The new class is the initiative of McGivern of Dash Grange Stud, who owns top event horses, and David Howden, group CEO and founder of Howden and founder and president of the Cornbury House Horse Trials. Her aim is to also raise the profile of the adaptable nature of Thoroughbreds, especially in terms of their suitability for eventing. She is donating £50,000 in prize-money, and the class will be run alongside the other classes at Cornbury House Horse Trials. The class will showcase Thoroughbreds and their abilities, aiming to encourage riders to take on and retrain ex-racehorses and incentivise riders to work towards the 2025 class. It will also provide an additional opportunity for ex-racehorses, building on the existing resource and guidance provided by Retraining of Racehorses (RoR).

Jayne McGivern of Dash Grange Stud said, “I am thrilled to be able to launch a new ex-racehorse class that will run in 2025 and thank David Howden for his support in allowing my idea to come to fruition. Racing and eventing are both my passions and through this class we will be able to showcase the talent that Thoroughbreds have in their second careers.”

The class will begin at CCI2*/Novice level with further details to be announced in due course.

The post £50,000 Ex-Racehorse Class Added To Cornbury House Horse Trials appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

David Howden, CEO, Howden, said: “Joining with David and his expert team deepens our connection to the equestrian world, and makes us a true differentiator in this exciting market. DUAL now provides world-class expertise in all the major equine markets, and we will continue to leverage our expertise to provide more choice and a fresh alternative for clients.”

The post DUAL Completes Acquisition of David Ashby Underwriting appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

This past Saturday, either 2,000 Guineas day, Kentucky Derby day, or Coronation Day, depending on your persuasion, was no exception. With the car park double-stacked and trainers and jockeys all about, Joe Foley, waiting for the off with Steve Parkin and Danny Tudhope, exclaimed, “It's just like being at The Yard”, in reference to Newmarket's famous watering hole not far from Tattersalls. 

The Gosden string swept by, with Teddy Grimthorpe on hand to watch Imad Al Sagar's Classic heroine Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in action, and they were followed by Sir Michael Stoute's team from Freemason Lodge. Philip Robinson and Richard Brown were in attendance, guaranteeing the appearance of reigning Derby hero Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), with Kevin Bradshaw in the saddle, Sarah Denniff at his side, as the countdown continues to his much-awaited comeback. 

The previous evening, Stoute has been a special guest at a reception at the National Horse Racing Museum to mark his induction into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame, along with Sea The Stars (Ire). The latter's owner and co-breeder Christopher Tsui had flown in from Hong Kong for the event, and his trainer John Oxx from Ireland. In the hands of the excellent Lydia Hislop, the interviews at the ceremony were both revealing and emotional.

Earlier on at the Rowley Mile, Stoute and Sea The Stars had combined to provide a maiden success for Infinite Cosmos (Ire), a market springer for the Oaks, which may just come a stroke too soon following the unfortunate abandonment of Sandown's meeting a week earlier, at which she had been set to make her seasonal resumption.

Stoute, ever the master of the slow burn with his Classic prospects, would not be pressed on the matter of the likelihood of Epsom for the elegant chestnut filly. As the great owner-breeders of yore fade into the past, it would be a poignant marker for Infinite Cosmos to contest a Classic this year, running in memory of her late breeder Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. Interviewed after the race, the trainer's mouth twitched a little, which may just have been irritation at the reporters' questions, or may, in a more fanciful light, be a flicker of evidence of the regard in which he holds the long-striding filly who represents connections who have provided his stable with such names as Crystal Ocean (GB) and Notnowcato (GB). We look forward to seeing her next in the G3 Tattersalls Musidora S. at York on May 17, which was confirmed as her next start to TDN on Monday.

There was less twitching and more active wriggling and fidgeting by the time Stoute was put under an actual spotlight in the Museum and grilled by Hislop, who thanked him profusely for not running away from her, as he is wont to do when faced by a microphone at the races.

The horses may speak for themselves there, but when Stoute is pressed to speak on their behalf, remembering which of them he loved the best, he is reluctant to choose from a swathe of greats but eventually leans on those global gallopers, Singspiel (Ire) and Pilsudski (Ire). Quite a response from the man who trained Shergar (Ire), but Stoute is rarely predictable.

“Because they raced until they were five-year-olds,” he explained. “And they were international horses, they had a wonderful record. Their constitutions were tremendous, their temperaments. They were just lovely horses to have.”

