Mick & David Easterby: Racing Syndicates and Racehorse Ownership



The last building standing at the site of Lanark racecourse. The old odds/results board (photo from Google streetview, March 2021)


Lanark Racecourse



Lanark Racecourse



The Lanark Silver Bell has a fascinating history.

Originally the race was run at Lanark racecourse and switched to Hamilton Park when Lanark closed in October 1977. It was at Hamilton that I won the Bell in 2019 with Elysian Flame, my one and only winner of the race in my 60 years as a trainer.

The Lanark Silver Bell is one of the oldest prizes in racing but there is disagreement over the origins of the trophy itself.

Some contend that the Bell was a gift from King William ‘The Lion’ of Scotland in 1165. King William often stayed at Lanark Castle when he hunted in the area and he would watch the racing which at the time took place on the local moor.

However, the 'original' Bell disappeared and was rediscovered in 1836 in vaults of the Town Council during an office move.

Closer inspection of the Bell appeared to contradict the accepted version of it's history as the silversmiths' hallmarks were dated to the late sixteenth century.

Does this refute the story about King William? Were the hallmarks from a repair made to the bell in the 1580s?

Perhaps we'll never know.

Lanark racecourse itself was a right-handed oval, 10 furlongs round, with a run-in of around 3½ furlongs. It hosted a moderate standard of racing and closed its doors in October 1977 as attendances fell and it became no longer viable.

In terms of the yard’s association with Lanark, over the years I sent out 15 winners at the track. The first was Prince Riza in 1964, whilst in the final year at Lanark I trained the winners of two races. Whistling Jenny won the 'Dolphinton 2 yo Stakes' in April and then in July my final winner at the track was Gold Revenge who took the 'Carmichael 3yo Stakes'.

Perhaps the most memorable memory at the track came on May 25th 1976 when Indianira went to post for the Carluke Selling Stakes worth just £399 to the winner. Johnny Seagrave was the jockey.

Indianira was backed off the boards in one of the biggest gambles I can recall. Opening at 4/1 the money poured on. By the time the race started he was the 8/11 favourite.

In the event Indianira didn’t win like an odds-on favourite and he was made to scrap for it and also had to survive a stewards' enquiry.

Despite his poor previous form which the reason that he'd been dropped to selling class, owner Chris Spencer thought the world of the horse. However I expected him to cash in at the post-race auction and sell the horse to collect a tidy profit. Winners of selling races were at the time being snapped up for significant sums. That afternoon at Lanark would be no exception.

What followed took me by surprise as the price reached £1,000.

Then £2,000.

£3000.

On it went. Chris was not going to stop.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked. "Sell him, let him go. I can sell you three good horses for the same money when we get back home".

Chris just raised his hand, his palm towards me in a dismissive gesture.

I did everything I could to persuade him to go no further but he was determined to keep his horse.

At £4,200 (over £27,000 in today's prices) the rival bidder cried enough and the horse was bought back. It was almost £4,000 more than I'd paid for Indianira just seven months previously and set a record price for a selling race at Lanark.

In the end Chris's decision turned out to be a wise one! Indianira won five more races in 1976 and a further win came in 1977 before he went on to stand as a stallion. At stud he sired one winner for me, a horse called Don't Tell Me.

It was sad to see Lanark close its doors in October 1977 and several years later one of my favourite courses at Stockton would succumb to the same fate.

I have many stories about Stockton but they are for another day.




Posted: Friday 27 August 2021

© M & D Easterby Racing


The last building standing at the site of Lanark racecourse. The old odds/results board (photo from Google streetview, March 2021)