Has John Best retired from Training ?

Yes
March 2023

The eagle-eyed among you may have seen a subtle shift in the training ranks in the last couple of weeks, a change that has resulted in one trainer stepping away from the front line and a second getting the chance to go it alone after more than 20 years working with another.



The joint-training licence held by John Best and Karen Jewell is no more, with Best standing down after a review of the financial performance of the business. Jewell is now the sole trainer at Eyehorn Farm in Sittingbourne, Kent and has already started having runners in her name.



Both sides are eager to stress there has been no falling out. Instead, financial pressures have accelerated a transition that would have likely happened in a few years.



“Things were tough financially and I was a relatively expensive part of the organisation,” Best says. “So we decided to keep the business afloat and therefore it was the right thing for me to step aside. There has absolutely not been any falling out and I think Karen and I have worked well together for the last 18 months, but the way things have been going financially it’s been more difficult.



“My intention always had been to step aside and let Karen go it alone at some point, but this is earlier than I thought it would be.”



The end of the training alliance means Best is not training for the first time since starting out on his own in 1999. In his own name he saddled 488 winners in Britain on the Flat and over jumps, with that tally exceeding 500 winners when adding in the combined number with Jewell.



Among the big names Best saddled were Group 1 winners Kingsgate Native and Square Eddie, Oaks second Rising Cross, plus Deposer, Flashmans Papers, Mullionmileanhour, Sir Gerry and Stone Of Folca to name a few. Best also saddled Mind How You Go to win a Listed bumper in 2002 under jockey Richard Forristal (I wonder what happened to him?).



Best teamed up with Jewell in October 2021 with both trainers hoping to attract more owners and more horses as a result. The reality proved somewhat different, with the trainers instead relying on the solid, loyal base of owners and campaigning dependable sorts like Berrahri rather than being able to inject fresh blood into the operation.



“We thought joining forces would be better for both parties and help attract more owners but it didn’t quite go the way we hoped on that front,” Best says. “I think the main problem was we weren’t getting young horses in, and I think that’s something Karen is going to have to work on now.



“I have believed it all along that to be a success as a Flat yard you have to have two-year-olds coming through as that is always your best chance of finding a decent horse. Don’t get me wrong, training horses like Berrahri was unbelievable but he was a 70s horse and they cannot carry on forever. You have to have something in the yard that makes you dream, that you think could be a superstar.”



Best proved to be a dab hand picking up inexpensive yearlings and turning them into quality performers on the course, but found himself up against increased competition. Horses he had previously bought for £25,000 were making four times that figure, meaning the trainer dropped from buying “20-25 yearlings a year to none in the last three years”.



The death of his parents also led Best to reconsider his outlook, and he says: “Did I really want to be getting up at 5am every day and often returning home at 11pm, especially with the sorts of horses I had?



“That’s nothing against those horses, but I would love to have a two-year-old running in the Brocklesby this weekend, or a horse we could get excited about with the owners knowing if we plan our route correctly we could be going to Royal Ascot; you have to have that hope and excitement as a trainer and as an owner.”



However, while stepping away from training for now and re-evaluating his outlook, Best is keen to make it clear he has not retired or walked away from racing. Instead, he is seeking an opportunity to return and showcase the skills that have helped him find those diamonds in the rough and train more than 500 winners.



“I’d love to be able to buy some horses for someone and I think I’ve always been able to buy a nice horse,” he says. “Unfortunately it’s not really something I’ve had the opportunity to do over the last few years. I wouldn’t rule out a return to training at some point either if I can get to that point of bringing those horses in again. I’ve not retired, I am sure I’ll be back in some capacity.”



With Best standing aside, Karen Jewell is looking forward to “grabbing things with both hands” having worked as assistant to her mother Linda and then with Best over the last 20 years.



“It had always been part of the plan,” Jewell says of the split with Best. “We’re quite a small team, so to have two trainers didn’t quite make sense financially. I really enjoyed training with John and we’re still on good terms and talk all the time.



“I’ve got some fresh ideas and was assistant to my mum for 20 years before joining up with John, so it’s been a long time in happening. The owners have been very loyal, as have the staff, and it’s very much staying the same in terms of that part of the set-up.”



She adds: “It’s all been very positive and we’ll be looking to expand on the Flat and over jumps. It’s an exciting time.”

Thank you

Bit different to the Dave Nevison ballyhoo days, then.

karen jewell not doing great on her own tho, i hope she can turn it around.
maybe a winner is just around the corner but 0/31 with 29 unplaced on the flat, but she did have a 2nd and 3rd this week. 1/29 over jumps
maybe pablo can do the business, but not confident of that. looks like john is dearly missed