Of course the irony with Stoute is that the less he says, the more people want to know what he thinks. Like his favoured jockey, Ryan Moore, he is clearly uncomfortable in the media glare. His deliberate pauses before answering and mid-sentence are unlikely to be because he is at a loss for words; more probably because he knows how readily words can be pounced upon and misinterpreted. Clearly, however, at 77, he has lost none of his appetite for training. In an industry so preoccupied with viewing racehorses as commodities rather than than the living works in progress that they all are at their tender ages, to hear Stoute's few words was heartening.

“I think you're got to love horses,” he told Hislop. “They are fascinating, so it's intriguing work. But the staff are so important, and relationships with the staff are so important. So I find that quite fascinating, getting their opinions.

“It's all team work. The rider has to contribute a great deal and the people that feed him early in the morning. I'm not trying to be immodest. It's interesting, if you love horses and you love racing.”

The many long-serving members of staff at Freemason Lodge speak volumes as to the two-way loyalty of those involved at the Stoute stable, top to bottom. 

The Understated Oxx

From one of the most cherished members of the British racing fraternity, the microphone was passed to John Oxx, for whom the same comments apply in Ireland. Standing alongside him was Christopher Tsui, who, as an 11-year-old boy, watched his parents' horse Urban Sea win the Arc. Though that occasion was memorable enough in itself, who there that day could even have imagined the legacy that mare would leave, both for her owners and for the Thoroughbred breed? To the wider world, it could be argued that her greatest gift was Galileo (Ire). To the Tsui family, it was another of her sons, Sea The Stars.

When Christopher Tsui was asked by Hislop when John Oxx had first let on that Sea The Stars was something special, he replied, “John is very careful. So I think it was after he won the Guineas.”

As the laughter died down, Oxx added in his own defence, “You have to manage owners' expectations, so if you set the bar too high to begin with, there's only one way, and that's down. Mind you, I could have been rash in my early assessments and he wouldn't have let you down.”

But his sensible caution, which one imagines would be echoed by Stoute, was evident again when he said, “The most commonly asked question for me was 'When did you know he was a great horse?' Each race is a new test, and until you've won the next one you can never be sure.”

In the Footsteps of Frankel

For John Oxx and Christopher Tsui, the dream season for Sea The Stars was only really beginning this week 14 years ago when he won the 2,000 Guineas. This year, the King's procession after the Coronation reached Buckingham Palace just ahead of the off for the first race on 2,000 Guineas day, precision timing of which Her Late Majesty would surely have approved. 

On a momentous day for the Balding family, Clare was perhaps able to conclude her royal commentating duties for the BBC in time to switch on ITV Racing to watch her brother Andrew land the third British Classic of his career. 

Claiming a fifth victory in the 2,000 Guineas for Juddmonte Farms, Chaldean (GB) was the first of son of Frankel (GB) to emulate his sire's jaw-dropping performance on the Rowley Mile 12 years ago, and happily this came on the first occasion that Prince Saud, son of the late Prince Khalid Abdullah, had visited a British racecourse.

With such a powerful stallion roster and broodmare band at its disposal, the Juddmonte name doesn't appear on the buyers' lists at sales too often, but when it does, those charged with making the purchases don't often get it wrong. Arrogate was one such example in recent years, and Chaldean, whose Guineas success came four days shy of his actual third birthday, can be added alongside him.

The chestnut colt is the product of Whitsbury Manor Stud's breeding programme, and his dam Suelita (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) has been making a determined bid for blue hen status of late, with five of her six offspring having earned black type, including the Group 2 winner Alkumait (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).

Whitsbury Manor also featured as the breeder over the weekend of the Listed Charles II S. winner Shouldvebeenaring (GB) and easy juvenile debutant winner Elite Status (GB), both by resident stallion Havana Grey (GB). 

Despite this great run, the stud's director Ed Harper was still doing a very convincing Eeyore impression at Newmarket, claiming ahead of the race that Chaldean had little chance. Perhaps he was just taking a leaf out of the John Oxx book of expectation management, and we are happy to report that, despite the teeming rain that had persisted throughout Saturday afternoon, Harper was more Tigger-like after the Guineas. 

A Delight of Derby Winners

Many more people had that Tigger bounce to their step by Sunday, when sunshine brought an altogether more upbeat feel to proceedings at Newmarket. 

