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| Staff Writer |
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Legacy: Something memorable received from an ancestor or predecessor from the past.
In sports, like in life, a family's name might become so intertwined with that of its members that it will be permanently associated with those members.
The name Balding is a pure example of this, the connection and success this family has established in the sport of kings is respected and reputable.
With a grandfather like Gerald Matthews Balding, a polo player and racehorse trainer, an uncle like Toby Balding, one of the few to win the 'big three' British jump races (the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup, and Champion Hurdle), and a father like Ian Balding, an iconic trainer himself, Andrew Balding understands this field better than most.
“My father has been my greatest inspiration - he has been everything from the beginning,” Andrew Balding stated.
His father began training in 1964 and at the age of twenty-six, made Kingsclere his home from which he built his reputation internationally as a successful trainer.
In his fifty years as a trainer, he produced several champions, including Mill Reef, often considered to be the best racehorse of the 20th century.
The son of Never Bend partnered with jockey Geoff Lewis and had one of the most memorable campaigns of any three-year-old while delivering Balding champion trainer honours in the process.
Taking out the Epsom Derby, Eclipse Stakes, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe all in one year (1971) the great horse’s statue stands proudly at the heart of the Balding’s training establishment at Kingsclere, Hampshire, in the yard that bears his name.
Other horses included Lochsong, Mrs Penny, Glint of Gold, Diamond Shoal, Gold and Ivory, Selkirk, Forest Flower, Dashing Blade, Robellino, Silver Fling, King of Clubs, Lochangel, Top Cees, Crystal Spirit, and Tagula.
The senior Balding’s CV boasts wins including two-time Grosser Preis von Baden (1982 and 1985), 1986 Imperial Cup with Insular, owned by the Queen Mother, 1989 the French Prix de l'Abbaye de Longcamp, 1989 and 1990 National Stakes – amongst a long glittering list.
On retiring in 2002, he would hand the reins of his Park House stables’ licence at Kingsclere, Hampshire, to his son.
Balding’s owners have and currently include racing royalty such as HRH Queen Elizabeth, and Qatar’s Prince Fahad Al-Thani and distinguished newcomers such as the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, of the King Power duty-free empire.
The 2000 Guineas-winning trainer has raced horses in just about every global jurisdiction and has won seven Group One races in Canada, Dubai and Hong Kong including the Epsom Oaks in 2003 with Casual Look.
He has returned to the Middle East and has been racing his horses in Bahrain, Saudi and UAE showing what his stable is capable of while also continuing to pay tribute to his European style training, the Kingsclere heritage and honouring his father.
On his return to the region, he spoke with Ten Furlongs regarding his prospects on track coming out of the stable ahead of the Dubai World Cup and other race opportunities.
“My training style is very traditional European. We do not do fast intensive training. Our style of training is similar to what they do at Warren Hill (Gallops) at Newmarket. I tend to have later developing, more middle-distance horses,” Balding added.
Racing, like many other fields, was affected by the pandemic, as Balding notes.
“We had plenty of challenges over the course of the time since the lockdown was imposed in the UK. Thankfully, our staff has remained healthy and safe over that period.
“It has had an impact on our lives although racing has been allowed to continue, we had to undergo several COVID compliance measures to enable this.
“The one advantage we had is that current technology has made it possible for us to get footage of the horses across to our clients, thanks to Zoom and FaceTime.”
The trainer said he was a supporter of racing throughout the region and was excited about the future of the sports profile there.
“Since its inception, the (Dubai) World Cup night has been a wonderful event and a major boost to racing year.”
Held in March each year and with prize money of US $30.5, the 2000m Group One has been run since 1996 at Meydan Racecourse and is regarded as the world’s richest horse race and a coup for the region in its promotion of racing’s profile to the globe.
“In the early part of my career, during the Nad Al Sheba days, we had a horse called Phoenix Reach that won the Gr.1 Dubai Sheema Classic, which was very exciting. We haven’t had many runners on World Cup night since then, but we did have a horse called Side Glance who was fourth in two consecutive Dubai World Cup’s when it was run on Tapeta (2010 and 2011).”
Phoenix Reach would go on to win prize money in the UAE as well as the United Kingdom and Singapore with its last race run in September 2006.
He also made mentioned what the Saudi Cup meant for the sport.
“The travel is most convenient and at this time of the year, the climate is good and fair to all the competitors. By all accounts, they have done a tremendous job in Saudi with their turf as Meydan always is - we are always happy to be running our best horses in those conditions. So the Saudi Cup race meeting has been hugely positive for the horseracing community around the world.”
His career has seen him train 7725 starters winning 1143 races and placing a further 3221 times, the current season has been successful with Balding prepping 340 runners for a record of 46-44-45.
In training horses and winning races across the , he ensures that the stable is competitive at sales no matter where they are being held.
“I attend all the European Sale but Tattersalls (Book 1 and 2) and the Goffs Orby Sale, are mainly where our yearlings come from.”
His stable currently boasts some very handy runners led by two-year-old Frankel-Suelita colt Chaldean who won a Group One Darley Dewhurst Stakes is a horse that Balding will say he is really excited about.
It marked Balding’s first triumph in this race and gives Balding and this horse legitimate aspirations in the Classic.
Like a step back in time to when another Group 1-winning juvenile under the expert hand of Balding in Kameko won the 2000 Guineas two years ago.
Balding will tell you that he has high hopes and even higher belief in Chaldean and the path ahead is endless for this son of Frankel.
There have only ever been three horses that have completed the Dewhurst-Guineas double since 2010 in Frankel, Dawn Approach, and Churchill while this Balding-trained colt wants to become the fourth and further mark his own place in history.
Stablemate Alcohol-Free has now won four Group Ones and is another that Balding is excited about.
The daughter of No Nay Never was a top prospect in the eyes of the trainer from the moment he saw her at the sales, as he told the media.
“You do not know quite what you are going to get sent, but you get an opportunity to have a whisper in David Bowe’s ear and say, look I really like the No Nay Never filly. And thankfully I did, and she ended up coming my way. She was actually one of the later yearlings, but as soon as she came in, it took about two pieces of work, and she was ready to run.”
Following the introduction to the Newbury course, she made her debut running a close second to Happy Romance in the Group Three Dick Poole Fillies before backing up and winning the Gr.1 Cheveley Park Stakes.
The filly got a taste for success and after this first Group One win came three more with the Coronation Stakes and Sussex Stakes as a three-year-old.
She also took out the July Cup after opening as a 14-1 chance and with little to no support in a field of horses that had beat her at Ascot before showing she could match it with the best of them.
Another 4YO filly putting in great performances for the stable is the Irish Fascinating Rock-La Chapelle progeny Something Enticing who with a nice ride went on to take out a Listed Class 1 at Doncaster a few days ago in great signs for the coming year.
There are also three entries in the Irish Guineas also are being prepared in The Foxes, Chaldean, and Frequent Flyer in hopes of another Group One to the Balding legacy.
Balding had also hope to race Masaleka in the upcoming Bahrain International Trophy with eyes to taking Group Three, a race he has participated in several times in the past.
Balding has sent a horse to each of the two previous runnings of the Bahrain International Trophy in Pivoine in 2019 and Bangkok in 2020 and is positive about what further races added to the calendar mean for the sport and the region.
“Our experiences with sending horses to Bahrain has been exemplary. The fantastic facilities for the horses and stable staff, coupled with brilliant hospitality means we would love to be returning there this winter for either the Bahrain International Trophy or the Turf Series.”
The race is seen as where champions meet, and Deputy Chairman of the Rashid Equestrian and Horse Racing Club His Highness Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid bin Isa Alkhalifa has spoken on the importance of this event.
“My own personal goal is to develop the industry of thoroughbred horse racing in the Kingdom of Bahrain and if we are able to facilitate our Bahraini trainers and jockeys’ relationships with European connections that will be one of my key goals met. We always look forward to welcoming owners and trainers to experience horse racing in Bahrain and everything that the Kingdom of Bahrain has to offer.”
The Bahrain Turf Club announced even more reasons for the entries to become even more competitive with a 20 percent boost to prize money for the Trophy race’s purse.
A brand new £550,000 international turf series was introduced to the Bahrain race programme during winter which Balding is a supporter of.
“All these races happening in the Middle East are fantastic for us.”