Richard Fahey
Richard Fahey has built his training career on the back of a successful stint as a jockey. Although refreshingly self-deprecating about his riding abilities, he chalked-up just over 100 winners, under both codes, in ten years in the saddle, the highlight of which was sharing the conditional jockeys’ title.
Remarkably, in just over 20 years, Richard has gone from being an enthusiastic recruit, starting out with just a handful of horses, to becoming one of the country’s major players with some 200 horses on his books and a career tally of domestic winners which went through the 3,000 mark in May of 2021.
Richard’s plan was to make Musley Bank one of the best training facilities in the country and in the past few years this has been realised. The yard not only has incredible facilities but a way of working that breeds success. Richard says: "2019 saw 178 winners including Space Traveller winning the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot. Forest Ranger won the Group Two Huxley Stakes at Chester for the second year in a row. In 2018 we sent out 190 winners – there was Group 3 success for Mr Lupton in the Trophy Stakes at Newbury. Sands Of Mali showed us all what he’s capable of winning the Group 1 Champion Sprint Stakes at Ascot. In 2017 we sent out 200 winners and won over £4.2m in prize money. We had Group 1 wins in the Lockinge, Prix du Moulin and broke the track record in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot with Ribchester. We also won the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes for the first time and won the Wetherby Super Sprint and Redcar Trophy. In 2016 we sent out 198 winners and in 2015 we equalled the record of 235 winners in a calendar year. We’ve had fantastic success and that’s because we have a brilliant and dedicated team."
"We’ll continue to work hard, have more group winners and more importantly make sure our horses are well looked after and our owners satisfied. Owners are the lifeblood of this game,” he says. “Training decent horses for people, who are as enthusiastic and passionate as I am about racing, is what racing is all about, as far as I’m concerned. Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing owners have winners, which is why I do everything in my power to make that happen.”
This is why we have placed numerous horses with Richard since 2009. The incredible fast THE PLATINUM QUEEN, our 57.000 Guineas Breeze Up Purchase, who went on to win 4 races at 2, including the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye in 2022, the first 2-year-old to win the 5f race since 1978. Before her Group 1 success at the Arc Meeting in Longchamp, she finished a brilliant 2nd to the fabolous Highfield Princess in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York as well as a short head defeat in the Group 2 Flying Childers at Doncaster. She realised 1.2 Million Guineas at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale when sold to Katsumi Yoshida. Ventura Diamond is a filly who has won at Listed level, when taking the Bosra Sham Stakes at Newmarket in 2020 and has more black-type in her diary as a 3 year old! He trained Sandiva to win at Listed level for us on only her second start-she was quickly acknowledged as being a star performer, so much so, that our owners were instantly offered a large sum for her, which was swiftly accepted. Donjuan Triumphant has been another star performer from our partnership; he completed a hat-trick of wins in France when capturing the Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte. He had won the Listed Rockingham Stakes at York prior to this fantastic win and was sold privately in 2016 thanks to another offer his owners couldn't resist! Owners of our 2yo Ninetythreetwenty also benefited from a six figure return, when the dual winner and Coventry 6th was purchased to race in Hong Kong. Another six private sales figure sum was realised for the owners of our unbeaten 2yo colt Ventura Rebel and he went on to be 2nd in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot.