Racehorse ownership at Manor House Stables
Tom Dascombe will be delighted to welcome your horses for training at Manor House Stables. Tom is happy to train for individual owners, racing partnerships, clubs and syndicate owners; at Manor House Stables all owners are assured of a warm welcome and a high level of service.
If you have a horse in training now and feel that it has not achieved its potential or that it will be rejuvenated by a change of scenery then please contact Tom. Tom has a proven record of improving horses.
If you are looking to buy a horse then please get in touch with Tom; he will be delighted to find the right horse for you. Whether it is a precocious 2 year-old, a classic-bred 3 year-old or a dual-purpose fun horse, Tom can help you find the horse that suits your needs.
If you are an owner-breeder then send Tom your horses and he will train you better quality winners and increase the value of your mares.
Featured owner profiles
At Manor House Stables we have a colourful list of Owners, and we will periodically provide an insight into one of our Owners below. To view older profiles, please scroll down.
Name: MAUREEN COXON |
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Q: |
"Do you have any family, children, pets?" |
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| A: | "My husband Colin and step-sons Andrew and Liam. My pride and joy is a 17h Irish sport horse called Conner." |
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Q: |
"What horses do you own at Manor House Stables?" |
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| A: | "I am part of the Folly Racers so we have Red Presence and Blackleyf." |
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Q: |
"How long have you had horses with Tom?" |
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| A: | "This is my third year. Last year, we had Orpen Grey with the Folly Racers and I had Haafhd Time who Tom managed to conjure two wins out of. She was the first horse Tom sold as a result of advertising on his website." | |
Q: |
"What is the best horse you've owned?" |
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| A: | "Orpen Grey." | |
Q: |
"So where did your interest in racing originally come from?" |
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| A: | "I met Colin at Salisbury races and the rest is history." |
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Q: |
"How did you first take the leap into ownership?" |
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| A: | "Colin ran a small racing syndicate of friends based in the New Forest when we met eight years ago. We have had a number of winners over the years of which Convent Girl was the highest achiever until we moved to Tom's." |
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Q: |
"Who is your racing hero?" |
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| A: | "Laurence Bellman; a veritable legend!" | |
Q: |
"What are your hobbies?" |
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| A: | "Horse riding, dressmaking, knitting and feeding Andy MacCormack!" | |
Q: |
"Where is your favourite holiday destination?" |
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| A: | "Stellenbosch; the centre of the winemaking area in the Western Cape. Stunning scenery, great weather and first class food and drink." |
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Q: |
"What are your favourite films and TV shows?" |
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| A: | "Shrek and NCIS" | |
Q: |
"What are your hopes for your horse(s) in the future?" |
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| A: | "It is early days for both our horses this year and whilst the thrill of winning is a great buzz, I am equally concerned that our horses go to a good home if they are not successful on the track." | |
Q: |
"What do you think the industry could do to attract more owners into racing?" |
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| A: | "Increased prize money through more control over image rights and betting." |
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Archived Owner Profiles
Name: EARL DE LA WARR |
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Q: |
"Do you have any family, children, pets?" |
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| A: | "My wife Anne and two Sons William and Edward. As for pets, I have a 17yo jack russell, 29 chickens, 10 pigs and 8 tumbling pigeons." |
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Q: |
"What horses do you own at Manor House Stables?" |
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| A: | "High Table and Water Ice, both 2yos in De La Warr Racing, a syndicate I set up about 10 years ago." |
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Q: |
"How long have you had horses with Tom?" |
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| A: | "This is my second year." | |
Q: |
"What is the best horse you've owned?" |
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| A: | "I was a part owner in Poteen who was group 1 placed as a 2yo, classic placed as a 3yo and group 1 placed as a 4yo. In the same syndicate we had Grapeshot who won the Derby trial at Goodwood." | |
Q: |
"So where did your interest in racing originally come from?" |
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| A: | "The brother of the local shopkeeper in Withyham, the village where I grew up and still live, was a bookmaker." |
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Q: |
"How did you first take the leap into ownership?" |
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| A: | "I was in Australia in my early 20s with a friend and we were determined, on returning to England, to find a group of friends who would buy a racehorse. We bought a horse and sent it to Jeremy Tree." |
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Q: |
"Who is your racing hero?" |
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| A: | "Henry Cecil, a living God." | |
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"What are your hobbies?" |
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| A: | "Clearly racing, but also shooting and eating." | |
Q: |
"Where is your favourite holiday destination?" |
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| A: | "The Hotel Residence and Spa in Dubai." |
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Q: |
"What are your favourite films and TV shows?" |
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| A: | "Favourite film would be Casablanca. TV show is Spooks." | |
Q: |
"What are your hopes for your horse(s) in the future?" |
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| A: | "To compete in Black Type races." | |
Q: |
"What do you think the industry could do to attract more owners into racing?" |
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| A: | "Promote the number of syndicates that are available for people to have a share in a horse at an affordable price." |
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Name: TONY BASING |
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Q: |
"Do you have any family, children, pets?" |
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| A: | "Barbara is my other half, and has been for over 40 years." |
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Q: |
"What horses do you own at Manor House Stables?" |
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| A: | "I have shares in Ollianna, Julius Geezer, Ballista and Mundesley." |
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Q: |
"How long have you had horses with Tom?" |
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| A: | "A couple of years, and no regrets!" |
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Q: |
"What is the best horse you've owned?" |
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| A: | "Hevelius, who ran in some of the valuable heritage handicaps last year. Janeiro must also get a mention as it is the only horse I have ever sold at a profit, so well done Tom!" | |
Q: |
"So where did your interest in racing originally come from?" |
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| A: | "My Granddad. He loved racing and was in the Royal Horse Artillery in WW1. He saved my like when I nearly drowned having been capsized from a catamaran aged six in 20 feet of water which my Dad and he were sailing. He was faced with a dreadful dilemma as his false teeth sunk past him on one side and I slipped past him on the other side. Fortunately, he grabbed me but was unfortunately unable to eat for days!" |
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Q: |
"How did you first take the leap into ownership?" |
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| A: | "Through Peter Harris' pioneering partnership arrangements. We bought a 12th of 'Glimmer of Light' on a Thursday in May 2003 and saw him finish 4th at Kempton four days later. He followed this up with a win before the month was out. It was a marvellous feeling and we were hooked from then on." |
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Q: |
"Who is your racing hero?" |
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| A: | "Vincent O'Brien." | |
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"What are your hobbies?" |
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| A: | "I still play 5-a-side football, and support Barnet and Tottenham. In my spare time in enjoy investigating the JFK assassination; Lee Harvey Oswald did not do it!" | |
Q: |
"Where is your favourite holiday destination?" |
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| A: | "It has to be Barbados in February, and Las Vegas in late September." |
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Q: |
"What are your favourite films and TV shows?" |
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| A: | "Day Of The Jackal; I believe my friend, Jerry Patrick Hemming, who had an interesting career if you google him, provided advance on the tradecraft to Forsyth. I also like Waterloo - bad acting but great battle scenes." | |
Q: |
"What are your hopes for your horse(s) in the future?" |
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| A: | "Watch this space!" | |
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"What do you think the industry could do to attract more owners into racing?" |
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| A: | "A complete re-vamp viz; - The authorities should listen to the views of the senior trainers, especially in connection with re-organising the racing calendar. - Improve prize money through a division of the calendar into premier and secondary racing with central funds directed towards the former. - Racing should buy the Tote. - Improved marketing, enrol a Bernie Ecclestone?! - Racing must move away from a fear of bookmakers and make its own decisions, shaping the product accordingly. - Reduce entrance fees so that new customers are attracted and to generate larger crowds and more excitement. - Re-create a sense of occasion which is lost at the minor mid-week meetings. - Extend the careers of 3yos to enable top class animals time to become popular heroes." |
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Name: NICK ATTENBOROUGH |
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Q: |
"Do you have any family, children, pets?" |
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| A: | "My wife and I don't have kids but we do have a cat, as well as a 10yo sports horse called Dan." |
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Q: |
"What horses do you own at Manor House Stables?" |
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| A: | "I have shares in Wisecraic, a 3yo colt, and Back For Tea, a 2yo colt." |
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Q: |
"How long have you had horses with Tom?" |
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| A: | "This is my second season and I can't wait!" |
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Q: |
"What is the best horse you've owned?" |
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| A: | "Siena Gold, which I co-owned with Lyndsey Mann (co-owner of Wisecraic). She was a very fast 2yo filly who won three races including the Weatherbys Super Sprint." | |
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"So where did your interest in racing originally come from?" |
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| A: | "My aunt and uncle had horses when I was a teenager. I got hooked when a good sprinter of theirs, called Sweet Revenge, won the King Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Prix de L'Abbaye at Longchamp." |
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Q: |
"How did you first take the leap into ownership?" |
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| A: | "I first got involved in a partnership back in the early 80s. Two of the partners were Laurence Bellman, who's now involved in several horses with Tom, and James Stafford, who now runs the Thurloe partnerships." |
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Q: |
"What has been your best racing experience?" |
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| A: | "My best experience was also my worst with my only runner in a Classic. Royal Amaretto was third favourite for the Irish 2000g after an impressive win at Newbury but ran a shocker. It was an amazing day all the same." | |
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"Who is your racing hero?" |
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| A: | "Lester Piggott with Steve Cauthen a close second." | |
Q: |
"What are your hobbies?" |
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| A: | "Horse racing takes precedent over any other pastime but I was given a beehive last summer so I imagine that will be keeping me occupied this spring." | |
Q: |
"Where is your favourite holiday destination?" |
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| A: | "I particularly like visiting new places. The most amazing has been Bhutan in the Himalayas." |
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Q: |
"What are your favourite films and TV shows?" |
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| A: | "I'm a big fan of blockbuster movies, such as Avatar, and am looking forward to the next Bourne film. I'm not an avid TV viewer but I have enjoyed 'The thick of it'." | |
Q: |
"What are your hopes for your horse(s) in the future?" |
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| A: | "Any win seems pretty good to me." | |
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"What do you think the industry could do to attract more owners into racing?" |
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| A: | "How long have you got? I'm one of the Racing for Change team so I'm trying to answer this question every day!" | |
Name: LAURENCE BELLMAN |
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Q: |
"Do you have any family, children, pets?" |
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| A: | "Yes, my wife Sarah, two sons and one daughter. Mark is 24, Katie 21 and Sam 20. I also have a labrador called Harry who's 11." |
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Q: |
"What horses do you own at Manor House Stables?" |
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| A: | "I was very fortunate to be involved in Orpen Grey [pictured] and Janeiro last year at Tom's. I was also a part owner of Pomeroy who we recently sold. This year I am involved in 10 two year olds, some of which I and the other partners are still in the process of naming. The named two year olds are Ballista, Blackleyf, Classic Gem, Julius Geezer, Mundesley, Ollianna and Red Presence. The ones yet to be named are an Ad Valorem colt, a Redback colt and a Muhtathir filly." |
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Q: |
"How long have you had horses with Tom?" |
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| A: | "My first horse was a yearling called Purple Sun that I bred with my partners and sent to Tom at the end of 2007. Unfortunately he never made the race track and became very ill and had to be put down." |
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Q: |
"What is the best horse you've owned?" |
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| A: | "That's easy, Orpen Grey!" | |
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"So where did your interest in racing originally come from?" |
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| A: | "I have always been interested ever since watching horse racing on television with my father. When I was very young our house had a through-lounge and I remember galloping around the dining room table whilst Dad was shouting at the television! I also remember watching black and white pictures of Arkle, Sea Bird II and the Grand National in the early 1960s, and then recall the excitement when my parents bought a colour TV in the mid 1960s." |
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Q: |
"How did you first take the leap into ownership?" |
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| A: | "Well it's a small world isn't it. 25 years ago my wife Sarah had a business connection with Nick Attenborough and he formed a syndicate for a horse in the mid 1980s called Meteor Miss, trained by Peter Cundell, which won on her second outing at Warwick. We had one twelfth each and owned the horse for a year. This was the only horse I had been involved in before I came back to the game seven years ago. Ironically, Nick and I are now teaming up again 25 years later with the Redback ex Jasmine Pearl colt." |
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Q: |
"What has been your best racing experience?" |
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| A: | "I have had some wonderful times. I have been to the Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe, been helicoptered into Cheltenham, been in a box on several occasions at the Derby, the Grand National, Royal Ascot, but nothing beats being at the racecourse as an owner. Probably the best occasion was when Orpen Grey won at Warwick. Tom was dwarfed between Colin Coxon and me whilst we all shouted the horse home!" | |
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"Who is your racing hero?" |
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| A: | "Tom Dascombe of course (creep creep!). No seriously, it has to be John Francome and Lester Piggott." | |
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"What are your hobbies?" |
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| A: | "I am a West Ham season ticket holder and have recently gone into the thoroughbred breeding business. I have a couple of brood mares with offspring. Aside from that I obviously love going racing and also enjoy walking my dog. Eating used to be a hobby but not anymore!" | |
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"Where is your favourite holiday destination?" |
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| A: | "In Britain it would have to be Mundesley in Norfolk, which we named a horse after this year. Further afield I like California, particularly Santa Monica." |
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Q: |
"What are your favourite films and TV shows?" |
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| A: | "Films would be Jason & the Argonauts and West Side Story. On TV I watch St Elsewhere, ER and Brother & Sisters." | |
Q: |
"What are your hopes for your horse(s) in the future?" |
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| A: | "I really can't wait for another season to start. I am afraid that with 10 horses at Tom's he is going to see rather a lot of me this season! I'm also looking forward to visiting some racecourses that I haven't been to before." | |
Q: |
"What do you think the industry could do to attract more owners into racing?" |
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| A: | "Obviously ownership has to appeal to the younger generation at an affordable price. It doesn't help that the prize money in Britain is ridiculously low. I think existing owners should be well looked after at all racecourses. Last season I went to Chester for the first time where owners were very well looked after. Other racecourses should follow suit." | |
