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Cotswold
Life Article
By Kate Jarvis
August Edition
RICHARD Phillips used to be known as an after dinner speaker
specialising in impressions. Nowadays the major impression he gives
is of a racehorse trainer hungry for winners.
Born and bred in Surrey, he was a surprise choice when he was asked
to replace David Nicholson at the tip top training establishment
Jackdaws Castle five years ago. But he more than proved his mettle
with a steady stream of winners.
In 2003, after Jackdaws Castle was sold, Richard branched out on
his own at Adlestrop Stables. During his first year there, he gained
his first Cheltenham Festival winner with La Landiere, and this
year he won the Cotswold Life-sponsored award of Gloucestershire
Trainer of the Year.
“I’m a different sort of boss,” he says. “I
like people to say what they think - as long as I can say what I
think back. It’s an honest relationship. I don’t like
mistakes, and I definitely don’t like the same mistake made
twice.
“Every racehorse trainer is obsessive. If you’re not
obsessive you’re in trouble.”
But he has also found contentment in the Cotswolds, as he himself
admits. “I was asked the other day what I would change about
my life. My answer was – nothing. I’d simply be being
greedy if there was anything I wanted to alter.”
Where do you live and why?
I live in Adlestrop – the most beautiful place in the world
- because I train racehorses in the village. My home is only 75
yards from the yard, which means I have to be careful: my job is
like being the parish priest – I’m on duty 24 hours
a day! But although I seem to spend most of my life in my office,
I have a rule that I don’t work from home. The minute I get
into my little garden, I switch off. I do put a lot of hours in,
but it’s not about money. I don’t train racehorses for
money; I do it because it’s a competitive sport.
How long have you lived in the Cotswolds?
I came here in 2000 to replace David Nicholson at Jackdaws Castle
(a racehorse training complex also near Stow-on-the-Wold). I remember
driving through the Cotswolds and thinking: is there anywhere that
could be nicer than this? It felt exactly as if I should be there;
as if I was coming home. When the then-owner, Colin Smith, sold
Jackdaws to JP McManus, I wanted to stay in the area. I had a team
of people working for me who were good and I wanted to keep them.
A friend of mine, Christopher Leigh, said: You should come to Adlestrop.
I loved the village and most of the facilities were already there,
so I invested some money in building a gallop, expanded the yard,
and got a long lease.
What's your idea of a perfect weekend in the Cotswolds?
It always amuses me when people say, “I’ve got tomorrow
off”! It doesn’t work like that here – there are
a thousand decisions to be made every hour. This place is half prep
school and half hospital, and I’m the headmaster who needs
to lead the way. But as I get older, I realize I should delegate:
never do a job someone else can do. So my perfect weekend would
involve a winner at Cheltenham – or better still, more than
one – and then I’d play a game of golf. (Though, actually,
I’d use it as a team building exercise by including owners,
jockeys and my assistant manager.)
If money were no object, where would you live in the Cotswolds?
Nowhere else. But if I had a lot of extra money, I’d get someone
to invent a machine that tidied up. My staff will tell you I’ve
got obsessive compulsive disorder because I hate mess. I’d
repaint the yard every week if I could.
Where are you least likely to live in the Cotswolds?
There aren’t many parts of the Cotswolds I don’t like
but, for me, the fewer houses, the better. I was brought up in suburbia
but I yearned for peace and quiet. Like my father, I’ve always
enjoyed my own company. I’d rather have nature than neighbours.
Where's the best pub in the area?
There are three excellent pubs I’d recommend – I’ve
got to say that as they’re all owners of mine! But they genuinely
are good: The Horse and Groom Inn at Upper Oddington; The Fox at
Lower Oddington; and The King’s Head at Bledington. It’s
like training a racehorse – you’ve got to give good
service, and these places do.
Have you a favourite tearoom?
Daylesford Farmshop near Kingham. Believe it or not, I do like the
idea of teashops. Although my staff would laugh to hear it, there’s
a feminine side to me: I’ve a lot of friends who are women;
I like deciding on colour schemes; and I like flowers around the
place. In fact, I’d make a very good housewife.
What would you do for a special occasion?
I’d definitely share it, whatever it was, perhaps with a party
in Adlestrop. We always have an open day for owners, and a golf
day in Chipping Norton on my birthday. The most special occasion
is a winner and, if we succeed, it’s ‘we’ not
‘me’: owners, jockeys, staff, blacksmiths, dentists,
vets. It’s a team, and I want people to enjoy it as well as
to be competitive.
What's the best thing about the Cotswolds?
The trees: there are loads of trees and, without them, the Cotswolds
wouldn’t be the Cotswolds. The combination of Cotswold stone
and trees tranquilises me. A tree, to me is a countryside home –
and it’s seen so much life: I’d love to hear the history
a tree could tell me.
... and the worst?
Too many visitors. There are days when they seem like one big mass.
What shop could you not live without?
I’m not a great shopper, but I’m a good shopper as I
know what I want and, as soon as I see it, I buy it. There’s
no shop I couldn’t live without, but I like to buy the best,
which leads me back to Daylesford Organic. I couldn’t afford
to shop for the week there, but it’s nice for certain treats:
a bit of cheese or some asparagus. It’s sad how much bad food
we eat.
