BROWN PUNCHING ABOVE HIS WEIGHT AT NEWCASTLE
By Simon Mapletoft
Unsurprisingly, top international trainers Roger Varian, Richard Fahey and David O’Meara dominate the leaderboard when it comes to saddling winners on the All-Weather at Newcastle.
Newmarket-based Varian is out on his own with a staggering 45 per cent strike rate this year, while O’Meara has returned an impressive 20 per cent from his prolific operation near York. But holding his own is a lesser-known handler who is clearly punching well above his weight.
Alan Brown entered the opening week of All-Weather Championships Season 11 tied with Fahey on 11 winners at the track in 2023, one ahead of Varian and O’Meara with a healthy strike rate of his own – like O’Meara, an impressive 20 per cent.
In fact, in the last five years, the man who grew up little more than a mile away from Newcastle racecourse in a village called Blakelaw has returned a level stakes profit at the track of over £79.
Brown, who made his name as a jump jockey on Peter Easterby’s great northern-based hurdlers Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon, is enjoying his best-ever season numerically, sweeping past last year’s previous highest total of 15 a few months ago with a team of only around 20 handicappers.
“We went into October on 23 winners and I’m sure we can add another five or six at least before the end of the year,” states Brown, who trains from a converted pig farm in the vale of Pickering, just outside of Malton.
“Most of my horses love Newcastle. The stiff finish and the surface seem to bring the best out of them. I enjoyed a lot of success there as a jockey so it’s nice that I can carry that trend on as a trainer.
“I don’t over-work my horses,” he adds. “We have an oval gallop which is just short of 4f and it’s as flat as a pancake. They do their work around there without it feeling like they’re doing much. I realised a long time ago that you don’t get paid for winning races on the gallops. Once they’re fit it’s all about keeping them happy with lots of turn-out and individual attention.
“Not once in 40 years have I got up in the morning and not looked forward to my job, he says. “But I couldn’t do it without my wife Claire, who’s had a lifetime working with horses, my son Matthew and some wonderfully loyal owners who all enjoy each other’s success.”
Brown isn’t blessed with a yard full of highly-rated stars. Eight-year-old miler Crownthorpe is his best with an official rating of 79, but his knack for getting the best out of modest performers run after run makes him a trainer to follow this winter.
Here, Brown nominates ten horses for your ATR Tracker.
ATRAFAN
"A grand old horse who has won nine times but for some unknown reason never finds his form until after Christmas. With that in mind I’ve given him a break and he’s back cantering again now. Afrafan is a tough, sound and genuine horse who can flip between 6f and 7f. He’s nicely handicapped and is happy at Newcastle and Southwell."
BLACKCURRENT
"He’s seven now but is the star of the yard. He’s won nine races – all but one on the All-Weather – and almost £50,000 but has never been rated higher than 54. We don’t do much with him at home as he’s very straightforward. He enjoys being turned out and we lunge him sometimes but he’s fit and ready to be competitive in those 5f and 6f handicaps at Newcastle and Southwell."
BLACKJACK
"Back cantering after a nice break, he’ll be ready to start back in November. Southwell really suits him and he also ran a lovely race to be second in a 0-80 at Chelmsford back in April. The stiffer finish at Newcastle seems to catch him out so we’ll play to his strengths again this winter. He’s only 3lb above his last winning mark so he’ll hopefully pay his way again."
CROWNTHORPE
"He’s my best horse and will go into the All-Weather fresh following a long break. We found a slight crack in his foot so needed to give him plenty of time but he’s back now and looking great. He’s a versatile horse, winning at Newcastle, Chelmsford City, Wolverhampton and Southwell. Galloping tracks, sharp tracks … they all come the same to him. He has won off 90 so I’m confident he has more to offer in decent 1m handicaps."
EMBLA
"She’s identical to her half-brother Blackjack in that she doesn’t seem to get home at Newcastle. She always gives her best which is all you can ask for and loves to be out in front. Horses like her can be hard to get past around a bend as she proved when she won at Wolverhampton in December. She’s fresh and well after a summer off and has plenty of options off her basement mark."
JEMS BOND
"This big chestnut gelding is another who comes into his own early in the year. He’s also back from a summer off as he’s much better on the All-Weather than on turf. He won at Kempton a few years ago but his last five have all come at Newcastle. He’s never won off his latest mark of 62 but that’s not to say he isn’t capable of defying it over 6f or 7f."
LADY CELIA
"This mare became my 24th winner of the year when she won over 5f for Rowan Scott at Newcastle just before the start of the new official season. She finished off her race strongly which didn’t surprise me as she’s effective over 6f, too. I realised we’d been riding her totally wrong so we started holding her up and she hasn’t looked back. Her latest win came off just a 2lb higher mark than her Nottingham win in July so I’m hoping for a productive winter with her."
LITTLE RED DANCER
"This three-year-old is out of Meandmyshadow, who won 17 times in 126 starts for me. She’s only won once herself, over 6f at Catterick in May, but has been lightly campaigned and really seems to have strengthened up. She’s 0-10 on the All-Weather but showed us at Chelmsford in January that she has races in her on sand."
RODBOROUGH
"She’s thriving since the cheekpieces went on, winning back-to-back sprints at Southwell. I always knew she’s come good as she showed a lot of promise on her debut at Newcastle but then lost her way. She was going intermittently lame and coming back sore from her races but we discovered she had a hairline fracture. She was a good second to a nice horse of Bryan Smart’s at Newcastle at the beginning of October and should progress again."
URBAN ROAD
"He’s a nightmare to train but has so much ability, as he’s shown by winning four times this year. He won’t go on the gallops with other horses and has a habit of slamming the breaks on and stopping dead when he does. Even in his races you can’t hit the front too soon as he thinks he’s done enough. I should give him a break at some stage but he’s running well so we’ll keep going in those little 1m handicaps for now."