From the vision of Desert Crown's more substantial four-year-old frame on Saturday morning, we were treated to the sight of the second of three Derby winners currently remaining in training when the magnificent beast that is Adayar (Ire) stepped into the parade ring. Frankel had his fingerprints all over Newmarket's group contests, with his Irish Derby and St Leger winner Hurricane Lane (Ire) having made a return to the winner's enclosure after Friday's G2 Jockey Club S., followed by his old mucker Adayar in the rescheduled G3 Gordon Richards S. on Sunday. 

Royal Ascot for the Prince of Wales's S. Is the most likely target for the latter, who will surely relish better ground but did everything required to get his career back on track after his narrow defeat by Bay Bridge (GB) in the Champion S. during a season in which he appeared only twice. 

Godolphin's excellent day continued when Mawj (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) doggedly repelled the favourite Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {FR}) in the 1,000 Guineas to give Saeed Bin Suroor his first Group 1 win in Britain in a decade and a first major success for Oisin Murphy since his comeback from a 14-month suspension.

Murphy was excellent, too, on Classic prospect Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion), who was one of two stakes winners over the weekend for David Howden, whose eponymous company had stepped in to sponsor the entire undercard at Newmarket, backing up QIPCO's sponsorship of both Guineas races. 

“That was a magical moment,” shouted Howden to David Redvers, with whom he bred Running Lion from the Dansili (GB) mare Bella Nouf (GB).

A man not short of enthusiasm, he told the crowd of journalists, “Amazing. It's so wonderful to see her win today. She's such a special horse, being by Roaring Lion, who had a very special place in our hearts. Today, for me, that's as good as it gets.”

Explaining the relationship a little further, Redvers added, “Bella Nouf was one of the first mares we bought together. When we bought her I had to take a big loan because I came to the conclusion that we had to buy some nice mares to support Roaring Lion. David came in as a partner in several, and I think he's probably got 25 horses in total now.

“Isn't it weird the way it happens? Originally, he bought a day on the gallops at the school my sister's children go to and his children went to. I rang him recently and said there was the opportunity to sponsor the whole undercard here, and he's never said no to me–though I usually have to take a leg in something.

“He's been incredibly lucky but I think it's a bit like his business, where he gets enthusiastic people around him who are investors in the business in exactly the same way as I am with the horses.”

Redvers is understandably emotional when it comes to the late Roaring Lion, who died after covering for only one season at Tweenhills, and who was trained, like Running Lion, at the Gosdens' Clarehaven Stables. 

“I went and stood at the back of the lift on the way down [from the grandstand]. I didn't want to have anyone around me,” he said in the winner's enclosure.

“I also have to stress that this is all down to Sheikh Fahad. If he hadn't bought Roaring Lion, and stood Roaring Lion, and sponsored this meeting through QIPCO, then we wouldn't have any part of it either. David gets on really well with Sheikh Fahad and they have shares together in several horses. It's a happy marriage. Unless you are running your own country, to play in this game at a decent level you need to have partnerships. It's a much better sport when you're sharing the fun, and it's a much easier sport when you're sharing the downside.”

He added, “You pick out horses in your life. That's the great thing about this game. My career started with a filly called Lady Rebecca, and then Dunaden changed it beyond recognition, and Roaring Lion changed it again. Now we have Running Lion. That's the reason we do it, for horses like this.”

Time to Heed the Warnings

Whether we call it a sport, a business, or an industry, many people involved with horse racing will share the sentiments expressed above by Redvers. We all hope for that good horse to come along, and we love the ones who are not so good just the same. 

However, as events at the signature meetings of Churchill Downs and Aintree have shown in recent weeks, we must never rest when it comes to doing the very best for the horses in our care. This has to start at the top and be upheld throughout, and if horsemen and women cannot get behind reforms to the sport made in the best interests of the creatures on whom many of us base our life's work, then they have no business being in the business. 

On a personal note, I know of almost no happier feeling than standing on Newmarket Heath, training morning or racing afternoon, with the sun on my face and the drumming of horses' hooves in my ears. How to reconcile this near-lifelong love with the portrayal of the sport on mainstream platforms outside racing is a question I am finding harder to answer. And it's not just ill-informed protest groups being given uncontested airtime in the build-up to the Grand National. 

Consider these lines, from the Washington Post on the day the Kentucky Derby was run at a Churchill Downs reeling from the fall-out from the fatalities of five horses during the previous week: “Thoroughbred horse racing is to drug abuse as the Fourth of July is to beer and hot dogs. Win or die.”

Or these, from the New York Times the next day, after another two horses were euthanised on the Derby undercard: “It is the horses that are feeding everyone in a multibillion-dollar industry. It is the humans who are letting them down.”

For most participants within the sport, abusing horses with so-called performance-enhancing drugs is unthinkable, but that's not enough. It must become abhorrent to all. Now is not the time for complacency or obstinance or cheating. If we want this great love affair to continue, now is the time for a public display of commitment.

The post Seven Days: Kings and Queens of the Heath  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The 10-3 chance settled into a comfortable rhythm and raced in a midfield fifth through halfway. Powering forward to loom large on the bridle passing the quarter-mile marker, she was soon in splendid isolation and surged clear of toiling rivals on the final ascent to easily outclass the hitherto undefeated Sumo Sam (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) by 4 1/2 lengths.

“We brought her down here for a piece of work and Oisin [Murphy] said we should go for the Pretty Polly rather than the 1000 Guineas as she'll need the mile-and-a-quarter, so we've made the right decision,” said John Gosden. “It will be very interesting with this filly whether she's more a Prix de Diane or an Oaks filly. We've got more trials to come, there's the Musidora at York and the Newbury trial, so we'll see how it shapes up. The jockey's first reaction was to possibly stay at a mile-and-a-quarter and I'm always interested as to what they say when they come back straight away, not when they've had time to think. We'll give it a lot of thought and the idea would be to go to one of the Oaks, which one it is I don't know.”

Running Lion becomes the second black-type scorer for Bella Nouf (GB) (Dansili {GB}), whose first is G3 Sweet Solera S. victrix Majestic Glory (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Bella Nouf is a dual-winning half-sister to three black-type performers headed by Listed Lyric S. victrix Nouriya (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), herself the dam of G2 Duke of Cambride S. heroine Aljazzi (GB) (Shamardal) and Listed John Musker Fillies' S. winner Majestic Noor (GB)  (Frankel {GB}). Running Lion's third dam Shy Danceuse (Groom Dancer) is responsible for Listed Prix Occitanie winner Sweet Story (Ire) (Green Tune) and Listed Oppenheim-Rennen first Shy Lady (Fr) (Kaldoun {Fr}), the latter being the dam of five stakes scorers headed by G1 St. James's Palace S. hero and G1 2000 Guineas runner-up Zafeen (Fr) (Zafonic). Hailing from the family of GI Breeders' Cup Mile-winning sire Opening Verse (The Minstrel), the February-foaled grey is kin to the unraced 2-year-old colt Star Runner (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) and a yearling colt by Kameko.

Sunday, Newmarket, Britain
HOWDEN PRETTY POLLY S.-Listed, £50,000, Newmarket, 5-7, 3yo, f, 10fT, 2:05.86, sf.
1–RUNNING LION (GB), 128, f, 3, by Roaring Lion
1st Dam: Bella Nouf (GB), by Dansili (GB)
2nd Dam: Majestic Sakeena (Ire), by King's Best
3rd Dam: Shy Danceuse, by Groom Dancer
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-David Howden; B-The Bella Nouf Partnership (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Oisin Murphy. £28,355. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0, $61,547. *1/2 to Majestic Glory (GB) (Frankel {GB}), GSW-Eng.
2–Sumo Sam (GB), 128, f, 3, Nathaniel (Ire)–Seaduced (GB), by Lope De Vega (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Ben & Sir Martyn Arbib; B-Arbib Bloodstock Partnership (GB); T-Paul & Oliver Cole. £10,750.
3–Trust The Stars (Ire), 128, f, 3, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Son Macia (Ger), by Soldier Hollow (GB). (€140,000 Ylg '21 ARQDOY). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Valmont; B-S.Elektrowelt24 & Sunderland Holding Inc (IRE); T-Ralph Beckett. £5,380.
Margins: 4HF, 3 3/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 3.33, 7.50, 3.33.
Also Ran: Crackovia (GB), Queen Of Fairies (GB), Fantizzy (GB), Tarjamah (GB), Floating Spirit (GB), Joyful Act (GB). Scratched: Cloudbreaker (GB).

The post Running Lion Powers To Impressive Pretty Polly Triumph appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“My wife Fiona and my daughters, Talitha, Jemima and Kitty, came with me,” says Howden. “We didn't know who we were meeting, but it turned out to be David Redvers. He showed us horses working on the gallops and then took us to some of the trainers' yards in Newmarket. We went racing, and had the huge excitement of watching Roaring Lion run in the 2000 Guineas.

