His uncle Gavin was a successful Newmarket trainer and cousin Rupert has a thriving stable in Chantilly, but Sam Pritchard-Gordon, son of TBA board member and bloodstock agent Grant, has travelled farther afield to start his training career.
Having worked as racing manager to the successful Freedman Brothers training partnership in Victoria, Australia for four years, Sam, 32, took out his licence on October 1 to train nearby on the Mornington Peninsula.
He enjoyed the best possible start for his new venture when his first runner, Allthekingshorses, won the 1400m (7f) Blooms On Bridge Maiden Plate at Benalla in northern Victoria. The well-bred Galileo four-year-old, who was formerly under the care of Tim Martin, is one of nine horses in training at Pritchard-Gordon’s Kingscote Stables close to Mornington racecourse.
“He’s quite a dour horse and we thought the 1400 might be a bit short, so he’s done a good job as he really wants to be a stayer,” said the trainer on his website. “That was a big thrill. There is no greater thrill than training your own horse to win a race.”
Grant Pritchard-Gordon, who runs Badgers Bloodstock with his other son Tom, has close links to the Australian racing and breeding industry and manages the bloodstock interests of Starcraft’s owner Paul Makin. He said after Sam’s debut success: “We are very proud parents. Sam is now the third Pritchard-Gordon to train a winner after Gavin and Rupert.”
