From globetrotting G1 performers like Side Glance to six-time Huntingdon winner Lord Sparky, former racehorses are playing a significant role for Britain’s racecourses
They used to work full-time, but things change, so these days they just put in a few freelance shifts.
They pop into the office only once in a while, but everyone is always delighted to see them and their input remains vital, for Side Glance and Lord Sparky and many like them are still working their racehorse magic in the service of their sport.
With a career on the track behind them and the rest of their useful lives ahead, Side Glance, Lord Sparky and the gang are now employed as equine ambassadors in the ‘Horses for Courses’ scheme implemented by the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) programme, British racing’s official charity for former racehorses.
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These ambassadors lead busy lives away from the spotlight, learning new skills and frequently competing in new disciplines, but on selected afternoons they can be found at the races, spreading the gospel of renewal and reinvention. They may not move as fast as they once did, but are nevertheless a safe bet to win the hearts-and-minds stakes.
“It’s all about reinforcing the connection between people and horses,” says Becci Thompson, marketing and fundraising executive at RoR, who shares the administration of the scheme with RoR operations executive Margaret O’Sullivan.
“It’s a powerful thing. The message we are conveying is that these horses are still doing something useful, something constructive, that their lives aren’t just about racing.”
These ambassadorial roles for ex-racehorses were on the agenda in 2019, but were shelved during the Covid pandemic until resurfacing last year. The focus is on finding a horse with an association to each racecourse, a local hero.
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“We meet with the racecourses and discuss what they have in mind, what sort of horse they are looking for, what they want to provide,” says O’Sullivan.
“Ideally it’s a horse who has won at the particular racecourse, or at least run there a few times, and one with the right sort of character – a hot, buzzy horse may not be suitable.
“We find the right horse and give the racecourse guidelines, hold their hands through the process, advise them on branding, whatever they need. At the moment we have 29 horses at 23 racecourses, and the plan is to have at least one ambassador at each track.”
In a modern world there is more to consider, more ways to send the message. A physical presence on-course is frequently backed up by updates on social media, racecourses providing details about their horse and enabling a broader appreciation of its second career.
These ‘digital ambassador’ bulletins play a valuable wider role in informing the general public that there is plenty of life in a racehorse after racing.
And there are plenty of ex-racehorses ready to tell that story, although Thompson admits that finding the right horse for the right course can be difficult.
“That’s the hardest thing,” she says. “There is only a small pool of potential ambassadors, because they need to have the geographical connection, be amenable for the role and be registered with RoR.
“Sometimes a racecourse comes to us with an idea for an ambassador, like Huntingdon did. And then sometimes we can find a horse such as Side Glance, who has a strong connection to Ascot and is ideal for the ambassadorial role.”
Side Glance: Ascot regular who ‘can do anything’
Now known affectionately as ‘Sidey’, Side Glance ran ten times at Ascot, spent a quarter of his 40-race career at the Berkshire circuit, won twice there and hit the board on another four occasions, most notably when third behind Frankel in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal meeting in 2012.
His finest hour came when winning the G1 Mackinnon at Flemington in 2013 and he also raced in Canada, Dubai, the US, Hong Kong and Singapore, but at the middle age of 17 he has found the perfect side-hustle close to home.
“Having Side Glance on our team has worked extremely well in every respect,” says Jacqui Greet, corporate social responsibility manager at Ascot. 
“He can do anything. He’s here on family racedays, he’s here meeting and greeting when we host non-raceday tours for schools and community groups, he goes out and about in the local area.
“In recent weeks he has visited a hospital to meet patients with dementia and said hello to a group of students at the University of the Third Age, and on Champions Day we had a vet here giving a talk and he used Side Glance as his model.
“He can really read a room and has great intuition around vulnerable people. If there is someone in a wheelchair, he’ll go forward to them calmly and quietly. People are able to feed him, touch him, and he has never misbehaved.”
This aspect of Side Glance’s character may have come as a slight surprise to his owner Leanne White (née Masterton), an integral part of the team at Andrew Balding’s yard in Kingsclere. She looked after the gelding during his racing career and continues to do so in his second life, which involves all sorts from dressage to cross-country to leading the village parade on the day of the King’s coronation.
“He’s a funny old thing,” says White. “He can be a bit sharp when he’s ridden, and when I exercise him on our all-weather gallop named after him he still thinks he’s a racehorse. But put him among a crowd of non-racing people and he completely changes.
“My friend once took him on a hospice visit because I was busy, and she said she couldn’t believe how much he changed when he was there. He is such a gentleman when he needs to be.