What's the most under-rated thing about the Cotswolds?
The characters. You’re allowed to be a ‘character’
in the Cotswolds. We get them in the village, sitting in the corner
of the pub where their grandfathers sat before them. It’s
like going to Ireland: these sorts of people don’t give a
toss where you come from, who you are, how much money you’ve
made, or how many arms and legs you have. They’re interested
in you.
And it’s the characters that keep the Cotswolds true to themselves.
It’s no good telling them to tidy the fields or paint the
gates: that’s how the countryside is, and that’s how
it will stay.
What is a person from the Cotswolds called?
It’s not about the people; it’s about the area. We don’t
change the Cotswolds; the Cotswolds change us. These hills seem
quiet and inactive but, underneath, they’re a network. No
matter how peaceful they appear, there’s something going on…
What would be a three course Cotswold meal?
Asparagus – if it’s that time of year, obviously;
Daylesford sausages and mash;
Raspberries and cream.
What's your favourite view in the Cotswolds?
A horse looking well.
What's your quintessential Cotswolds village and why?
It’s here: Adlestrop. I’m a conservative, in a non-political
sense; I like tradition, families, communities: they’re the
secret of society. When I came here, I went out of my way to listen
to the village. I didn’t want to wipe my feet over everything.
One of the things we had to do was to integrate young people –
my staff – into this traditional village. And it’s worked.
Some of them mow the graveyard; they read in the carol concert;
even the post office has reopened, partly thanks to the extra business.
It’s lovely to see young people appreciating the finer things
in life: the countryside, villages and nature.
Name three basic elements of the Cotswolds:
Young people;
Jobs in villages;
Tasteful planning.
What's your favourite Cotswolds building and why?
Adlestrop church. I’m a religious person in my own way, and
the village church makes you realise there must be a God.
What would you never do in the Cotswolds?
Get bored.
Starter homes or executive properties?
I don’t mind, as long as they’re tasteful. I’m
a bit like the Prince of Wales – I don’t like modern
architecture. You should always make sure buildings are in keeping.
That also helps people to appreciate where they are living.
What are the four corners of the Cotswolds?
Four racecourses: Stratford-upon-Avon; Warwick; Cheltenham and Bath.
If you lived abroad, what would you take to remind you of
the Cotswolds?
I’d take my winning trophy, the Cathcart Challenge Cup, from
my first Cheltenham Festival winner. When one of my horses is racing,
I watch every single stride. I don’t know that there are any
particular secrets to training racehorses. It’s all about
buying the right horses, getting them fit, keeping them healthy,
and being faster than the opposition. There are certain elements
that are out of my control, but I try to limit them.
What would you change about the Cotswolds or banish from
the area?
People trying to change the Cotswolds.
What's the first piece of advice you'd give to somebody
new to the Cotswolds?
Have a racehorse with me! It’s like joining a club: there
are other horses of ours that will win, even if yours doesn’t.
But the important thing is to do something in the Cotswolds that
the Cotswolds are good at – whether it’s horseracing
or something completely different.
And what book should they read?
Martin Pipe’s book (Training the Racehorse). If you read that,
you would realise how logical it all is.
Have you a favourite Cotswolds walk?
Round the lakes in Adlestrop - it’s like a nature reserve
there. I love to go down when it’s beginning to darken on
a summer’s evening and look at my horses that have been turned
out. I stand there and dream about what they might win.
What event, or activity, best sums up the Cotswolds?
Cheltenham Festival, obviously.
If you were invisible for a day, where would you go and what would
you do?
I’d spend half a day at Nigel Twiston-Davies’s and half
at Jonjo O’Neill O’Neill’s, and I’d listen
to everything. Actually, there’s a very good relationship
between trainers: we each take the Mickey big time. It’s like
being on Death Row. You all know you’ve murdered someone different,
but you’re all in the same predicament.
To whom or what should there be a Cotswolds memorial?
To Adlestrop – and there already is one. Edward Thomas’s
poem captures a moment in time, yet it’s lasted for nearly
100 years. What he’s described in a short poem is everything,
but nothing: and that’s what the Cotswolds are.
The Cotswolds - aspic or asphalt?
We should always preserve. As someone once said, most people only
have taste in their mouths. Progress, to me, is looking back to
the best of the past.
What attitude best sums up the Cotswolds?
Manners. Respect. The thing that riles me more than any other is
one of my employees who is not appreciative when a driver slows
down. One of the problems with hunting was people got fed up with
some of the rudeness of the riders.
Who would you most like to have a cider with?
I would say Vincent O’Brien (the legendary trainer) but I’m
not sure he’d tell me anything. So I’m going to go for
Groucho Marx. I like people being rude to me, and I think he’d
come out with some amusing lines.
For more information on Richard Phillips and his work at Adlestrop
Stables, Adlestrop, Moreton-in-Marsh, phone 01608 658710 or visit
www.richardphillipsracing.com
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