“Having resisted getting involved in racing for many years, when talking to David Redvers I began to think that I would like to get into the sport. We came up with a plan concentrated around mares and fillies – to buy mares and breed from them, and to buy fillies, race them and then breed from them.

“Like all the best-laid plans, it hasn't always turned out quite like that – one gets tempted into buying a colt or two – but that is the crux of what we do. I remember going to the Tattersalls Mares' Sales that December for the first time, and we bought our first mares there, all in-foal – one of them to Frankel. We bred our first foals, and from there we have built up our mares and our racing fillies.

“A lot of the focus this year is on the fact that I have got quite a few of my own 2-year-olds, where I have chosen and bought the mares, or raced the fillies before breeding from them, in action. My whole ethos is that yes, I am passionate about racing, but in the context of wanting to breed, not just buy. I have a real passion for horses, and for horse sport.”

The word “passion” comes up repeatedly when talking to – or about – Howden. Passion, and drive. His genuine enthusiasm is so obvious that it is infectious, and his ability to inspire people who work with him means that he is achieving some lofty ambitions.  Horses are at the heart of it; he loves riding, as do his daughters – it is a family activity. It is for many, though few throw themselves into the sports that spring out of a hobby quite so energetically and on such a scale.

He now owns and co-owns several valuable mares, is racing their offspring, has shares in others, and his company Howden, the global insurance broker he founded in 1994, is an official partner at Ascot Racecourse and sponsored the Crown Prince's Cup in Bahrain in January. Jemima and Kitty Howden are eventing competitively at under-18 level, and the horse trials he founded in 2020 at his home, Cornbury House in Oxfordshire, has quickly become a star attraction on the circuit. No toe-dipping here; this is a swallow dive into the ocean of the racing and equestrian worlds.

Howden's broodmare band encompasses 11 mares that he either wholly owns or jointly owns with Nick Wheeler (Cornthrop Bloodstock) or with Sheikh Fahad Al Thani and David Redvers under the Tweenhills banner.

Redvers says, “Sheikh Fahad and I see him as a wonderful partner because of the shared enthusiasm and passion for racing. He and Sheikh Fahad get on very well – David is a man of serious integrity.”

After that first meeting in Newmarket in 2018, Redvers asked Howden a couple of weeks later if he fancied going halves on a horse at the Arqana May Breeze-up Sale. Together they bought Reponse Exacte (Fr) (Rajsaman {Fr}) for €85,000.

“Because of the sort of person he is, David said yes immediately. She won first time out two weeks later – his first ever runner!” says Redvers.

A gamble to run her in the Albany S. at Royal Ascot didn't pay off, but the filly had done her job – Howden was hooked on owning racehorses.

The first mare he bought, for 325,000gns at Tattersalls that December of 2018, was Bella Nouf (GB) (Dansili {GB}). She was in foal to Frankel (GB), and the filly she was carrying was sold a year later for 350,000gns. Named Majestic Glory (GB), she won the G3 Sweet Solera S. at Newmarket's July Meeting in 2021. Bella Nouf's next foal, another filly, this time by Roaring Lion, is in training with John Gosden.

Listed winner Gorgeous Noora (Ire) (Raven's Pass) has just had a smart Kameko filly foal. Castle Hill Cassie (Ire) (Casamento {Ire}) has a “lovely” Zoustar (Aus) in training with Hugo Palmer. Run Wild (Ger) (Amaron {GB}), the Listed Pretty Polly S. winner in 2020 – in whom Howden purchased a share when she was racing, and as a broodmare is now owned by David and Nick Wheeler as Cornthrop – has a Siyouni (Fr) filly foal at foot, and has been covered this time by Night Of Thunder (Ire).

While it is clear that the concept of racing his own stock holds great appeal to Howden, who likes to develop a project “from the ground up” – at Cornbury House Horse Trials (8-11 September 2022) his focus is on the best of young British talent, in the shape of horses and riders – he is determined to have fun and is prepared to invest in “form” horses along the way. Last year Howden and Redvers bought the Adrian Nicholls-trained sprinter Mo Celita (Ire) (Camacho {GB}), who then started favourite in the Palace of Holyroodhouse S. at Royal Ascot and finished fifth. She won a Listed race at Deauville under Hollie Doyle in August, however – a day that Howden names among his most enjoyable on the track so far.

