Tom Marshall, born 26th September 1950, son of legendary trainer Bill Marshall, who was champion trainer in Barbados for a number of years, was granted a trainer's licence in December 1975 when he was aged just 25, having spent the previous 5 years as assistant to his father. Tom leased Stork House Stables, beginning with a string of 6 hurdlers and six 2-year-olds ready to run on the Flat. Although he won few high-profile races, he turned out a number of winners each year at tracks as far afield as Nottingham and Hamilton. He won a number of hurdle races with Even Par in 1978, and the Prince of Wales Stakes at York in 1979 with his own horse Blue Courtier.
Tom departed Stork House in 1979, purchasing Felstead Court, but gave up training altogether in 1983 and was able to transfer some of his horses to Mark Usher who had successfully gained his licence in November 1983 and sent out his first runners in early 1984 from Felstead Court, which he leased from Marshall. Tom then launched a racing syndicate which enjoyed particular success with Portogon, who won 11 races and over £60,000 in prize money between 1983 and 1985.
1978 Nottingham Merit 3-y-o Hurdle EVEN PAR (13/8) trained by Tom Marshall and ridden by Colin Brown
1979 Prince of Wales Stakes at York BLUE COURTIER (10/1) owned and trained by Tom Marshall and ridden by Dennis McKay
1979 Motherwell Stakes at Hamilton BLUE COURTIER (4/9 fav) owned and trained by Tom Marshall and ridden by Dennis McKay
1979 Nutherglen Stakes at Hamilton ROGAIRIO (5/2) owned and trained by Tom Marshall and ridden by Dennis McKay
1983-September 1989 Mark Usher
Mark Usher was destined for a career in racing as soon as he witnessed Music Boy win the 1975 Gimcrack Stakes at York, and once he had completed his compulsory education he joined Barry Hill's South Bank Stables in Lambourn, leaving after a year to travel to racing's headquarters in Newmarket where he worked for Robert Armstrong at St Gatien Stables. Just a year later the lure of Lambourn was too great and Mark joined Henry Candy's stable where he gained invaluable experience from Henry before he launched his own training career at Felstead Court Stables on the Folly Road in Lambourn in mid-1983, hitting lucky in his first few months by receiving the horses from Tom Marshall, who had given up training. He received a boost in August 1983 when Mystery Ship, owned by Mrs M Simpson, won the Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket at 25/1 partnered by George Duffield. A racing syndicate, headed up by Tom Marshall, owned Portogon who won the 1985 Jubilee Handicap at Kempton Park. In September 1989, after 6 years at Felstead Court, Usher announced he was moving to the neighbouring village of East Garston to take over Gay Kelleway's old yard.
1983 Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket MYSTERY SHIP 25/1 owned by Mrs M Simpson, trained by Mark Usher and ridden by George Duffield
1984 Tia Maria Handicap at Ayr PORTOGON 4/1 jt fav owned by Marshall Racing Syndicate, trained by Mark Usher and ridden by Denis McKay
1985 Jubilee Handicap at Kempton PORTOGON 14/1 owned by Marshall Racing Syndicate, trained by Mark Usher and ridden by Tony McGlone
October 1989-1994 Charles Elsey
Charles Elsey, part of the Elsey racing dynasty, successfully applied for his trainer's licence in 1988 aged 29 and began training at Malton where he saddled just one winner, Eastern Ember, in the Riding Traditional Bitter Handicap at Beverley. He then took out a 3-year lease from Tom Marshall, owner of Felstead Court Stables, replacing Mark Usher in October 1989. Charles was the fourth generation of Elsey's to train, learning his trade with David Elsworth before assisting father Bill for one year. During the time Elsey took over at Felstead Court, Tom Marshall lived in the bungalow adjacent to the stables. Charles won with a number of good handicappers in his time at Felstead Court, including Rapporteur and Ghostly Glow.
1990 Handicap at Lingfield RAPPORTEUR 6/1 trained by Charles Elsey and ridden by Billy Newnes
1991 Handicap at Kempton ASTERIX 16/1 trained by Charles Elsey and ridden by Billy Newnes
1991 Handicap at Lingfield KISSAVOS 11/2 fav trained by Charles Elsey and ridden by Franny Norton
1992 Handicap at Nottingham GHOSTLY GLOW 9/4 trained by Charles Elsey and ridden by Michael Roberts
1993 Lady Riders Handicap at Lingfield RAPPORTEUR 100/30 trained by Charles Elsey and ridden by Miss A Elsey
By 1989 it is thought that Mrs Merretta Jones and her husband already owned Stork House, although they might have owned it some time before that and leased it out. At that stage the magnificent house contained an elegant staircase brought from Lambourn Place where, rumour has it, it still contained a blood stain from a time when a maid at Lambourn Place was murdered. At some point Stork House and its surrounding land was sold to property developers, the House being subsequently demolished and the land built on, and Merretta purchase Felstead Court and stables.
2006-October 2008 Paul Anthony Blockley
Paul Anthony Blockley, born circa 1959, had an affinity with horses from an early age, riding ponies in his grandfather's field, pretending to be a jockey. He began training in the 1980s, saddling almost 300 winners during his long training career, much of which was spent at Coedkernew, near Newport in South Wales, the highlight of which was winning the 2008 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud with Zafisio 28/1 owned by H Downs. In 2006 he moved permanently to Hill House and Felstead Court stables on the Folly road in Lambourn, having previously set up a satellite training base in the village. One of his best horses during this stage of his career was Lady Deauville, owned by P J Hughes Developments Ltd, winning the 2007 Dick Hern Fillies Stakes and Listed Upavon Fillies Stakes, while in 2008 she landed the Doonside Cup at Ayr. Paul's career was forced to be put on hold in October 2008 when he was warned off by the British Horseracing Authority for 30 months following a corruption inquiry. His partner Jo Hughes later took over the training licence. He died in France in January 2020 aged 61, his funeral being held in Lambourn at St Michael & All Angels church.
2003 Great St Wilfrid Stakes at Ripon HIDDEN DRAGON 16/1 owned by Jane, Victoria, Aimee and Thelma Whiting, trained by Paul Blockley and ridden by David Nolan
2007 Heatherwold Stud Stakes at Newbury LADY DEAUVILLE 8/1 owned by P J Hughes Developments Ltd, trained by Paul Blockley and ridden by Eddie Ahern
2007 Upavon Listed Fillies Stakes at Salisbury LADY DEAUVILLE 4/1 owned by P J Hughes Developments Ltd, trained by Paul Blockley and ridden by Franny Norton
2007 Dick Hern Fillies Stakes at Bath LADY DEAUVILLE 3/1 owned by P J Hughes Developments Ltd, trained by Paul Blockley and ridden by Franny Norton
2008 Doonside Cup at Ayr LADY DEAUVILLE 15/2 owned by P J Hughes Developments Ltd, trained by Paul Blockley and ridden by Franny Norton
2008 Bluebay Listed Stardom Stakes at Goodwood ZAFISIO 9/2 owned by H Downs, trained by Paul Blockley and ridden by Darryll Holland
2008 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud ZAFISIO 28/1 owned by H Downs, trained by Paul Blockley and ridden by Dominique Boeuf
2005-October 2009 Tom Dascombe
Tom Dascombe was born in Bristol on 30th April 1973 to Bill and Sue Dascombe and has fond memories of riding a pony when he was just 3 years old, and spent time at Henry Candy's stables on the outskirts of Lambourn before joining Martin Pipe to gain further experience. In 1995 he made his way back to Lambourn to assist Ralph Beckett at Windsor House stables before moving on to the South African trainer Mike de Kock. He launched his own training career in Lambourn in 2005 aged 31, using stables on Folly Road, where Felstead Court stables and High View stables are located. He founded Oneway Racing, specialising in the training of 2-year-olds, although he did get back-to-back Group 2 winners at Newmarket in July 2008, firstly in the July Stakes with Classic Blade, and then the Superlative Stakes with Ole Ole. Between 2005 and October 2009 he won 130 races from just 818 runners, an impressive strike rate of 16%. On the back of such successes he was offered the chance to move north to train at Manor House Stables, owned by Michael Owen, where he trained successfully for 12 years.
2008 Superlative Stakes (Group 2) £45,416 at Newmarket OLE OLE (8/1) owned by Daniel Perchard, trained by Tom Dascombe and ridden by Richard Kingscote
2008 July Stakes (Group 2) £45,416 at Newmarket CLASSIC BLADE (6/1) owned by The Classic Strollers Partnership, trained by Tom Dascombe and ridden by Richard Kingscote
2010-July 2022 Joe Tuite
Joe Tuite was brought up on an Irish dairy farm and made his way to England in 1984. He rode as a conditional jockey while preparing himself for the trainers life which lay ahead. He worked as assistant to Charles Egerton and then spent 8 years with Mick Channon at his West Ilsely stables as his assistant until he was ready to apply for his licence, at a time when Mick enjoyed tremendous success with Youmzain in particular. In 2010 he launched his training career, taking over stables that could accommodate 25 horses in loose boxes around a quadrangle, and a further 13 boxes in a nearby second yard.
Joe celebrated a success in the 2015 Ebor Handicap at York with Litigant 33/1 just 3 months after receiving the horse from Seamus Durack. He thought a great deal about the ability of Litigant, aiming it for the group 2 British Champions Long Distance race at Ascot, for which he was backed down to 7/1 but finished ninth. Litigant then went to Doncaster to contest the November Handicap, which he won at 10/1 in the hands of George Baker. A filly he enjoyed great success with was Madam Dancealot who, after taking a Newbury maiden, went on to win the Group 3 Dick Poole Stakes at Salisbury before being sold to America. Joe's talent and experience with young horses enabled him to provide an additional service breaking in and pre-training horses until they were ready to race. In 2018 and 2019 he sent his horses beyond England's shores, winning the 2019 Grand Prix de Clairfontaine with Surrey Thunder, and a Group 3 race at Gowran Park with Four White Socks. However, the pandemic had its toll on Tuite's business model and in July 2022 Joe Tuite called an end to his training career.
2015 Ebor Handicap at York LITIGANT 33/1 owned by A A Byrne, trained by Joe Tuite and ridden by Oisin Murphy
2015 November Handicap at Doncaster LITIGANT 10/1 owned by A A Byrne, trained by Joe Tuite and ridden by George Baker
2016 Johnsons Stalbridge Linen Fillies Stakes at Newbury MADAM DANCEALOT 100/30 owned by Mrs Olivia Hoare, trained by Joe Tuite and ridden by Martin Dwyer
2016 Dick Pool Fillies Stakes at Salisbury MADAM DANCEALOT 10/1 owned by Mrs Olivia Hoare, trained by Joe Tuite and ridden by Tom Queally
2018 Prince Luitpold EBF Stakes at Windsor SURREY THUNDER 4/5 fav owned by Surrey Racing, trained by Joe Tuite and ridden by Oisin Murphy
2019 Grand Prix de Clairefontaine Listed race SURREY THUNDER 19/10 fav owned by Surrey Racing, trained by Joe Tuite and ridden by Alexis Badel
2019 Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Group 3 Fillies Stakes at Gowran Park FOUR WHITE SOCKS 14/1 owned by Mrs R G Hillen, trained by Joe Tuite and ridden by Declan McDonogh
LITIGANT (2015 Eor Handicap, November Handicap)
CLASSIC BLADE (2008 July Stakes)
OLE OLE(2008 Superaltive Stakes)
PORTOGON (1985 Jubilee Handicap, Tia Maria Handicap)
BLUE COURTIER (1979 Prince of Wales Stakes)
