lad – Richard Bevan Horse Racing

Working as a Stable Lad in Racing

17 May 199610 October 2024

I started working full-time for racehorse trainer David “The Duke” Nicholson (as Nicholson was known) on September 10, 1984… the very first horse I rode out for Nicholson “my 1st lot” was horse called Broadheath (roadwork exercise)… two years later Broadheath won the Hennessy Gold Cup (for David Barons).

Horses I Looked After in Racing
Charter Party was a horse I looked after for two seasons when I worked for David Nicholson… first season the horse was very good, winning at Kempton on Boxing Day, the Ritz Club Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and also the Golden Miller Handicap Chase at Cheltenham

The second year I looked after him he was hopeless (I led him up in the Gold Cup when he fell)… it was hardly surprising he was so out of form because he never got a holiday after the 85/86 season, he was kept stabled all Summer, his legs blistered, also hobdayed then following box rest put straight back into training, what’s more the horse hardly ate up his feed at any point throughout 86/87… too much was expected of him

ps Just to put it on record… Charter Party worked very well up Barry Hills gallops for me too and two years before he won a Gold Cup… just saying

Races I led Charter Party up

14/11/85 Wincanton
Silver Buck Handicap Chase
Charter Party 2nd / 4 ran

23/11/85 Newbury
Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Listed Race)
Charter Party Fell / 15 ran

4/12/85 Worcester
Long Haul Handicap Chase
Charter Party 2nd / 9 ran

26/12/85 Kempton Park
Falklands Handicap Chase
Charter Party 1st / 7 ran

15/1/86 Windsor
Royal Windsor Handicap Chase
Charter Party 5th / 7 ran

13/3/86 Cheltenham
Ritz Club National Hunt Handicap Chase (Listed Race)
Charter Party 1st / 16 ran

16/4/86 Cheltenham
Piper Champagne Golden Miller Handicap Chase (Listed Race)
Charter Party 1st / 9 ran

13/11/86 Wincanton
Silver Buck Chase (Limited Handicap)
Charter Party 4th / 7 ran

22/11/86 Newbury
Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup (Handicap Chase) (Listed)
Charter Party PU / 15 ran

3/1/87 Newbury
Bradstone Mandarin Handicap Chase (Listed Race)
Charter Party 3rd / 6 ran

21/2/87 Nottingham
Mapperley Handicap Chase
Charter Party 3rd / 4 ran

19/3/87 Cheltenham
Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade I)
Charter Party FELL / 12 ran

Viking Flagship I looked after for one season 1994/95 during which he won the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown, Castleford Chase at Wetherby and the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham

I rode him out at home for a while during which time he didn’t work very well on the gallops but then got jocked off (it didn’t prove anything, the horse wasn’t working well, then does, that’s how it goes)… however, I did get the reins to school him over the all-weather hurdles in his first schooling session of the season which was really good

Races I led Viking Flagship up

3/12/94 Sandown Park
Mitsubishi Shogun Tingle Creek Trophy Chase Grade 1
Viking Flagship 1st / 6 run

27/12/94 Wetherby
Castleford Chase Grade 2
Viking Flagship 1st / 6 run

14/1/95 Ascot
Victor Chandler Handicap Chase Grade 2
Viking Flagship 5th / 8 run

11/2/95 Newbury
Mitsubishi Shogun Game Spirit Chase Grade 2
Viking Flagship FELL / 3 run

25/2/95 Kempton Park
Emblem Chase
Viking Flagship 2nd / 4 run

15/3/95 Cheltenham
Queen Mother Champion Chase Grade 1
Viking Flagship 1st / 10 run

Silver Wisp I looked after at Jackdaws Castle and he won the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket… the shame is he never ran often enough to keep himself fit and ended up going wrong at home on the gallops… actually one part of the gallops, the loop on the end of the long gallop, a place he hadn’t been asked to work on throughout his previous 12 months at Jackdaws (the loop had been resurfaced with new wood chip which hadn’t properly settled, horses were rushed back on to that part of the gallop and Silver Wisp got leg trouble from doing so… I even had to point out the horse had a leg, the head lad never noticed)

The horse was wrapped up in cotton wool too much and then got ruined at home

Races I led Silver Wisp up

19/4/94 Pontefract
Fryston Conditions Stakes
Silver Wisp 2nd / 8 run

29/4/94 Newmarket
Madagans Jockey Club Stakes (Group 2)
Silver Wisp 1st / 8 run

17/6/94 Royal Ascot
Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2)
Silver Wisp 11th / 11 run

13/8/94 Newbury
Tripleprint Geoffrey Freer Stakes Class A (Group 2)
Silver Wisp 5th / 6 run

Whilst in racing I was also fortunate to ride some very good horses at exercise and on the gallops which included the following … Charter Party, Very Promising, Chinrullah, Solar Cloud, Tickite Boo, Long Engagement, Bigsun, Against the Grain, Goldspun, Gainsay, Voice of Progress, Connaught River, Waterloo Boy, Viking Flagship, Silver Wisp, Silver Wedge, Barton Bank, Carobee, Strong Beau, Moorcroft Boy, Second Schedual, Another Coral, Al Hashimi, Relkeel, Triple Witching, King Lucifer, Billygoat Gruff, Martha’s Son, General Wolfe, Wandering Light, Shuttlecock Corner, Governorship

My time in stables was spent as follows
David Nicholson (1984 -1987) (Cotswold House, Condicote, Gloucestershire)
Bill Preece (1987 – 1988) (The Wrekin, Telford, Shropshire)
Bill Clay (1988 – 1992) (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire)
David Nicholson (1992 – 1995) (Jackdaws Castle, Temple Guiting, Gloucestershire)
Captain Tim Forster (1995 – 1996) (Ludlow, Shropshire)

The Duke’s Open Day 1985
Michael ‘Corky’ Caulfield and my dad in the same photo