THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

FINDON LAD MAKES GOOD

— DAVID OUGHTON IN HONG KONG

Copyright Valerie Martin 2003

First published in the Findon News in February 2003

When Alan and Diane Oughton first walked into The Vale in Findon it was a chicken farm and there was a greyhound track in the grounds.  They decided to purchase The Vale and everything was replaced with stabling for racehorses.  From then on Alan sent out a steady stream of winners.  

After Alan Oughton's untimely death, his wife's name rocketed to the top of the National Hunt Women Trainers' Table at the beginning of 1973.

Her son, David, assisted his mother with the horse training and was also chief driver of the horsebox to racecourses.  He was only 18 years old in 1973 and it was thought he was too young to take over the yard.  Diane sent him to France for a couple of years to broaden his racing experience and he became a successful amateur rider in the seventies.  He enjoyed periods working at the Downs Stables in Findon for the legendary Captain Ryan Price and former French Derby-winning trainer Charles Millbank in Chantilly and Sweden.

David took up training in Findon in earnest in 1981 when his mother died ten years after his father.  But by then The Vale was already doomed to failure and successes did not continue for the yard.

Captain Ryan Price of the Downs Stables died on 16th August, 1986 and was buried on 22nd August, l986.  Findon and the horse racing world said a touching farewell to him.  In a service our 11th century church the congregation overflowed with mourners, including owners, trainers and jockeys, some of whom had travelled from Ireland and America.  The Captain had sent out more than 2,000 winners in his career died on his 74th birthday.  His coffin carried one floral family tribute, depicting his racing colours of yellow and purple.  The ushers included David Oughton and Andrew Smyth, son of trainer Gordon Smyth.

In January 1987, requests were fired at three racehorse trainers in an attempt to prevent horses churning up land at Convent Corner in the Nepcote road!

At a Findon Parish Council meeting many councillors were concerned over the state of this part of Nepcote.

Thelma Frederick of Nepcote described the area as—

 "an absolute quagmire"

and asked for a polite request to be made to the three Findon racehorse trainers.

Mick Ockenden said —

"It  has been going on for years and nobody knows the answer.   It is difficult once they establish a track"

Letters were sent to John Dunlop of Castle Stables in Arundel (who used the Soldiers Field Stables at this time);  Josh Gifford of the Downs Stables; and David Oughton of The Vale Stables in Findon.

David married Jane, the daughter of a Billingshurst farmer and they moved to the former colony of Hong Kong a year later.   Andrew Smyth's father, Gordon, already training successfully on the island, encouraged David to move there.  Gordon was soon to retire and needed an assistant trainer.  Until that time, David had not set foot in Hong Kong but made up his mind to immediately accept and has never looked back since that day.  He inherited the Smyth yard when Gordon retired and the fifteen winners gained in his first season proved the Findon-born lad's worth.

The house of former Findon racehorse trainer, David Oughton, was sold for £225,000 in January 1988.  

A barn at the Oughton stables, the Vale on the A24 was snapped up for a further £l50,000.

The main Sussex flint barn stables with fifteen stables on the ground floor, a hay loft above and separate tack room were still for sale for £145,000.   Four acres of land went with the stbales on a rent-free leasing arrangemnt.   It was reported at the time that any new owners would have to continue using the land as stables unless Planning Permission for a change was change.

In December 2002, David, at the age of 47, did Sussex proud with training the Hong Kong Cup winner with a horse named Precision.  The Findon man watched (along with a crowd of 55,450) on a warm, but pleasant afternoon when his four-year-old grey gelding Precision, ridden by Mick Kinane, snatched a short-head victory at Sha Tin to claim the £1.3m prize money.  The trainer admitted he was surprised himself by the win. 

In the photograph, Precision gets up ahead of Paolini to secure the Hong Kong Cup for David.  Precision had been kept just off a dawdling pace by his jockey and was in an ideal position in the race where several better-regarded horses had awful trips. Precision, who was third at the top of the stretch, just out-nodded the German runner Paolini, who snuck through along the rail, to win officially by a short head.

Hong Kong racing enjoys a 157-year history.  All Hong Kong trainers and horses are based at Sha Tin, the truly great course cleverly constructed in 1978 on 250 acres of reclaimed land.  Racing is well organised. Trainers (and their families) live in apartments on the estate, while horses are housed in two-storey blocks.  There is a limit of sixty horses for each trainer.   Every stable has private facilities of a half-acre sand yard where the animals love to roll in the sand.  Also washing down boxes, tack room and feed house.  With a superb turf course of just over one mile (enclosing an American-style dirt track and training gallop), the facilities are the same for everyone in Hong Kong.

In contrast to Europe, staffing at racing yards is no problem. Chinese stable lads muck out, feed the horses and groom their charges.  Those who have been through the apprentice school and are good enough, ride the horses out at exercise.  There are many excellent Chinese riders, all of whom have been through the Beas River Apprentice School — but they will have gleaned just as much from the top notch jockeys from around the world who are invited to ride in Hong Kong.

Racing takes place twice a week (midweek) on the long-established Happy Valley track — and at Sha Tin at weekends.  Crowds of 50,000 are not unusual with 80,000 the norm for the Hong Kong Derby in February each year.

In Precision's case his regular stable lad was the slight and smiling Win Cheung.  Win speaks only a smattering of English but the pleasure on her face at seeing her charge win a world-class race said it all.  David does not speak much Chinese — but his assistant, Joe Tai, is bi-lingual and this helps communication with the other staff!  Joe is David's perfect back-up and is in charge while the Oughtons are in West Sussex for their Christmas holiday.

Precision's jockey, Mick Kinane, has ridden regularly for David.  He won the Hong Kong Derby for him on Che Sera Sera in 1996, (the horse is now in retirement on Mick's Irish farm), and the Hong Kong Gold Cup on Idol.

David and Jane still have a house in Coolham, West Sussex where they plan to retire.  I guess that he still misses the early morning rides out on the Sussex Downs.  

David has trained around 400 winners in Hong Kong including all the top races over the last fifteen years.  He began training there during the 1987-88 season and finished third in the trainers' championship in the 1988-89 season which was his best ever place. 

Numerically, his best season for this Hong Kong stable with a string of successes was in 1989/90 when he had 41 successes.  He won the Hong Kong Derby (Che Sara Sara in 1996), three Hong Kong Gold Cups (Starlight 1990, 1991 and Idol 2001) and the Champions & Chater Cup (San Domenico 1989).

I think it is interesting to note here that the Hong Kong Jockey Club is non-profit making.  Betting turnover has been responsible for constructing hospitals, building schools, and culture centres — you name it, racing has provided it for the Hong Kong community.

Continue if you would like to read about The Fourth Yard — Tom Howden

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created exclusively for documenting life in Findon.