Who is John Gosden?
John Gosden has been Britain’s champion racehorse trainer five times in his own right and once in partnership with his son Thady. He is a widely respected figure within the industry, seen as a character of sound judgement and a source of honest feedback on a range of issues. He was made an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2017 for his services to horse racing. He has an extensive list of major wins to his name, including the Derby twice, three wins in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and Breeders’ Cup triumphs.
His wife, Rachel Hood, is a lawyer, a Newmarket Town Councillor, and a former chairperson of the Racehorse Owners Association. His son, Thady, joined him in a training partnership in 2021.
What is John Gosden’s Origin Story
John Gosden is the son of ‘Towser’ Gosden, who trained racehorses at Lewes in East Sussex and is most famous for his handling of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Aggressor. He was assistant to Vincent O’Brien in Ireland, Sir Noel Murless in England, and Tommy Doyle in California.
Gosden took out a licence to train in California in 1979 when in his late twenties. He made rapid advances and developed Bates Motel into an Eclipse Award winner in 1983, then saddled Royal Heroine to win the first running of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile in 1984. He returned to England in 1989, enjoying the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai, and has not looked back since.
Which horse is John Gosden most famous for training?
Enable is Gosden’s most famous horse. She was a brilliant three-year-old, winning the Oaks, Irish Oaks, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Yorkshire Oaks, and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The mare won a second ‘Arc’ a year later, among six further Group 1 wins across the next three seasons.
What is John Gosden’s greatest achievement?
His list of major wins is extensive and international in scope, but his greatest achievement must be Enable’s second win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. After her sensational three-year-old campaign, the filly had a setback and missed most of the spring and summer of her four-year-old season.
Gosden plotted her return in a Group 3 over a mile and a half on Kempton’s Polytrack, just one month out from the ‘Arc’, and the filly made all to win comfortably. She backed that up a few weeks later with a battling defence to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the second time, and then rolled on to win the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf to round out her short campaign.
Where does John Gosden train?
Gosden has trained at three different locations since he returned to Britain. Nowadays, he trains at Clarehaven Stables in Newmarket, at the far end of the Bury Road if travelling away from the town’s centre. His first season training from that stable was in 2006.
His first British base was Stanley House, where he was from 1989 until 1999. During that time, he initially made headlines with Sheikh Mohammed’s Group 1-winning sprinters Keen Hunter and Wolfhound, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Irish Champion Stakes hero Muhtarram, and had the first of his two Derby wins thanks to Benny The Dip in 1997.
With Godolphin developing into the Sheikh’s main concern, and the departure of Peter Chapple-Hyam to Hong Kong, Gosden seized the opportunity to take the latter’s place at owner-breeder Robert Sangster’s Manton training centre in Wiltshire. From Manton, he trained stars such as Oasis Dream and Observatory, as well as the classic-winning fillies Lahan and Zenda.
Did you know?
Gosden studied economics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and his sporting prowess earned him Cambridge Blues in the javelin and the discus.
