Tom Dascombe welcomes you to his website which tells you about Manor House Stables, Hampton, Malpas, Cheshire I have been working from Manor House Stables, Malpas, Cheshire, the yard owned jointly by Michael Owen and Andrew 'Bert' Black since 1 November 2009.The Manor House Stables website will increasingly be used to give you news of what is happening: Tom Dascombe www.manorhousestables.com
August, September and October were more than usually hectic for me as was responsible for both the Lambourn and Manor House yards and, at the same time, attended all the major yearling sales starting in Deauville and Doncaster in August, Doncaster, Fairyhouse and Goffs in September and finally Newmarket and back to Deauville in October. Over this period I aquired 50 yearlings which were sent directly to Manor House Stables to be broken. 37 of the yearlings have already found owners and there are, currently (20 January), just13 left to sell. At Deauville I bought French bred horses that will qualify for the French bred premiums that are so valued by owners as they enhance the already valuable prize money in France by 75% for 2yo's that win or are placed in races in France. I also bought an Italian bred yearling that qualifies for an even better premium for Italian bred horses.
Details of all the yearlings that I have purchased (noe 2yo's) are on the 'Horses For Sale' tab.
I had a very good year with my 2yo's in 2009, the fourth year since I started training. I had 24 2yo winners and won 63 races altogether in the calendar year comfortably beating the target I had set himself of 52 winners for the year. I am delighted that virtually all my owners are supporting me in my move to Manor House Stables. A number of them have already bought yearlings for this season's 2yo races and some of the better older horses have also moved to Cheshire with me.
New gallops are in the course of construction and it is hoped that they will be ready for use at the beginning of the 2010 turf season.
You can find out more about me, my horses and my statistics by clicking on the headings at the top of each page.
All the latest news from Manor House Stables is now on the Manor House Stables website which now has its own blog.
Born in 1973 in Bristol, Tom first got his passion for horse racing at an early age watching the ITV Seven with his Grandfather and Dad, (Bill). On Saturdays all three would go to the local tracks, Bath, Chepstow, Cheltenham and Salisbury and watch Steve Cauthen push home another winner, or John Francome conjure another great leap out of a Fred Winter favourite.
Having started riding ponies at three years old, Tom's first 'job' in racing was with Henry Candy in Lambourn, just down the road from his ONEWAY base 17 years later. It was only for the summer before one more year at school. It was here that Tom realised he was not going to be a flat jockey. At 15 he was far bigger and heavier than the older lads.
After leaving school it was off to the Champion himself, MCP. And what an introduction to racing: a professional well-managed business in an otherwise amateur industry. Martin was ten years ahead of his competitors. Tom thinks he learnt more in his first five years there than he would have done in 15 years anywhere else. Martin was quite simply a genius. When people thought things could not be done he proved them wrong time and time again.
Tom says "The thing I learned from Martin above all else was to listen to everyone but always make up my own mind".
10 years of race riding resulted in 96 winners, a ride in the Grand National and no broken bones, so it was time to move on. Having spent three years as assistant trainer to Ralph Beckett and time track riding at Churchill Downs, Tom got a job in Florida breaking in yearlings. Just two riders broke in 80 yearlings in two months; it was hard work but very rewarding.
Tom says "the American way is much faster and in my opinion, just as good. You just get on them!"
On returning to England Tom took two horses to Dubai for Ralph Beckett and that is where he met Mike De Kock, a truly brilliant trainer who again taught Tom a lot. Mike works his horses hard and feeds them well but his main skill is his ability to spot unsoundness in a horse and treat it before it becomes a long-term problem. Tom spent two years with Mike in Dubai, South Africa and England and it was two of the best years of his life. Not only is Mike a great trainer and a wonderful bloke but also a brilliant golfer.
Tom says "In the two years with Mike my golf improved tremendously. In the winter of 2003 at the Dubai Racing Carnival I had 16 horses of Mike's under my care. The results speak for themselves:
