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Legendary trainer Sir Mark Prescott makes a canter to our Sudbury Club

Our Sudbury club were thrilled to welcome legendary trainer Sir Mark Prescott to the club on Wednesday 7 December, as the winner of this year’s Pris de l’Arc di Triomphe with his Horse Alpinista.

Sir Mark began by speaking about his passion for Horse Racing when he was a young boy and started racing horses competitively at the age of 15, despite the fact riders has to be at least 17 to race! His Jockeying career soon fell by the wayside as he moved into training, moving his life from Devon all the way to Newmarket on the other side of the country.

There he was given tough lessons in training, as well the way of working, which gave him the resilience and strength to become one of the most high-profile trainers in British Horse Racing, with his success over the years spanning major group races across England, France, Germany and Ireland.

The members of the Sudbury club were enthralled listening to Sir Mark’s anecdotes from a career which has lasted well over 50 years, with many hilarious tales from his time as a young assistant trainer to the current day as trainer.

The audience were then given the opportunity to put their own questions to Sir Mark ranging from insights into training particular horses, what he enjoys about flat racing to understanding the welfare of the horses in his stables based near Newmarket.

David Webb, who led the session, spoke afterwards on how grateful he was to Sir Mark to give his time up for the Sporting Memories club and its members: “From the moment he arrived, he was a complete Gentleman, who immediately put everyone at ease with his manner of putting his talk across.

“Everyone loved the afternoon and left with a smile on their faces, which is what we attempt to achieve here at Sudbury Sporting Memories.”

To find out more about our Sudbury club and how you can join their weekly sessions, get in touch with Andy Read via andy.read@talk21.com.