Hey guys!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to visit Olly Murphy’s Warren Chase Stables, so today’s post is all about our visit with Olly and his team and a full interview with the man himself!

When we first arrived the stable staff were preparing for the fourth lot to go out onto the gallops. Olly explained that they had started a lot earlier yesterday due to the weather so they wanted to get the horses out and back in before things got too bad. So whilst we waited Olly made us all a hot drink and a quick check of the news to see if the racing in Haydock (where Olly had two runners in the 4:25) was still going ahead. One thing I can say is Olly makes a very good cup of tea!

Going out to watch the horses on the gallops, as always, was a brilliant experience. That’s where you really get to watch the trainer at their best, doing what they love and what they are best at. Olly is a very hands on trainer, even with over 120 horses in training he knows them all by name and knows of any issues or problems they may face with each horse. Overall he’s a brilliant trainer. He may only be young and relatively new to the training game but he knows what he’s doing and you can tell he has great things to come.

 

We then got to walk around the yard and see some of Olly’s stable stars and upcoming younger horses, which as always, is my favourite parts of a stable visit. Being able to meet some of these incredible animals who are gorgeous but also ridiculously talented.

   

We had to meet the brilliant Brewin’upastorm who is just a real softy. I know a lot of people love this horse, so a quick update from Olly was that he would go straight to the Arkle at Cheltenham and if Richard Johnson is fit, which he hopes to be, then he will be riding him. Here is dad and I having a little chat with him!

We also got to see some of Olly’s facilities, which are all incredible. You can see these horses are literally treated like royalty.

After seeing some of Olly’s facilities and horses, I then got the chance to sit down with Olly and interview him.

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Me: We have to start with Itchy Feet, your first Grade One winner, how special was that for you and what are your plans for him now?

Olly: Yeah, no, it was magic. It’s something we’ve dreamt of doing here at Warren Chase ever since we set up. So the plan is to go to Cheltenham on Thursday for the Marsh Chase, which is the old JLT. He’s come out of his run really well and we’re really looking forward to running him again.

Me: And do you think he’s got a chance?

Olly: Yeah I do. He’s nearly head of the market now. I think he’s a horse that’s going to keep on improving and it will only be his third run over fences, so we’re really looking forward to going to Cheltenham.

Me: What’s the best advice you have received from Gordon? You obviously worked with him for a long time.

Olly: I have said this a few times, but it’s keep yourself in the best company and your horses in the worst. It’s a results driven business this and you need to be winning so your horses need to be in the right races. So yeah, keep yourself in the best company and your horses in the worst.

Me: What is the goal for you and the team? The Gold Cup, Grand National, Champion Hurdle – What’s the dream?

Olly: I suppose all of these big races, you want to win them all really. But to put Warren Chase firmly on the map in National Hunt racing, I think we’re well on the way to doing that. In time, I’d love to make this place a fortress and have it at the top of the tree in National Hunt racing, so obviously to keep winning Grade 1’s and big races, but I’d love to be at the top of the tree in National Hunt racing.

Me: If you could train one horse that is currently in training somewhere else, what horse would you choose and why?

Olly: Oh, very good question. Erm, a horse of Nicky Henderson’s called Chantry House. I think he could be very very good. Lovely style of racing and yeah, I think he could be a future champion.

Me: You’re obviously a young trainer, so how supportive are other trainers and helpful with their advice?

Olly: Yeah, some more so than others. Some like up and coming younger lads and some are set in their old ways and would rather probably not see younger lads coming through, but unfortunately that’s sport for you. But yeah, you have certain trainers who have been very good since I kind of started up from Gordon to Alan King who I used to work for, Dan Skelton is kind of friends of ours from down the road. There’s a competitive rivalry between a good few of us but there’s plenty of us that are friends at the end of the day, so yeah some more so than others.

Me: Do you ever get any down time? What do you do when you aren’t here with horses?

Olly: I love playing golf in the summer, I wouldn’t be a big TV man now but I’m an avid Aston Villa fan so obviously we’re only half an hour from Birmingham so I love seeing them play when I can.

Me: You were with Gordon when one of my favourite horses Don Cossack won the Gold Cup, how special was that for you working with such a top class horse?

Olly: Yeah, it was magic. He was the apple of Gordon’s eye from a young age. And it was great to be there and see him go through the ranks and in a Gold Cup. It was probably my biggest days racing aside from coming home and training myself. Being at Cheltenham and seeing him win a Gold Cup, it was magic, the emotion the whole day was second to none and yeah, he’s a horse who unfortunately we probably didn’t get to see the best of either.

Me: No pressure, but when I asked Richard Johnson his bet of the season, he said Lostintranslation to win the Betfair Chase, which he did, so what’s your bet of the Festival?

Olly: Uh, that’s a very very good question. I think at a price Skandiburg in the Pertemps. And a horse which isn’t mine, I think Epatante will win the Champion Hurdle.

Me: What is your best piece of advice for a young person wanting to follow their goals?

Olly: I suppose follow your dreams. Keep going until you achieve your dream. It’s possible. Listen, I got a leg up in the fact I’ve come home to kind of a family run place here. But you still have to work hard and train winners. It’s always been a dream of mine to be able to train at a high level and be involved in a professional sport and I’d like to think I’ve reached that and yeah, just never give up.

Me: What is your favourite day of the racing calendar?

