On the 17th June, the Square Mile Thoroughbreds team snuck away from their Bloomberg screens for the day to visit an up and coming trainer who we were thinking of sending one of the syndicate horses to. William Knight’s Angmering Park yard is located in the stunning Sussex Downs, just over an hours drive out of London. Famous horses to have called this place home include Celtic Swing and Sherriff’s Star.

On arrival at Lower Coombe Stables, James and William met for what they thought was the first time. However, it soon dawned on them that they had indeed met before many moons ago when William was head lad for John Hills, a trainer based in Lambourn. James was spending a summer holiday with John Hills, working on the yard exercising horses as a 15 year old school boy and on one particular morning, William was charged with turfing James out of bed following his first serious encounter with previous evening with beer, vodka, rum and whiskey.

William is developing a reputation as one of British racing’s most promising young trainers, hence our interest in meeting him. He has learnt the trade from some of the best in the industry including John Hills and Ed Dunlop and has been building a successful operation down in West Sussex since 2006. His string of horses is improving year on year following his on-track success and his 2011 2-year-olds are the nicest bunch he has had to date.

The horses at Lower Coombe Park are treated to a serious workout thanks to a testing up hill gallop. The facilities here are set in beautiful surroundings that we could not help but feel would be ideal for young horses. They are away from the hustle and bustle of the big training centres like Newmarket and Lambourn and will receive all the attention and time they need to develop into the potential that we hope our horses will show.

With Group 2 and 3 race wins already notched up, we feel William is very well suited to looking after a SMT syndicate horse and a trainer that we would very much like to support. We look forward to introducing share owners to him in the not-too-distant future.

One of the key things keeping the Square Mile Thoroughbreds team busy in recent months was figuring out which trainers to use to train the syndicate horses. Having compiled a list of the best of the best within relatively easy access of London, we set off to see their respective facilities that could potentially be the home for our horses next year. First on the list was multiple Group 1 winning trainer Andrew Balding at Kingsclere Stables just outside Newbury.

Kingsclere has been home to some of history’s finest racehorses since the late 1800’s; horses like Selkirk, Mrs Penny, Lochsong and the legendary Mill Reef were all trained here. We were blown away not only by the warm welcome we received from Anna-Lisa, but the facilities at Kingsclere are second to none. Fantastic grass gallops, an all-weather gallop, swimming pools, treadmills and 200 acres of land to wonder round – it’s the equine equivalent of England Rugby’s training camp at Pennyhill Park!

But most importantly, it is the people that we were so impressed with. Andrew’s results speak for themselves having amassed over £9m in prize money from 481 winners since 2003. He is surrounded by a fantastic team of lads that look after the horses so well, and his father Ian, who himself trained over 2000 winners from Kingsclere in his training career including for Her Majesty the Queen, is never far from the yard.

Leaving Kingsclere after a delicious breakfast with jockey Jimmy Fortune, we were in no doubt that sending a syndicate horse to Andrew Balding’s Kingsclere yard was a no brainer. I am sure that those of you who come out with us to visit Kingsclere next time will be as equally impressed.

The Square Mile Thoroughbred silks have been registered with Weatherbys and the BHA. Watch out for the blue and orange ripping up the turf next season!