jinnyj
Senior Jockey
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
- Messages
- 4,463
From a post on the Betfair forum although I believe its from the Daily Mail. No real suprise as I thought he was a very odd choice in the first place. He was more of a travelling head lad at Gosdens than Assistant and got there through connections via Frankie & David Platt. He never had enough experience for this sort of role and it has showed.
"Michael Owen, the Manchester United and former England striker, is searching for a new trainer at his multi-million pound stables in Cheshire after terminating the contract of Nicky Vaughan, who has run the Manor House yard near Malpas since March 2007. Vaughan said that Owen's decision had "come out of the blue", and that staff at the yard had been told that a new trainer will be installed within "the next 10 to 12 days".
Vaughan, a former assistant to John Gosden, met Owen through the former England footballer David Platt, who is married to Vaughan's sister.
Platt, an owner at Gosden's yard, introduced Owen to racing and it has since developed into the 29-year-old United forward's principal interest beyond football, both as an owner and breeder. In his autobiography, published in 2004, he described racing as "a world I want to dive into after football".
Manor House Stables, which is estimated to have cost at least £4m to develop to date, was a major step along that path, and while Vaughan had no previous experience as a licence-holder before taking charge, his experience and connections with Gosden and Owen made him appear a natural choice.
Results have been disappointing, however, with only two turf winners emerging from the yard during the current Flat season, and just five in all during 2009. Vaughan's strike rate has barely passed 5% and, in all, his string has won less than £30,000 in prize money this year.
"It's the case that I'm finishing here, and the staff were notified by Mrs Owen today," Vaughan said. "I'm having another meeting with them on Friday, and then I should think that that will be that.
"It's basically come out of the blue, but these things happen. When you are a salaried trainer, it's just one of those things that is always going to happen at some time. It's a bit of a shame because the horses have had a virus. We've been closed down since the end of May and the horses are just starting to come right now.
"I've really enjoyed training [at Manor House], it's a wonderful spot. It's a shame to end like this, and I'd have liked a full year this year, but that's not the case so there's not a lot I can do about it. I'll just have to shake myself down and get on with things."
The only horse in Vaughan's yard to have won two races this year is Mr Macattack, in minor events on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in February and March. He races under the banner of Owen Promotions Ltd, has since contested some valuable races on turf, finishing 12th in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and fourth when co-favourite for a Class Two handicap at Doncaster in May.
Unlike many yards, where the trainer is the figurehead who sets out to find new owners, the glamour of a famous footballer's involvement with Manor House Stables can be an important selling point for anyone considering sending a horse to be trained there. One of Owen's intentions when setting up the complex was also to attract fellow footballers to send horses to the yard.
However, while the names of Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes feature among Vaughan's list of owners, and Andrew Black, the multi-millionaire founder of the Betfair betting exchange, also has horses at the yard, Vaughan has saddled only 33 different horses in 2009, suggesting that many of the boxes at the yard are standing empty.
After such a significant investment in training facilities, the pressure was on Vaughan to produce results as swiftly as possible. That pressure will now pass to the next trainer at Manor House"
"Michael Owen, the Manchester United and former England striker, is searching for a new trainer at his multi-million pound stables in Cheshire after terminating the contract of Nicky Vaughan, who has run the Manor House yard near Malpas since March 2007. Vaughan said that Owen's decision had "come out of the blue", and that staff at the yard had been told that a new trainer will be installed within "the next 10 to 12 days".
Vaughan, a former assistant to John Gosden, met Owen through the former England footballer David Platt, who is married to Vaughan's sister.
Platt, an owner at Gosden's yard, introduced Owen to racing and it has since developed into the 29-year-old United forward's principal interest beyond football, both as an owner and breeder. In his autobiography, published in 2004, he described racing as "a world I want to dive into after football".
Manor House Stables, which is estimated to have cost at least £4m to develop to date, was a major step along that path, and while Vaughan had no previous experience as a licence-holder before taking charge, his experience and connections with Gosden and Owen made him appear a natural choice.
Results have been disappointing, however, with only two turf winners emerging from the yard during the current Flat season, and just five in all during 2009. Vaughan's strike rate has barely passed 5% and, in all, his string has won less than £30,000 in prize money this year.
"It's the case that I'm finishing here, and the staff were notified by Mrs Owen today," Vaughan said. "I'm having another meeting with them on Friday, and then I should think that that will be that.
"It's basically come out of the blue, but these things happen. When you are a salaried trainer, it's just one of those things that is always going to happen at some time. It's a bit of a shame because the horses have had a virus. We've been closed down since the end of May and the horses are just starting to come right now.
"I've really enjoyed training [at Manor House], it's a wonderful spot. It's a shame to end like this, and I'd have liked a full year this year, but that's not the case so there's not a lot I can do about it. I'll just have to shake myself down and get on with things."
The only horse in Vaughan's yard to have won two races this year is Mr Macattack, in minor events on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in February and March. He races under the banner of Owen Promotions Ltd, has since contested some valuable races on turf, finishing 12th in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and fourth when co-favourite for a Class Two handicap at Doncaster in May.
Unlike many yards, where the trainer is the figurehead who sets out to find new owners, the glamour of a famous footballer's involvement with Manor House Stables can be an important selling point for anyone considering sending a horse to be trained there. One of Owen's intentions when setting up the complex was also to attract fellow footballers to send horses to the yard.
However, while the names of Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes feature among Vaughan's list of owners, and Andrew Black, the multi-millionaire founder of the Betfair betting exchange, also has horses at the yard, Vaughan has saddled only 33 different horses in 2009, suggesting that many of the boxes at the yard are standing empty.
After such a significant investment in training facilities, the pressure was on Vaughan to produce results as swiftly as possible. That pressure will now pass to the next trainer at Manor House"