Olly: I love Aintree. I love Cheltenham for the fact it’s the four days of our Olympics really for this sport, but Aintree is great for us. We get to get in the car and go away for three days and stay in a hotel and have a bit of fun as well. And it’s a fantastic three days of racing, with some great sights as well.

Me: What would you say to anyone who thinks racing is animal cruelty?

Olly: It’s a load of rubbish. We’re up at 6 o’clock in the morning and with these horse until 5 o’clock at night and they get love, care and attention that no other animal or human being gets in the world. Erm, we love our horses. They are bred to race, but they get more care and attention than I can imagine in the world at present.

Me: Why do you think Irish trainers will send horses over here, but British trainers are not as good at sending horses over to Ireland?

Olly: Very good question. Erm, it’s a thing I’d love to do in time, send more horses over to Ireland, but obviously you’ve got two powerhouses over there in Gordon and Willie and the likes of Joseph and Noel Mead as well. It’s very very hard to win over there and we have two massive Festivals over here in Cheltenham and Aintree and I don’t think people want to go over to Ireland and get beat in their Festivals and have their hearts shattered before Cheltenham in March.

Me: It’s an interesting one to look at.

Olly: It is yes, it’s a very good question. I can see why the Irish Racing Board may think we don’t support their calendar the same as they support ours. But it’s a funny time of year, their Dublin Racing Festival for us to travel horses over there. I’m not sure if we had a festival that time of year whether they’d come over 5 weeks prior to Cheltenham to be honest. But it’s a great idea and they’ve got some great prize money over there and it’s something I’d love to support in time.

Me: Because obviously you worked with Gordon over there, so how different is it over there compared to over here?

Olly: Yeah, it is a lot different, they run things a lot differently. You can see they race in almost any weather conditions when over here we probably would not race. Erm, it’s a lot more of a laid back way of life over there, from day to day jobs to even going racing. I think over here we have a lot more tracks that are up to date and with the times, but look I had a fantastic time over there. There are some tracks you wouldn’t even believe are race tracks but they have a great feel to them and they get very well supported with good runners as well. 

Me: What are your opinions surrounding the discussions of banning the whip?

Olly: Again, going back to people going on about animal cruelty, these whips are air cushioned, they don’t hurt, they are an encouragement. Some of these horses are colts and they’re big boisterous horses and listen, we don’t hurt horses, we don’t wish to hurt horses, they’re there for an aid, not there to punish.

Me: A lot of the jockey’s I have spoke to have said they would feel unsafe on a horse without having that sort of protection for them, do you agree with that?

Olly: They’re big, heavy things and there’s only so many times that they can be reminded with a whip. I think whip is the wrong word for what they’re using as it doesn’t hurt, they’re air cushioned and they’re there as a reminder, not there for punishment or pain and I don’t think these do-gooders believe in what a whip actually is. As I said earlier, we love and care for these horses like nothing else in the world and a whip isn’t there to hurt a horse.

Me: What is your horse to watch that you train and that someone else trains?

Olly: Good question. I love a horse that I train called Nickolson, I have had a very tough time with him kinda this year training wise, he’s been sick since he ran at Wincanton. He’s actually going to miss Cheltenham. You’re the first person to know that bar his owner. And he’s a horse that is hopefully going to go to Aintree, but yeah he has a massive engine. For a horse that someone else trains, good question. Going back to Nicky Henderson again, I was lucky enough to go and spend a morning with him three weeks ago and I think Shishkin could be very good. He has a very smart bumper horse there in Flinteur Sacre who’s obviously the relationship of Sprinter Sacre and I thought he looked good at Wincanton the other day.

Me: Yeah, he looked impressive since there was a lot of pressure on him because of Sprinter.

Olly: Yeah, big time. You’re usually there to be shot at when you’re in relation to a good horse, but he looked fairly smart didn’t he.

Me: Final question, what is it like training for JP McManus, he’s such a huge name within racing and his colours are obviously known by everyone, how big is that for you as a smaller, just starting out trainer?

Olly: Yeah, it’s massive. They’re colours you want to see on the back of a horse you train, erm so yeah it’s a complete privilege to be a part of their setup. There are an awful lot of trainers and I’m lucky enough to train three horses for them. A couple of smart horses in Collooney and Notre Pari so it’ll be nice to have a winner for them on the big stage and hopefully they will be part of my setup for a long time to come.

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 Honestly, Olly was truly a gentleman and he made it so easy for me being so chatty and informative in his answers, which I thought was brilliant. I want to thank Olly for his time and answering everything I threw at him.

Before we left, I had to go and meet Olly’s incredible first Grade 1 winner, Itchy Feet who had just come off the walker. He is honestly the biggest softy, he just wanted his food, no photos.

   

Overall we had a brilliant morning with Olly and his team, everyone we spoke to was lovely and I cannot thank them all enough for their hospitality. Olly is a very local trainer to myself so it was brilliant to visit him and see how he works compared to some others. 

For me, personally, I can see Olly doing incredible things, he knows what he wants and with a brilliant team behind him he can achieve a lot. I wouldn’t be very surprised if Olly was crowned Champion Trainer at some point in the future.

Again, I want to thank Olly for allowing us to have a look around his facilities and meet his horses and watch him work, it truly was an honour.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading about Olly’s stables and his interview as much as I did writing them.

Thank you for reading!