Newmarket trainer who has taken Bahrain by storm answers our regular questionnaire
Newmarket-based trainer George Scott enjoyed a banner year in 2024 with breakthrough successes both at home and abroad.
Scott, 36, served his training apprenticeship with champion jumps trainer Paul Nicholls before moving to Newmarket to work on the Flat for Mark Tompkins and Michael Bell, eventually becoming assistant trainer to Lady Cecil at Warren Place following the death of Sir Henry Cecil.
In his tenth season with a licence he recorded a career-best 48 wins, five of which were provided by the extraordinary Isle Of Jura. Having completed the Bahrain ‘Triple Crown’ during a winter in the Middle East, Isle Of Jura returned home to win a Listed prize and then the G2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, beating the subsequent King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Goliath by 3¾ lengths.
While his season was curtailed by injury, other members of the team stepped up to gain stakes success, among them the unbeaten two-year-old Bay City Roller. He has already struck at G2 level at this year’s Dubai Carnival with talented three-year-old sprinter West Acre, a week before saddling Phantom Flight to win the Crown Prince’s Cup in Bahrain on Friday [Jan 31].
“We had ten stakes winners and 23 two-year-old winners last year,” says Scott. “Isle Of Jura is back training and we will be aiming for the King George with a run or two before. The French Guineas might be the most suitable option for Bay City Roller.”
Which racing figure past or present do you most admire?
Sir Henry Cecil is my choice. I was lucky enough to have a couple of encounters on the Heath with him when I was assistant trainer to Michael Bell. One of those occasions involved a discussion about whether Frankel should go to the Breeders’ Cup at the end of his three-year-old season.
There was some pressure coming on him to travel Frankel but he was very much against it and with a straight face he asked me what I would do. He caught me out big time and I mumbled an answer.
He made the right decision over Frankel, who came back an even better horse as a four-year-old. That was the type of man he was, very sincere, very kind and very interested in everyone. He certainly left an impression on me.
It was one of my great privileges to spend two years at Warren Place with Jane Cecil after Henry died, around some of the structure and horses that he spent a lifetime building. Although I never worked for him and didn’t know him well, I always adored him, like so many other people.
Which is your favourite venue, and race, anywhere in the world?
I am enjoying racing in Bahrain at the moment – I’ve been spending my winter out there and we’ve had a lot of success. Sakhir [the Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club] is a very fun, friendly, safe track to race at. It’s a beautiful racecourse with kind people. The racing is competitive and we’ve been fortunate to take the right horses.
My favourite race would be a race meeting as I’m a sucker for the Breeders’ Cup. I love the meeting and the international competition. Going to Del Mar or Santa Anita at the end of the year is pretty special.
Who is your favourite racehorse and why?
Isle Of Jura is my favourite because the journey he has taken us on has been unbelievably special. We bought him after he finished mid-division in a maiden at Wolverhampton and he started off on a rating of 71. He is currently on a mark of 119 and has won eight of his last ten races.
He is very individually minded and needs quite a lot of TLC as he’s quite a character to be around. I am just very hopeful we can get him back in the same sort of shape for this year as I still think he has plenty more to give.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
Noble Mission winning the Champion Stakes when I was assistant to Jane Cecil was a feeling I haven’t really had on a racecourse before. He was almost the perfect racehorse. We wanted to go to America but the Prince was keen for him to go to the Champion Stakes where he took on old foe Al Kazeem.
It was an amazing race. They went head-to-head up the Ascot straight. We had decided to alter his hood by taking out the silicon, which made him a bit more responsive and I think that was the difference between winning and losing. I remember him crossing the line and everything just stopped. Although I have trained some nice horses, that moment stands out.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
I would like everyone to be a bit more positive about racing. There is a huge amount of negativity in the press, and day-to-day when you are around people.
At the end of the day the feeling a winner gives you is so unique and so difficult to achieve. We should concentrate a bit more on the positives and less on the negatives. Prize-money is a massive problem but if everyone was pulling in the same direction, it would make life a bit easier.
George Scott was speaking to Jon Lees
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