Fortune Favours The Brave !
We look for many qualities when choosing a trainer but experience has taught us, that at the end of the day, owners want winners. There are no guarantees in racing but obviously the trainer is key to getting results on the racecourse. This is why we send our horses to some of the most successful and established trainers in the UK, including Nicky Henderson, Dan Skelton and Hughie Morrison. However, with an eye to future, we are also keen to develop relationships with the next generation of leading trainers and have recently placed horses with the likes of Kevin Philippart de Foy, Charlie Fellowes and Toby Lawes. These are all young trainers that are establishing enviable reputations in the racing world, having enjoyed success at the highest level.
Occasionally however, you meet someone just starting out on the journey who leaves you in no doubt that they have what it takes to get to the top. No better example of this is Billy Aprahamian, who in his first season as a licenced NH trainer has in his care Surrey Fortune, our very promising unraced 4 year old.
For a long time it had been Billy’s “burning ambition” to be a successful NH trainer and he has taken the first step to achieving this, having established himself at The Gallops, a modern, purpose built yard in Adstone, Northamptonshire. It is probably fair to say that his route into training is not typical, having left school at 18 with the aim of becoming a professional polo player. This was followed by 5 years in the military and a commission at Sandhurst. While it may be non-conventional, Billy believes that his background has provided the perfect environment to develop the qualities necessary to train racehorses, combining the competitiveness and drive of a professional athlete, with the leadership, discipline and man-management skills developed at Sandhurst.
His big break into professional racing came after Billy rode a horse called Baden to success in the Grand Military Cup at Sandown in 2018. The trainer happened to be Nicky Henderson and when Billy was offered the role as Assistant Trainer, it was too good an opportunity to turn down and he joined the world famous Seven Barrows yard. There can be few better places to serve your apprenticeship and Billy will be forever grateful for the knowledge, wisdom and skills acquired during his three years’ there.
Billy is determined to apply everything he learnt to his own approach and identifies patience as a key requirement for success. For Billy, patience applies whether working horses at home or choosing when to go racing and strongly believes there is little point in rushing a horse when something isn’t right. Owners generally want to see their horses race as often as possible but successful trainers aim to win for their owners, not just run, and the key to success is getting horses to the racecourse when they are 100% ready. Very few owners complain when they have had a winner, even if it is a few weeks later than they were hoping for! Billy refers to longevity and the fact that with the right level of care, patience and a bit of luck, a NH horse can bring it’s owner success and pleasure for many years.
Billy’s easy going personality hides a steely determination and these qualities were fully tested as he sought to bring his dream alive. Frozen gallops, injuries, unpredictable weather and attracting new owners are all situations with which Billy was familiar. However, being unable to get concrete to build his barn due to the HS2 project was one of many new ones, resulting in sleepless nights with new horses due to arrive at the yard within weeks.
Despite the challenges, Billy has confidently cleared the first few hurdles and is delighted at the progress made in his first season. His twenty box yard is completed and filling rapidly and equally important he has enjoyed the thrill of that first winner. Despite the excellent facilities at his yard, Billy has never been one to sit on his laurels and the construction of a deep sand gallop is the next stage of the project. His progressive approach to training is no better illustrated than his role in getting Towcester Racecourse, which closed in 2018, into a workable state so that it could be reopened for the training of racehorses. Always looking for that extra few percent the opportunity to have access to a racetrack for gallops is invaluable.
We are experiencing first hand Billy’s caring and professional approach to training horses and Surrey Fortune is making fantastic progress week by week. We can’t wait to see him on the racetrack. Billy is ambitious but stresses he will never put quantity over quality. He wants to do things properly and his vision for the next 5 years is to build a first class training facility for between 60-80 horses. An ambitious target from where he is now but we would certainly not bet against him and have every confidence that this is the start of a long and mutually rewarding relationship.
Should you want to learn more or visit The Gallops to see the yard first hand, please do not hesitate to contact us.