In the hot seat

Young trainer Stephen Hanlon saddled his first winner when Diggin Deep won a handicap hurdle at Musselburgh in November 2018, but his name had been absent from racecards in recent years after the Covid-19 pandemic delayed his plans to enter the training ranks in a full-time capacity. That was until January this year when Hanlon sent out his first runners as the licence holder at Sun Hill Farm in Leyburn, with Azucena providing the breakthrough in this second phase of the trainer's career when successful at Newcastle on January 13....

Brian Toomey's promising career as a National Hunt jockey was cruelly cut short in July 2013 when the County Limerick native suffered a life-threatening head injury in a fall at Perth. Remarkably, he briefly returned to race-riding in the summer of 2015, before stepping back the following year to dedicate himself to his next big goal of becoming a trainer. That dream came to fruition in November 2023 when Toomey saddled his first runner at Lingfield, with the horse in question, Wake Up Harry, going on to become his trainer's...

Having recently returned from Australia where he was supporting the England men's cricket team in its ill-fated quest to regain the Ashes, Ben Shoare is now preparing to embark on his first full season at Ace Stud, having been appointed to the role of nominations manager in November last year. The next man in our Hot Seat is a relative latecomer to racing but has quickly developed an obsession with sales catalogues, while his own brief cricketing career saw him take the notable scalp of a former England batsman. How...

We have turned the tables on our obituary and feature writer John Berry, who doubles as the master of Beverley House Stables and Newmarket's unofficial weather man. A terrible singer, he gave up the possibility of a life as a theologian to train racehorses. How did you become involved in racing in the first place? I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm in Scotland where we had horses and ponies, and with parents passionately involved in racing, with the Sporting Life on the table every day and...

One of the younger faces on the sales circuit, Fabienne Parkin has certainly made a big impact in a short space of time. Best known as the face of Branton Court Stud, Parkin has enjoyed a colourful year on and off the track. She is next up in the Hot Seat, where she shares everything from her biggest ambitions in the game to funniest moments of 2025.  What was your defining moment of 2025? Was there a highlight? Watching Fallen Angel emphatically win her fifth Group 1 in the Sun...

Rodrigo Goncalves has been associated with some high-class horses from his time working with Joseph O'Brien and Robson Aguiar. The Brazilian-born Irishman was also involved in the initial ownership group that sourced Group 1 winner Power Blue as well. Goncalves has embarked on an exciting new chapter and, after sourcing a number of yearlings at the sales this year, plans on offering "nine or 10" horses at the breeze-up sales next year. The youngster expands on that and a lot more in this edition of the Hot Seat Q&A.  What...

He chose stud work over a modelling contract and now Harry Dutfield, the canny pinhooker, breeder and owner of Saint Ann Stud in Garboldisham, faces the TDN question master. TDN: How did you become involved in bloodstock in the first place? HD: I was introduced to the sport when I was very young by my parents, who had shares in various horses. They would occasionally take my twin brother and me racing and my interest started from there. I hated the itchy trousers, matching suit jackets and strangulating ties they made...

Alessandro Marconi is perhaps best known for sourcing French 2,000 Guineas winner Metropolitan for just €78,000, but did you know that the Italian-born bloodstock agent can drink olive oil as if it were water? We bet you didn't. Marconi is next in the hot seat, where he reveals all of that and more. Enjoy. You are best known as the man who bought Metropolitan for €78,000 but what's the biggest mistake you've made in this business? Selling Facteur Cheval after he won his maiden. I think another mistake has been...

A key member of the Elliott Bloodstock Services and Imperium Sales teams, Lucy Ryan lets us in on her background in the bloodstock business as the first person to be back in the TDN hot seat this winter. TDN: How did you become involved in bloodstock in the first place? LR: More by chance than design. I was lucky enough to be introduced to ponies at an early age, joining the local pony club, which led to a bit of eventing, hunting and point-to-pointing (very badly!).   I met Mathilde...

Six-time winner Alfa Kellenic (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) starred for Craig Lidster in 2024 when he enjoyed the best year of his training career to date, but it's all change ahead of the start of the new Flat season on turf. The Rotherham-born trainer will be operating with a reduced string in 2025, having recently moved across North Yorkshire from Easingwold to Malton. Tell us a bit about your background and the path you took to becoming a trainer. I'm from a small town in Rotherham and I had no...

Tom Abel Smith set up Carrington Bloodstock in 2022 which operates out of Launde Park Farm in Leicestershire. Abel Smith previously worked at Juddmonte and Arrowfield Stud in Australia. He also has a background in polo. He now offers a comprehensive list of services to clients from boarding broodmares and youngstock to foaling and sales preparation. What made you happiest in 2024? Seeing horses going through the sales under our banner for the first time. Bit of a dream come true to be honest. How do you start your day?...

A multiple Group 1-winning jockey, Freddy Tylicki cruelly had his career in the saddle cut short when he was partially paralysed in a fall at Kempton back in October 2016. Nowadays, Tylicki is a familiar face on the sales circuit through his role as a bloodstock agent, as well as making regular appearances on our TV screens as a Sky Sports Racing pundit. In 2023, he added another string to his bow when he became a jockeys' agent, with two Flat riders currently on his books. Ambiente Friendly (Ire) (Gleneagles...