Martin and Chris Dixon talk about big punts, buying horses and the secrets to their

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Tattersalls auction house in Newmarket, Martin and Chris Dixon are sat round a table finalising their strategy for the day's trade.

As they emerge from the relative cool of the Wall Box cafe into the unusually hot mid-morning sun, they are halted in their tracks by an Irishman in a green cap urging them to check over one of the lots at the three-day July Sale.

"We can't go far without getting stopped by someone," says younger brother Martin after they politely oblige the impromptu request.

This is the upshot of being two of racing's most recognisable faces, through their media work on Racing TV and also as the brains behind the Horse Watchers ownership group.

For the past decade, the Dixons have earned a fearsome reputation for their knack of turning bargain buys into money-spinners, with an approach many others have tried to plagiarise. In this arena, it is no wonder eyes follow their every move.

"Before the sale we had a meeting and whittled down a long list of horses to 32," says Martin. "Now we're here, we go through three stages. We always look at them and if we're still interested the trainer will look at them and then finally we'll get them vetted. That's the process and the horses who pass every stage are the ones you value."

Martin Dixon:
Martin Dixon: "The horses who pass every stage are the ones you value"
Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Such a lot is the reason for the walk up to the ring. In Chris's case it is more of a limp after he pulled his hamstring in the dads' race on sports day. He promises he wasn't wearing spikes, but with that level of competitiveness, what chance do the other potential buyers have?

Even in the heat of a bidding battle, though, they remain calculated. Martin, trying to hide his identity by moving to the stairwell, stops short of another bid as the hammer goes down at 62,000gns on a lot they had a budget in mind for but feared might go for three figures. The blood is pumping and he's annoyed at one that got away. He switches his mind on to the next task, but they clearly liked that one.

"There's plenty we follow into the ring to try to buy but they make more than we're willing to pay," Martin says. "We know full well whether there's a horse we're strongly behind in terms of the form and there'll be a reason in our minds why we think we can improve its rating.

"The most expensive horse we've bought was Aphelios for 70,000 [guineas] at this sale three years ago. People might think we overpay for horses with such ratings, as he was a 75-rated three-year-old, but he was in the mid-90s when we sold him to Scandinavia, where he's now the champion horse."

There are countless others sold for considerably more than their purchase price, having accrued decent prize-money along the way, Painters Palette (€60,000 to 165,000gns) being one of the standouts. At the sales, their card has long been marked.

"There's been people saying to us they went in a bit stronger because they saw we were on it," says Chris. "If you have a reputation, it can only work against you negatively."

So, in what ways can they try to negate that other than bidding from the stairwell?

"We get here early before there are too many people around," Chris adds. "We get other people bidding for us and we bid online a lot now, even when we're sitting here. We bought a couple recently while we were in the sales office and bar. It doesn't give you the same buzz, though."

Chris Dixon interviews his own jockey David Nolan
Chris Dixon interviews jockey David Nolan after a victory in the Horse Watchers silks
Credit: David Carr (racingpost.com/photos)
Martin puts that tactic into practice shortly after when buying a Shadwell cast-off for 18,000gns on his iPad from a bench outside the ring.

The combination of thinking outside the box and plenty of hard graft has brought Chris, 42, and Martin, 39, a long way from their upbringing on a farm near Beverley. The youngest of four siblings, their interest in racing was piqued by trips to the track in the school holidays.

"We never went abroad growing up because Dad didn't want to leave the farm," says Chris. "It was through trips to Beverley and Wetherby that our interest grew and it became even bigger when we were old enough to bet, although Dad tried to discourage that side of it."

Although Chris was a talented footballer who rose through the ranks at Hull City before being released at 19, both brothers went to university before making their way into racing.

Chris worked for Coral TV and the Press Association before getting his big break as a race analyst on RTV, while Martin made his name at Timeform before following his brother on to the racing channel.

Having had "small shares in a couple of little syndicate horses", they branched out on their own, initially setting up the Rod In Pickle Partnership – named after a line from an Alastair Down article in the Racing Post in which they appeared – before gradually forming the Horse Watchers with Timeform colleagues Matt Taylor and Richard O'Brien.

"The first horse we bought was Miako in 2012," Chris recalls. "With his American pedigree we got him to run on the Fibresand at Southwell, but soon after the track got flooded and the surface was washed away.

"Fortunately they put it back and when he finally got to run there he won and became Mick Appleby's eighth straight winner at Southwell after it had reopened."

Other big gambles have been landed, perhaps most notably Saaheq on his debut for the Horse Watchers when backed down to 7-2 (from 10) at Doncaster. "I could have paid the mortgage off but word got out how well handicapped he was," Chris says.

Chris Dixon: "I could have paid the mortgage off but word got out how well handicapped he was"
Chris Dixon: "I could have paid the mortgage off but word got out how well handicapped he was"
Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Times are different now for the brothers, who are both married with children.

"Punting was a big part of what we were doing but not now," says Chris. "It depends what commitments you've got and what you're comfortable with, but I'm going to have my third kid in a couple of weeks and it wouldn't suit my mentality."

Martin adds: "You get more of a buzz having a winner as an owner anyway because in essence there's more riding on it."

The temperature is starting to get uncomfortable standing in the blazing sun and a slightly red-faced Mick Appleby joins the three of us outside the ring.