“He doesn’t get worked up about going back to a racecourse. He has his own stable area and stands in the pre-parade ring for an hour or so - he loves the attention, the adoration.”
Lord Sparky: meet Huntingdon’s ambassador
Lord Sparky (right) did not have the global impact of Side Glance but he meant the world to regulars at Huntingdon, a jumps track a few miles west of Newmarket, where he won six times and was placed seven times from 19 starts – practically half his 39-race career.
An injury to a tendon in the spring marked the end of his racing days but not of his visits to his home away from home, for he will start his ambassadorial role early next year.
“He’ll be doing a very worthwhile job now,” says his owner-breeder Neil Jennings, who shares the care of the ten-year-old with his wife Amanda. “Racing – especially jump racing – needs all the good publicity it can get right now and these equine ambassadors are ideal for that purpose.
“We think Sparky will be fine in his new job as he’s generally pretty calm and friendly, although like all horses he does have his moments. He won’t be doing anything too strenuous otherwise, perhaps some show jumping and eventing, and this will be something a bit different for him.
“We’ll do a few dry runs before he starts, put him in the box, drive to Huntingdon when there’s no-one else there, see how he goes. I don’t think any horse in the modern era has won as many times there as Sparky has, so it’s the right place for him.”
When the topic of an equine ambassador for Huntingdon arose, the track’s general manager Daniel Craggs was of the same mind. There was only one name on his list.
“When we thought about who we’d really like to have here, it was him,” says Craggs. “We talked to Neil and Amanda and we all thought he’d be a good match. We’re delighted he’s going to be a presence at the racecourse again.
“Lord Sparky was a special horse for the track during his racing career, and the sense of continuity is nice. He knows the place well and everyone here knows him; he’s the perfect fit.
“He’ll be walking around the parade ring, people will be able to get close to him and ask questions about him as he moves on to the next phase of his life. Long-term, we’d like to take him to local schools and community centres – it’s an educational role, integral to the promotion of after-racing welfare, a very important message for the sport to send.”
That message is essential, the successful transmission of it vital. “We’re all passionate about the scheme,” says Thompson. “The courses do an exceptional job and the results have been fantastic.”
The results are visible, as O'Sullivan can attest. “I’ve seen it happen,” she says. “I’ve stood by the parade ring and the horse is just inundated by a crowd of people. You can see the looks on their faces, they don’t know what to expect, they haven’t been up close to a horse before, they’re not sure – and then their expressions relax, and the connection, the bond is made.”
Message received and understood. And in this instance the medium really is the message, as we’ve been told. It is the very presence of Lord Sparky, Side Glance and their ambassador pals, up close and personal, gentle and patient and accessible, embodying both the realness of a racehorse and the reality that racehorses are not just racehorses.
They are plenty more besides as they move through life from one role into another.
RoR ‘Horses for Courses’ ambassadors
Aintree Definitly Red (G2 winner over jumps)
Ascot Side Glance (G1 winner on the Flat)
Bangor-on-Dee and Chester Sleepy Haven (winner at Bangor)
Carlisle Duke Of Navan (course winner)
Catterick Motawaazy (four-time winner at the track)
Chelmsford City Jack The Truth (four-time winner at the track)
Cheltenham Saphir Du Rheu (G1 winner over jumps)
Exeter Native River (Cheltenham Gold Cup winner)
Goodwood Magical Memory (won £150,000 handicap at the track)
Haydock Park Robinsfirth (G3 winner over jumps)
Hexham Takingrisks (Scottish Grand National winner)
Huntingdon Lord Sparky (six-time course winner)
Kempton Park Coneygree (Cheltenham Gold Cup winner)
Ludlow First Fandango (course winner)
Musselburgh Nine Altars (ran four times at the track)
Newmarket Barbers Shop (G1-placed over jumps) First Receiver (ran once at the track)
Plumpton Baron Alco (G3 winner over jumps)
Sandown Park Step Back (G3 winner over jumps at the track)
Stratford Atlantic Storm, Jamacho (both four-time winners at the track)
Wetherby Wemyss Point (three-time winner at the track) Lady Buttons (G2 winner over jumps)
Wincanton Fortunate George (three-time winner at the track)
York Goldream, Alpha Delphini (both G1 winners on the Flat) Nakeeta (Ebor winner) Mr Lupton (G2 winner on the Flat) Top Notch Tonto (G1-placed on the Flat)
• Visit the Retraining of Racehorses website
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