Top ten ex-Alan Clegg trainers in Devon & Somerset today

Major Ricky Vallance (Warned Off) - a shocking Omission.

Was he the one with the coughing?

Sorry. Forgot about Paul Leach. Sent out Myliege to land a monumental gamble in a Carlisle selling hurdle at Christmas 1990 (6/4 fav; beaten 26 lengths in a Haydock claimer the time before).

Twelve months earlier the same horse, running under G A Ham's name, had landed a monumental gamble in a Newton Abbot selling hurdle at Christmas 1989 (6/4 fav; pulled up in a Haydock claimer the time before).

Ricky Vallance was a front man for David Elsworth who was officially his assistant I think.

Was Martin Hill related to C J Hill?

Don't think so - possibly Point-to-Point background  -

- and Tony Newcombe was the real Trainer at C John Hill's Stables.
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The almost 'invisible' Derek? Tucker - anyone?

It's possible, sparrow, but I really don't know. The Butcher of Barnstaple had his base at one end of the county, and Martin Hill at Totnes was/is at the other.

But all these names are connected somehow. As Eddie Fremantle used to say, the West Country is like one of Pete Frame's Rock Family Trees. This F A Clegg character is one of those connecting arrows. Ron Hodges was another, taking you from C J Hill and A G Newcombe to just about every other "where are they now?" operation in that part of the world.

Screaming,

Do you remember one of the early syndicate blokes, called Adrian Clegg? I think he got warned off some time in the early 80's - I wonder if they are related?

Here's the answer about Martin Hill:

https://www.pointtopoint.co.uk/news_articles/talking-shop-mark-hill

D R Tucker/Richard Tucker does connect a lot of them, onlooker. He had/has a yard near Cullompton, previously the base of Jack Cann, where, C J Hill had his Flat horses trained before he got a licence. They then got trained by Ron Hodges when C J Hill lost his licence for 12 months.

Look at Deccan Prince's history, for instance:

https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/3430/deccan-prince/form

Owned by D R Tucker, then A G Newcombe, then D R Tucker again; trained by R Hodges, then D R Tucker; but they made bloody sure D R Tucker's was the only name on the racecard when it landed a punt in a Newton Abbot seller.

Anorak, I think you've got Martin Hill confused with Mark Hill.

I remember Adrian Clegg as a name in the press, but it was just before my time as a racecourse regular began. I really have no idea about his background. I mean, I know bugger-all about F A Clegg the person, come to that. Just a fascination with how a certain small pool of horses and punters have moved from yard to yard in the West Country over the decades. It's like whack-a-mole: just when you realise that a certain yard has become 'hot', the trainer seems to fall off the map, get warned off, or whatever, and the whole thing starts up again with another trainer a few miles up the M5.

Of course I have - very silly of me. The Hills are alive, but I can't tell them apart!

Well thank you all for the Hills information and the point to point link was a good read too!

Don't think so - possibly Point-to-Point background  -

- and Tony Newcombe was the real Trainer at C John Hill's Stables.....Sorry to correct you onlooker but Tony Newcome was never the real Trainer for C.J Hill i should know as it was one of my first Jobs in Racing.

And he was no relation to Mark Hill.

acey - Was Tony Newcombe Assistant Rainer to C J Hill when you were there? ...

- or had he left - or - was still to come?

No he was not Assistant then onlooker but he did own a couple of Horses.

John Hill was a shrood old bugger he landed some gambles.He would usually put bandages on his horses in seller so nobody would bid for them when they  duly Won.

Farir dos -

- and what was a Jock doing working in a Racing Stable in North Devon ....

Had you lost your job a Butlins Minehead ? 

Not Quite !!

Not one of today's trainers, but he had Spirit of Derwent with Betty Kennard, who won twice in 3 mile handicap hurdles at Taunton in 12 days at the turn of 80/81. Don't know who the jockey was the first time - one of 2 runners (of 22) not jocked up in the morning paper, but Shaun Keightley(4) was on the 2nd time. Ran off 10-0 both times - 8/1 and 11-10 fav - no previous placings, but was 4/5yo, and dropping into handicaps having run at Cheltenham.

