Cavendish Stables, located on the Hamilton Road in Newmarket, is ideally situated near the racecourse side training grounds, which includes the 9-furlong Watered Gallop, and also provides access to the Flat course, the Summer course and the Peat Moss and Cambridge Road Gallops. It boasts 25 loose boxes, supported by separate feed and tack rooms, as well as a loading ramp and ample storage barns.
For over 4 centuries racing has been staged in Newmarket, but how have the racecourses evolved from an initial starting point at Fleam Dyke Pumping Station, some 8 miles from the town, with a winning post barely 200 metres from the town centre, into two world recognized, excellent racecourses and a universal acceptance that Newmarket is the Headquarters of racing?
To access an interactive racecourse map showing over 50 individually named racecourses CLICK HERE. The map will enable you to:-
1. Determine when extended races over 8 miles, 6 miles and 4 miles began to be replaced by the courses now visited by thousands annually;
2. Consider how the challenge of crossing the Devil's Dyke was overcome;
3. Contemplate why the town no longer has a steeplechase course despite having at least 5 courses during the past 2 centuries;
4. Examine the practicalities of having up to 48 starting posts and winning posts;
5. Appreciate that it was not financially viable to have an open racecourse spread widely across the heath, with a finishing post barely 200 metres from the town centre;
6. Research how and why the Cambridgeshire Handicap has been contested over 3 different courses.
NOTE: The map does not make mention of 2 particular courses:-
(i) Sefton Course (also known as the Cambridge Road Course)
Source: 1970 Raceform. Used from 1959 to 1975.
(ii) New Circular Course
The Circular Handicap was run on Friday 29th October 1875 on the New Circular Course of about two miles.
Source: London Standard (30th October 1875): ''the horses started near the Turn of the Lands, ran back way of the Cambridgeshire Course towards the Ditch, and afterwards proceeded down the side of the Tan Gallop, and turned into the Rowley Mile near the Bretby Stakes starting post, finishing at the stand at the end of the flat. Except in the hollow near the Cambridgeshire start the runners should have been visible all the way if the sky had been bright and clear''.
Another report hoped that the Circular Handicap would become a feature in future programmes, as it would be contested in front of the new grandstand which would be completed in about a year and would be able to accommodate thousands.
(I am grateful to Tim Cox for bringing attention to these 2 courses.)
Enjoy researching the intriguing history of Newmarket and its many racecourses.
2007- January 2020 Alan Bailey
Prior to his retirement in early 2020 the 80 year-old Alan Bailey was the first occupant of Cavendish Stables on the Hamilton Road which were built in 2007. Alan, born in April 1939, served his apprenticeship as a jockey in the 1950s before launching his training career in Newmarket. In a career spanning almost 40 years he saddled over 600 winners, returning to Newmarket in 2007 after spending 14 years training at Sandy Brow Stables, Tarporley near Chester. Indeed, Chester holds particularly fond memories for him, because it was the scene of two of his greatest training successes, winning the 1988 Chester Cup with Old Hubert whilst training in Newmarket, followed a decade later by a further Chester Cup success with Silence In Court in 1998, by which time he had transferred to Tarporley. A year later he won the Oh So Sharp Stakes with Agrippina, while more recently he guided the filly Aspen Darlin to success in the Group 3 Firth of Clyde Stakes. However, arguably his greatest training success was in 1987 when he won the Ayr Gold Cup with Not So Silly ridden by Gary Bardwell. In his final years of training he was ably supported by his grandson, Joseph Edwin Parr, who acted as his assistant, and when Alan decided to retire in January 2020 the time was right for Joseph to apply for a licence in his own right. Alan sold Cavendish Stables to James Tate, while Joseph took charge of his string of horses, taking over nearby Frankland Lodge where he replaced Mark Tompkins.
1987 Ayr Gold Cup NOT SO SILLY 12/1 trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Gary Bardwell
1988 Chester Cup OLD HUBERT 33/1 owned by Terry Ramsden, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Taffy Thomas
1996 Maisons-Laffitte Handicap at Haydock Park REBEL COUNTY 4/1 owned by Showtime Ice Cream Concessionaire, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by David Biggs
1996 Rothmans Royals North South Handicap at Epsom REBEL COUNTY 5/1 owned by Showtime Ice Cream Concessionaire, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by David Biggs
1998 Chester Cup SILENCE IN COURT 13/2 owned by Peter Freeman, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Allan Mackay
1998 Mail on Sunday Mile at Epsom REBEL COUNTY 9/1 owned by Showtime Ice Cream Concessionaire, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Richard Mullen
1998 Manny Bernstein Handicap at Bath REBEL COUNTY 5/1 owned by Showtime Ice Cream Concessionaire, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Carl Lowther
1999 Oh So Sharp Stakes AGRIPPINA 12/1 owned by Mrs W Wright, Ms M Wright and Mrs F S Williams, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Pat Eddery
2008 Firth of Clyde Stakes ASPEN DARLIN 12/1 owned by the Indian Haven Syndicate, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Jimmy Quinn
2011 SEP Handicap at Doncaster BARBICAN 7/4 owned by Mrs Catherine Reed, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Luke Morris
2011 Play Rainbow Riches at Bluesquare Stakes at Newmarket BARBICAN 9/2 owned by Mrs Catherine Reed, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Tom Queally
2011 Ladbrokes Mobile Handicap at Ascot BARBICAN 16/1 owned by Mrs Catherine Reed, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Darryll Holland
2011 Keltbray Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot BARBICAN 7/2 owned by Mrs Catherine Reed, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Darryll Holland
2011 Back or Lay at betdaq Wild Flower Stakes at Kempton BARBICAN evens fav owned by Mrs Catherine Reed, trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Ryan Moore
March 2020-present James Tate
James Tate, ably supported by his wife Lucinda, purchased Cavendish Stables from Alan Bailey in early 2020. They both have a background in racing, each with fathers as trainers. Tom Tate was a successful trainer who achieved Grade One successes, while Lucinda's father, Lenny Lungo, was a jockey before he launched his successful training career, achieving well over 600 winners when based at Dumfries. James began in the point-to-point world before he became an amateur jockey whilst, at the same time, completing a veterinary degree from Glasgow University. He was assistant to master Middleham trainer Mark Johnston between 2005 and 2011, gaining sufficient experience to take out his own trainers' licence in October 2011. He became the private trainer for Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd in 2011, saddling his first winner just before Christmas 2011. In 2015 he achieved numerous Listed race victories, including big priced wins in the Cecil Frail Stakes at Haydock with 28/1 Blhadawa, and River Eden Stakes winner Urban Castle at 16/1. In 2017 he gained his first Group 3 success with Invincible Army who captured the Sirenia Stakes at Kempton. In 2019 he gained a Group 2 success when Invincible Army won the Duke of York Stakes on the Knavesmire, and celebrated his most successful season to date, with a further win by Invincible Army in the Chipchase Stakes, while Under the Stars won the Princess Margaret Stakes and Tattersalls October Auction Stakes. Cavendish Stables is the perfect overflow yard, providing James and his wife with the chance to build on the enormous successes they have enjoyed to date at nearby Jamesfield Place.
NOT SO SILLY (1987 Ayr Gold Cup)
SILENCE IN COURT (1998 Chester Cup)
OLD HUBERT (1988 Chester Cup)
HALLGATE (1987 Palace House Stakes)
ASPEN DARLIN (2008 Firth of Clyde Stakes)