“That was a fantastic day, and the other was watching Wilderness Girl (Ire) (No Nay Never) win at Glorious Goodwood with my mother, who's 95,” says Howden. “It was just before Wilderness [the music festival hosted at Cornbury each summer]; my mother loved it and Charles [the Duke of Richmond] kindly took us up to his private box.”

Mo Celita is back in training this year. She ran disappointingly in the Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster on the opening day of the Flat season, but was discovered to be in season. She is joined by the likes of a Zoustar colt out of Bewitchment (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), also the dam of Listed winner Nymphadora (GB) (No Nay Never), who is in training with Andrew Balding. Karl Burke has charge of a Roaring Lion filly out of Roedean (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}); Hugo Palmer has the Zoustar 2-year-old out of Castle Hill Cassie, while 4-year-old Wren's Breath (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}), whom he owns with Peter Molony, is in Ireland with Henry de Bromhead.

While Howden's bloodstock endeavours have the base of commercial soundness, his part in the racing world might appear a thorough extension of a personal interest, were it not for his company's explosion on to the scene as one of Ascot's three main partners (alongside QIPCO and Longines). Racing is far more than a hobby. Howden's keen brain means he sees a much bigger picture than that. It is an excellent way for his eponymous company, which already had a connection to the sport in that it arranges insurance for racecourses, trainers, owners and stud farms, as well as equestrian associations and riding schools, to gain visibility and brand recognition, in Britain and worldwide.

“You get a huge amount of bang for your buck in racing sponsorship if you place it wisely,” says Redvers. “For a global business like David's, Ascot is a perfect fit, as it is for QIPCO.”

In June 2021 the Howden Group became an official partner of Ascot Racecourse in a five-year deal; as well as a significant presence at the Royal meeting and all of Ascot's racedays, the two-day pre-Christmas National Hunt meeting is now the Howden Christmas Racing Weekend.

Howden says, “After our first year, we've really got some traction going and I'm very happy with our partnership with Ascot; our partnership aims to promote the best of British, but both the Howden Group and Ascot are businesses which have a very strong international reach as well.

“A key thing was for Howden – which has a very large horse sport and bloodstock division – to be able to support the racing industry, and what better way to do that than at Ascot, which has achieved so much to create such a phenomenal experience for those who love its world-class racing. Last year we were still battling hard with the Covid pandemic, and it was important to us to support racing in difficult times. It was a great fit for us – a British company, now the  leading UK-headquartered insurance broker in the market, which has been built up with employee ownership at its heart. We are delighted with the way the first year of our partnership is going, in terms of the brand recognition we have received, the entertainment we have been able to give our clients, partners and employees, and also the feedback we have had in terms of raising our profile, at home and globally. This year, of course, is the Queen's platinum jubilee year, and we are very excited about being involved in Ascot's plans around that.”

He continues, “We are very much a people-first business – nearly 3,000 of our staff are shareholders in our business – and the Howden Christmas Racing Weekend is really important for that, as it means we are able to invite our colleagues and their families, along with key clients, to come and enjoy a wonderful day's racing and celebrate Christmas with us.”

In January Howden became the first international sponsor of the Crown Prince's Cup in Bahrain, a venture that Howden approached with customary enthusiasm.

“As well as being a British company, we are also an international business, as is racing, and I was keen to help support a really up-and-coming racing nation,” Howden says.

In a racing landscape crying out for blue-chip sponsors, David Howden must seem like manna from heaven.

“He goes into everything like a whirlwind, and people end up working particularly hard for him as he has such energy, enthusiasm and passion,” says Redvers.

From zero to “hero” in four years; it will be fascinating to see where Howden's clever intertwining of business, sport and family life take him next.

The post Business And Sport Combine In Howden’s Passion For The Turf appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

David Howden, founder and group chief executive officer of Howden and a racehorse owner and breeder, said, “Our sponsorship of The Crown Prince's Cup in Bahrain, alongside our partnership with Ascot, helps to deepen our relationships in a sport we love and enable us to further understand and respond to the worldwide risks challenges it faces. Howden has operated in the Middle East for over ten years with offices across the region, including in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Turkey as well as our Howden One partners. We have developed a strong reputation as one of the leading brokers in the region by combining the strength of a global broker with the personal touch of a group with employee ownership at its heart.”

The post Howden Sponsors Crown Prince Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post