He's a similar vintage to Adrian Clegg, who died in 2019, aged 75. I can't find any siblings of the latter.

After Spirit of Derwent (who kept some good company - it ran at Ascot against Crimson Embers and Mayotte), it seems he went quiet until 1987 when he had a novice hurdler, Danny's Luck, with David Barons (ridden by Paul Nicholls).

Fascinating stuff, ged. Many thanks for looking all that up. I suppose it was inevitable that the name S Keightley would turn up if you dug hard enough. It usually does.

Acey was Ginger head lad when you worked there?

I have the greatest respect for Anorak but he started this nonsense about Tony Newcombe being the trainer behind John Hill. If Ged would be kind enough to do a search for a horse called Last waltz i think you find that John trained it when Tony was still in Short trousers.

Shalimah Joined: 30 Jan 02
Replies: 36911 Jul 23 07:15 
I have the greatest respect for Anorak but he started this nonsense about Tony Newcombe being the trainer behind John Hill.






No that was Onlooker not Anorak.

Shalimah - I've found a Last Waltz who won a 3m hcap hurdle at Windsor in Dec 1963 as a 7yo mare. She was down as being trained by J Trevisick at Barnstaple, and owned by a Mr C C Hill (possible that the middle initial is a misprint?).

(Other winners on the card were Staggered, who Jim Renfree won plenty of races on, Certain Justice (for Albert Neaves), and Gort, who I think ran against Flyingbolt.)

Before Trevisick, she was trained by R Finch, and prior to that, on the flat, by H T Cross.

..sorry, Whelan trained her on the flat, Cross as a juvenile/novice hurdler.

ged, I remember Staggered in hunter chases but thought that Nick Gaselee or John Lawrence rode him then.  Maybe my memory is playing tricks again.

He'd, red your 8.18 post...
I was working in Barnstaple early 90s and used to drink with Johnny Trevisick
He would have been about 70 then
Well known locally as an ex jockey, had some great stories
Seems likely he was the trainer you mentioned

Sorry, meant to say Ged, read your post...
.

Could be, Reg. I don't remember him. Name sounds Cornish, as was Jim Renfree.

Did myliege also land a touch at uttoxeter or am I thinking of another Gerald ham horse ?

I seen to recall it was a Saturday.

sparrow - you might be thinking of a different horse. Staggered was a 2 miler, who occasionally went 2m4f. Renfree retired at the end of the 65/66 season, after which the horse was usually ridden by claimer M Phillips.

I would be very cautious when trying to link all of the names on the first list and any jockey who rode for them with this Hillsin case. An owner who might be looking to pull a stroke would try a lot of different trainers in the vicinity to see which ones might be open to dishonest practice and each of those trainers might use 10 or more jockeys each year. Please stop linking what happened with one horse in one race with so many (probably innocent) professionals. Guilt by association is a pernicious habit as many BBC presenters are finding out. It seems highly likely that the rider of Hillsin was acting on orders from either the owner, a punter or a bookmaker rather than the trainer but I am guessing as well.

Reg - Trevisick gets a mention on Jockeypedia in a piece by Chris Pitt about Roy Sharp, who rode for him...

"John St. Aubyn Trevisick, a butcher by trade, who trained a small string of about eight at Barnstaple, North Devon. Trevisick had ridden some 50 point-to-point winners prior to taking out a trainer’s licence in 1959."

..another butcher!?

Myliege did land a touch at Uttoxeter, back in 1988, before Clegg was down as the owner. First time out, 2/1 in a 14-runner selling handicap hurdle. Myliege was a proper job horse (and G Ham - a pig farmer, inevitably, with a name like that - was a proper job trainer).

Sageform - part of the reason I became fascinated with this subject over the years was precisely because some of the trainers and jockeys were the sort who you wouldn't have expected to be involved in this sort of thing. It's not just here in the West Country. There are yards everywhere which trundle along for years with just the occasional winner, but suddenly start appearing at the forefront of market moves. Sometimes it's a genuine breakthrough for the trainer, but other times it just goes on for a season or two, and that's it. They disappear without trace. It's as though there's a punting caravan moving from yard to yard.

Some of those trainers on that list fit that description, others definitely not.