With his arrival the lameness count goes up to 50 per cent as he is hobbling around with an old ankle injury. There is no time to rest, though, as there are horses to be bought and sold and more people to try to please since the Horse Watchers was turned into a commercialised syndicate.

The Hull City-inspired orange and black silks have been put on the map by the likes of Big Country, a seven-time winner who struck at Listed level, Raasel, a breakthrough Group winner for the group, and prolific handicapper Rhoscolyn. The search is on to uncover more diamonds in the rough.

"We've created a brand, if you will, kept it in the same colours and now we're letting more people get involved," says Martin. "A few people were asking if they could get involved and we've steadily grown the numbers without ever advertising. Between me, Chris and Matt, 20 per cent of the horse will be taken and the rest is made up of ten per cent shares. There were a lot of people I'd never met before but got to know and there's a good sense of community."

Chris (left) and Martin Dixon have earned a reputation as shrewd buyers at the sales
Chris (left) and Martin Dixon have earned a reputation as shrewd buyers at the sales
Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
With that comes an extra level of responsibility to invest other people's money wisely and meet the high expectations.

"The good days are even better because other people are enjoying it with you and it's something we've put together, but the bad days are a lot worse," Chris says. "We take it pretty personally when things go wrong and put ourselves under a lot of pressure to make sure we make correct decisions.

"We used to walk away and say 'it happens' but you can't do that, you have to find reasons why and work it out. It's a lot harder to take the disappointment when people are looking at you."

Chris adds: "We can't make them quicker. All we can do is put them in good yards and try to place them in the right races.

"We'll grow it as much as the numbers allow us to without forcing it. Normally we'll have a horse for between six and 24 months and then look to sell them at the point that is right for everyone, so that the people involved will come in again on the next horse.

"The market is not easy with higher-rated horses and young horses hard to buy and while it has allowed us to have a bigger budget, we're always mindful of buying within the prism of what we consider to be a value price. We want to be comfortable with our share and everybody else's as, essentially, we're responsible for their money."

The new purchases invariably end up with Appleby or David O'Meara, who have done so well for the brothers and are regarded as not just trainers but "mates".

Appleby, who's been there from the start and whose own upward trajectory has hit Breeders' Cup-winning heights, says: "They know what they're doing – unlike some owners who haven't got a clue and interfere – and that makes a big difference. It makes it a lot easier for me as I've got to get the horses fit and they pick most of the races, and you know they're running in the right races. It's always worked well and hopefully we keep getting winners."

Strong relationships underpin everything the Dixons do but there is no greater bond than the one they have together. Noel and Liam Gallagher they are not.

"There's a respect for each other's opinion and we never fall out," says Chris. "I genuinely remember the two times we've fallen out – the first time he beat me at snooker and a heated argument about racing we had one time. By the end of the day, we were best mates again."

Big Country (white face, Silvestre De Sousa) has proved one of the leading players on the all-weather circuit this term
Big Country (left) was a real flagbearer for the Horse Watchers
Credit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)
Neither has much time to stew on anything as, among their many varied roles, Chris is an agent for seven Flat jockeys, with Cieren Fallon, Danny Tudhope, Jason Watson, Kevin Stott, Joanna Mason, Freddie Larson and Mason Paetel under his wing.

"If you're not busy you'll soon get lazy – that's what Dad always said," says Chris. "Martin and I went on holiday not so long ago and after a few days we were on our laptops working – we get bored very easily."

Together they have built up the Horse Watchers into one of the most respected ownership groups, one feared by bookmakers and with a bit of a following among punters keen to put their trust in the Dixons' ability to place their horses.

"When any syndicate does well, particularly with good horses bought relatively cheaply, you hope it ignites an enthusiasm for other people to try to do the same," Chris says. "The sport needs owners at every level and there are those at the very top most people can't compete with.

"They'll be people wanting us to fail because when you've done well there are people who like to see you fall down, particularly with us being in the public eye. At the same time, there are people who like to see us doing well and they definitely follow the horses, but it's more from the betting side as our runners definitely get backed."

Their reputation clearly goes before them and while the opportunity arises it would be rude not to ask for a key piece of punting advice.

"I'll give you two – price matters and it's important to keep a level head," replies Chris, who also nominates three-year-olds Hornsea Bay and War Howl as two of the team's horses to follow.

Hornsea Bay wins under Danny Tudhope
Hornsea Bay: flagged as one to watch by Chris Dixon
Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)
"There are peaks and troughs and when you get the troughs, it's about keeping your head straight and riding them out."

Martin says: "Recency bias is a big one for me. I think there's an overreaction to impressive last-time-out winners as they're unlikely to offer any value. 

"I'd be more forgiving of a horse who has had one or two poor runs and look for reasons why they might have bombed out rather than take it on face value.

"It's the same with the prices of horses in the sales ring. With a last-time-out winner or eyecatching second, you're very unlikely to get them for a good price. There's a real overlap with the way we think about betting and the sales."

The brothers have refined their approaches to both domains over the years, but their core principles still remain.

"We don't use a lot of data and it's certainly not how we start," says Martin. "We still base things on impression and instinct, which is something you can't put down in numbers and never will. If it works, you're not going to be in a rush to change it."

By backing their own judgement and putting their money where their mouth is, two lads from the East Riding of Yorkshire with no racing background have certainly got tongues wagging.

"We're proud of the fact that, unlike many in the industry, we've not had a leg up and still managed to make a little splash in such a competitive sport," Martin says.