It came as a surprise to many that Golden Jacket winning trainer Jimmy Fenwick had never visited Crayford until a month ago. But by the time he picked up the trophy, he’d visited the place four times more than the owner of the dual Bussey Memorial winner! – writes Floyd Amphlett
The ‘Woodcocks’ are among the best known prefix running at the Kent track. But Carl Woodcock has never been to Crayford, and watched the six bend Cat 2 final on his TV, some 120 miles away in Norwich . . . .
Woodcocks Akia was a 20-1 shot when she landed the 2021 Peter Bussey Memorial with a fawn head victory over hotpot Aayamza Lexie. On Saturday, the Nick Deas trained bitch was a mere 9-2 chance when covering the 540 metre course just 11 spots slower.
Carl said: “I wanted to be at Crayford last year but couldn’t because of Covid. My wife and I set off on Saturday morning but couldn’t get out of Norfolk. Thetford Forest was disrupted by Storm Eunice so we had to turn back. In fact, Nick (Deas) couldn’t get there either. He is based in Surrey and there were roads blocked by fallen trees.
“But we still got to see a great training feat. Most people wouldn’t realise that Akia ruptured a bicep last May, and we weren’t sure that she would ever come back. She was beaten in a few races but was back to her best when it mattered. I can’t thank Nick enough, nor his staff, Alex, Amy, Lisa and Lesley, not forgetting Tom Peppercorn who makes such a good job of checking over all the dogs.”
So how does a Norfolk ole boy, end up as one of the most successful owners so far from home?
Carl said: “I originally started out as an owner at Yarmouth about ten or twelve years ago. I had dogs and a some good success with Michael Clare who was a barrister as well as a trainer. I then had a few with one or two others which didn’t work out but enjoyed some more success with Nicky Skeggs.
“When Nicky decided to give it up, I asked Nick, who was at Henlow at the time, to take some dogs for me. He moved onto Central Park, and then to Crayford.”
In fact, the ‘Woodcocks’ prefix was created by chance rather than design back in 2013 when Carl was looking to register a graded runner for Yarmouth.
He said: “The dog was called Stupid Egypt and there was a bit of confusion with GBGB thinking I wanted to called him Stupid Eejit. So I changed his name to Woodcocks Joker and it all continued from there.
“I have about a dozen dogs with the ‘Woodcocks’ prefix though some that you might see aren’t mine any more but can’t have their named changed again.
“But during lockdown when people were desperate for any kind of action, I was doing some stuff on social media and was asked about syndicates. So I set up the Hitthelids Syndicate with has ten dogs owned in different numbers by quite a selection of people. Several run at Crayford though we have also put a couple with Chris Fereday at Monmore.”
As for the future of Woodcocks Akia?
Carl said: “We will probably breed with her. She was bred by Liam Dowling (by Ballymac Best) out of Ballymac Kia. It would be nice to have some pups out of her.”
Picture it now, the 2025 final of the Bussey Memorial. In trap one, Woodcocks Chick. The hopeful owner looks for his car keys. Meanwhile just off the Norfolk coast, a plague of locusts is approaching . . . .
Alex Deas, son of trainer Nick, with Woodcocks Akia after winning Peter Bussey Memorial Trophy for second year running.
Photo: © Steve Nash