Thanks screaming

Acey was Ginger head lad when you worked there?....No he was just before me Shal..Do you remember Friendly Neighbour and Hughes Next and a little filly Trackdownw  who all landed nice gambles?

Thanks ged, yes I have got mixed up somewhere along the line but it was nearly 50 years ago!

Les Kennard

Didn't Sandy May train in the west country ?

Thanks ged, yes I have got mixed up somewhere along the line but it was nearly 50 years ago!


Correction 60 years even

Acey i remember Friendly Neighbour and Hughs Next very well. I was at Salisbury when Hughs next won , was named  after one of his daughters boyfriends  went on to finish 3rd in one of the !000gns trials sold to usa not long after.

Don't recall Sandy May training but he did ride for Jim Old and rode a homebred winner for my family called Tough Debate. 33/1 and definitely a shock to all concerned! That was back in Jim's Ashmore days.

Thanks to Ged for your help.
Sparrow i know Onlooker was the first to mention the Newcombe thing on this thread but i will leave it to The Anorak to explain why i brought his name up.

I definitely remember an S W May training a few horses in the 1980s, mainly because he rode some of them himself. It seemed to be a bit of a tip when he took the trouble to book a top jockey!

re Sandy May...again, from Chris Pitt on Jockeypedia...

"He continued booting home the winners, albeit no longer at a level of the mid-1970s, before taking out a trainer’s licence in 1982 and setting up at West Hill, Brampton, in Devon, with a string of half a dozen. It was only a small operation with never more than nine horses in the yard, and Sandy continued to hold a jockey’s licence, riding many of them himself.

He trained seven winners during his four seasons as a trainer, the last of them being Thornton, ridden by Tommy Carmody, at Chepstow on October 5, 1985, but found it an uphill struggle. In 1986, aged 35, he decided to give up training and riding and quit racing altogether. One of his last rides was on Scholarship in a four-year-old hurdle at Newton Abbot on March 29, 1986.

Reflecting on the situation he said: “I will miss riding, but the training is another thing. There are a lot of small trainers in the West Country, so you’ve got to have good owners behind you and they need the money to buy a decent horse or two. At the end of the day, it is all about pounds, shillings and pence. And if you aren’t getting anything for all the work you put in, there isn’t much point in carrying on.”

well done ged as usual.

Sandy May is the starter at a few point to points in Devon and Cornwall now.

Ged, yes it's the same Johnny Trevisick
He had a shop in Butchers Row in Barnstaple which back then, unsurprisingly, was a street full of butchers... Now also other artisan shops, I believe
So, along with CJ Hill and possibly others, I'm sure some plans were hatched there

Not one Butchers shop left in Burchers Row now.

Acey, not one left? That's shocking
What about the pannier market?
Or was that Bideford?
30 years since I've been back to North Devon

Not one left Reg Pannier Market still going strong last time i was there,

Acey... I heard that the Thatch pub in Croyde still going strong?
Did you ever visit it?
Quite an iconic pub

No never been there Reg.

National Hunt jockey Anthony (Tony) King’s career spanned the first half of the 1960s, during which time he recorded a total of seven winners. The first of those cane on Peaceful Haven at Newton Abbot on August 19, 1961, for Barnstaple-based owner-trainer John Hill. It was Tony’s sole success from a dozen rides that season.

The above is a cut and paste from Jockeypedia, hope you dont mind George.

Perhaps that's when Hill took out his licence? In March of the previous season, Peaceful Haven was down as being trained by Trevisick.

I think it might have been his Father Courtney Hill who was Training back then but i could be wrong.

In Nov 1974, Jack Cann had his first double on the flat with two 2yos for owner John Hill (Mr C Hill in the results), who was described as 'a wholesale meat trader from Fremington, near Barnstaple, who bought 4 yearlings last autumn, all of whom have now won....He has chanced his arm at the yearling sales this autumn, and will have 15 2yos in training next season". In 1975, 22yo Matthew Delahooke started out as his private trainer, with 26 horses, but it didn't last long, and they switched to Toby Balding part way through the season.

Yes he had a massive Slaughter house right next o the gallop i used to stink the village out on some Days.