Richard learned the art of training flat races from Classic winning trainer,
Henry Candy where he was his number two for eight years. Although Richard
primarily trained National Hunt horses, he has trained flat winners for the
Maktoum family and Lord Vestey and then went on to train his first listed
winner in 2002 with Averted View.
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However, Richard’s main success has come through jump racing. In the
early years, high class chasers such as Time Wont Wait, Gnome’s Tycoon
and Noble Lord, proved to the racing community that Phillips had the talent
to train at the highest level. It was Richard’s move to Jackdaws Castle
in 2000 that caused his training career to take off. Replacing Champion trainer,
David Nicholson, at the finest state of the art training complex in the country,
gave Phillips the opportunity to show his true skills and he and his team
answered every call.
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Following J P McManus’ purchase of Jackdaws Castle, Jonjo O’Neill
was installed and Phillips was forced to find a new base. With Richard keen
to keep his excellent team together, the beautiful Cotswold village of Adlestrop
was converted into one of the finest training operations in the country. Richard’s
first year there gained him his first Cheltenham Festival winner with La Landiere,
her seventh win in a row and followed on from a brilliant success in one of
the country’s most valuable handicap chases, The Racing Post Chase.
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