think is very hard to do. All the local trainers over there were basically telling everyone drawing seven and above that they should go home, because it's such a draw-biased track, Del Mar. He only got beat 4 1/2 lengths, so he'd run well. That gives us another string to our bow, that he can travel and he eats and he actually fits in really well. He enjoyed his trip over there. I think this gives us another option for this year. If we want to go abroad again, we would have no worries in doing it.

AC: He's heading for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. He's been to a couple of racecourses for some racecourse gallops and we saw him at Newmarket most recently. Are you happy with how his prep is going?

RS: Touch wood, his prep's been very good. He went to Chelmsford for an away day, did a bit of work round there, and as you said he's worked on the Rowley Mile, over seven furlongs, the ground probably being on the slow side for what he wants. I think he would prefer better ground, he's shown that in his form last year. But he worked very nice, and Michael Hills, who rode him, was very happy after he got off him, so we're on schedule.

AC: It is a first crack at a Classic for you. How are you feeling about it all?

RS: I suppose every race is very much the same. You strive to get the horse there, whether it's a low-grade race or a high-grade race. You try and get them there on their 'A' game and hopefully they can do their best. It's very much the same with him going to the Guineas. God willing, we have a clean, smooth passage between now and then. It will probably be a nervous day, but if you don't get nerves then you shouldn't really be doing it. But we are looking forward to it, and hopefully he can show up and run up to his best.

AC: You mentioned earlier about some 2-year-olds that are showing similar signs to what he did last year. Can you tell us about any horses in particular that you might be looking forward to this year?

RS: Well, we have had our first 2-year-old runner, Cococabala (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}). Now we have a bit of a yardstick and we can make a plan with the rest. It is nice to get a bit of an idea of where they are, once you've had a runner, because they can all please at home, but to have a runner under our belt now, we can weigh up where we are with the others. There's definitely three or four doing some nice bits of work and some that are starting off this week doing a bit of fast work. It's hard to say at the moment, I wouldn't want to be disclosing too much. But no, there's some nice ones.

AC: Your career to date has been pretty impressive. You've worked under some great trainers, and now, obviously, you're a Royal Ascot-winning trainer in your own right. Could you have envisaged achieving that in such a short time frame?

RS: No, definitely not. Obviously, when I started out, I just wanted to get winners. The owners we've got want to compete on a big stage and they want to continue doing that. They've put a lot of money into the game and they want to be there, competing on the big stage. Hopefully we can continue doing what we're doing and get bigger and better. The quality of horses is definitely up from what we had last year and the year before, so it's going the right way and it's very exciting. There is a lot to look forward to.

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