Attwater moves from greyhounds to horses
Former Poole trainer Paul Attwater is now plying his trade as a racehorse trainer having taken over the reins at Newlands Stables in the historic training centre of Lambourn.
However, Attwater, who runs Over Spiced at Beverley on Thursday, is certainly not walking away from the sport and is hoping to put together a syndicate for some open-race interest down the line once he has fully settled in.
He explained: “We’ve always had horses and for many years I worked as assistant for trainer Seamus Mullins, but the opportunity arose through Gary Gillies, who owns the yard, to take over and it was such a great opportunity.
“I’ve got about 40 horses here and we’ve got our racing club – racingclub.com – which is proving very popular for people to get involved at whatever level they wish.
“Quite a few of the yard staff love their greyhounds, as we do, so some sort of Newlands syndicate sounds like a plan. Whether I try and do a Paul Hennessy and train them myself again we’ll see – I’m not sure I’ve ever been busier!”
Perhaps the biggest day in terms of greyhounds for Attwater was the 2018 Produce Stakes. The first two home, Zenas Zeus and Shoot The Bolt were both from a home-bred litter. The latter was in training with Attwater at Poole at the time of the competition while the winner was in the care of Jenny March.
It is interesting to hear Paul’s thoughts on the crossover between horses and dogs. From a family that has been involved in greyhounds for a long time, Paul is of the opinion that greyhound racing is a “great sport.” Talk of syndication and what is on offer in horse racing to owners is worth noting.
Listen to our interview with Paul here.
