F EATURE BARRY GERAGHTY
The first batch of horses included Envoi Allen… sowe got off to a flying start
horses go into CheltenhamFestival with good chances, it is theworld’s most famous steeplechase atAintree which kept the family’s passion for the jumps burning. He added: “Having had a fewGrand National horses over the years such as Highland Lodge, Seeyouatmidnight and Character Building, my father and I agreed to have a greater number of hopefully decent jumpers in training. “We thought the bestway to do itwas by buying some younger horses who hadwon point to points and shown some potential. Our previous strategy had been to buy horses in training but that broughtwith it issues when horses got problems and injuries, sowe thought thatwewould try something different.” The new strategy certainly paid off. Since increasing their involvement in Jump racing in 2018, Cheveley Park’s silks have been carried to victory in no fewer than 18 Grade One races,with seven victories in three years at The Festival™. This phenomenal success is tingedwith sadness forThompson,with his father passing away aged 84 in December 2020. He continued: “I think the trigger for dad increasing our involvement in Jump racingwas that he knewhewas getting older and that hewouldn’t be around for too much longer, so he thoughtwe should have a go at doing it. Sadly, that proved to be truewith dad passing away in December 2020 but at least he sawa fewof our decent jumps wins before that.” While Cheveley Park’s Flat horses are trained in the UK by the likes of SirMichael Stoute and SirMark Prescott, the operation’s star jumpers have all been trained in Ireland. Thompson explained: “I sat next toWillie
rundown state byDavid and PatriciaThompson in 1975 but has grown to become British racing’s premier owner-breeder,with its distinctive red,white and blue silks carried to victory inmore than 25 Group One races on the Flat. Classic success came courtesy of Russian Rhythm in the 2003 running of the 1000 Guineas at Newmarketwhile Pivotal, Cheveley Park’s first home- bred Group Onewinnerwhen successful in the 1996 Nunthorpe Stakes atYork,went on to enjoy a phenomenally successful stallion career, responsible for 32 individual Group Onewinners. Throughout that time the Thompsons alsomaintained an interest in Jump racing,which is certainly paying dividends in the 21st century. David and Patricia’s son Richard explained: “Although Cheveley Park has always been a primarily Flat-based thoroughbred breeding and racing operation,we also had Classifiedwhowas third in the 1986 Grand National and a fewother jumpers sporadically over the years. “My father and I had both always loved the jumps in addition to Flat racing. Depending on his mood and whether therewas an offer of a National Hunt horse in training, my fatherwould react accordingly and purchased Party Politics two days before hewon the Grand National in 1992. In thewinterwhen therewasn’t much happening on the Flat, itwas obviously interesting to have some action to concentrate on butwe never really put together a squad of horses as such until the 2018/19 season.” Thompson admits that their desire to increase Cheveley Park’s involvement in Jump racing came about for a number of reasons.While their better
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