A MIDWEEK evening meeting at Sedgefield in May may not be the most likely place to host a milestone victory. But the victory of the odds-on Odin’s Raven last week provided just that for Brian Ellison, who duly celebrated his 500th training success.

Based at Spring Cottage Stables in Norton, Ellison, a former Ryedale-based jockey, deserves the highest praise for reaching such a notable figure, having started out more than 20 years ago with only a small handful of horses.

“My first winner was Corbitt’s Diamond at Hexham in November 1989,” said a delighted Ellison, as he reflected on a training career which has had plenty of ups and downs.

Originally based in a rented yard in County Durham, Ellison returned to his Ryedale roots after six years when buying an establishment previously put on the map by Bill Haigh.

Ellison reckoned Spring Cottage to be a “lucky yard” and that’s how it has proved to him, though ask this son of Tyneside shipbuilder about his time at the sharp end and he’ll tell you “there’s been times when I’ve been down to six horses, times when I’ve never known where my next winner was coming from, and times when I’ve been really cheesed off”.

He added: “But training is what you do, what you love and you just keep going and hope for the best.”

Ellison’s survival qualities have stood him in fine stead and so too has his exceptional training ability of both Flat and National Hunt horses.

Recent years have been his best yet, under both codes, and he celebrated his first-ever Grade 1 winner last jumps season when bargain-buy Marsh Warbler won the Finale Juve-nile Hurdle at Chepstow in January.

“Latalomne, who ran so well in a couple of Champion Chases at Cheltenham, was another of my good jumpers from a few years ago,” said Ellison, who also has special memories of Fatehalkhair, whom he bought for less than £2,000 and who won 20 races.

A chronic box-walker, who hated being in confined spaces, Fatehalkhair’s fortunes – and behaviour – changed for the better when Ellison knocked down the back wall of his stable and allowed him the freedom to roam as he wished into a rear paddock on a daily basis.

It was fitting that the 500th success gained by Odin’s Raven last week was achieved at Sedgefield, as Ellison recalled: “It’s always been a lucky course for me.”

“Fatehalkhair – ‘Fatty’ – who was an amazing horse, won 13 times at Sedgefield. I also got married on the course and had a winner the same day!”

Winners have been very much Ellison’s forte in recent times. Ably supported by Kristin Strangeway’s Koo’s Racing Club, which has enjoyed remarkable success in the last couple of years, Ellison has gone from strength to strength.

His 33 winners, a then-best tally, on the Flat in 2009, was put firmly in the shade last year when he sent out 51 scorers on the level, not to mention another 20-plus over jumps to give him his best-ever annual total.

This year could see a further re-write. Ellison is already up to 19 winners on the Flat and, following the hurdling success of Odin’s Raven, he sent out Flat racers Global and Ravi River to win on Saturday at Musselburgh and York respectively, making it 502 by the end of a memorable week.

LILY’S ANGEL, who has yet to taste defeat in three races, bids to extend her winning sequence at Beverley this evening (Wednesday) in the prestigious and historic Hilary Needler Trophy.

Year on year, as far back as most of us want to remember, the Hilary Needler has been targeted by trainers for useful juvenile fillies. And this year is no exception.

Of the nine declared runners, seven, including the highly-regarded Queen’s Revenge, a debut winner at Ripon for Tim Easterby, are previous winners. None, however, has done what Lily’s Angel has done and completed an unbeaten hat-trick.

Triumphant on her debut on this course in April, the Richard Fahey-trained two-year-old has since won at Newcastle and at Chester, where she gained Listed-race status, by coming from last to first after a tardy start in the Lily Agnes Stakes.

“She did well to win at Chester,” said jockey Paul Hanagan. “She just missed a beat at the start and when that happens there, it’s usually game over. But she came through the whole field and won really well in the end. I love her.”

Hanagan will love her even more if she can manage to make it four from four in the Beverley showpiece. And if she does, Royal Ascot could well be on her agenda next month.

CAST your mind back to York in 1986 – if, of course, you’re old enough – and you will surely remember the high jinks in the winners’ enclosure as Mick Easterby danced a jig in delight after victory in the Gimcrack Stakes with Wiganthorpe.

The star juvenile, ridden by Willie Carson, carried the colours of Robert Sangster, who had bought the colt only 24 hours earlier.

Memories of that triumph were resurrected at a gale-ridden Carlisle on Monday when Risky Art, ridden by Graham Gibbons, made an impressive winning debut at 33-1. Robert Sangster is no longer with us, but the Sangster family own Risky Art.

“She’s the first horse we’ve had to carry the Sangster colours since Wiganthorpe,” said David Easterby, assistant and son of Mick, and still very much a schoolboy when Wiganthorpe did the business at York.

“I think I was about 11 at the time, but I remember it, and I remember that a deal was done, over a couple of bottles of champagne, for Mr Sangster to buy the horse on the run-up to the race.”

Risky Art faces a tough task if she is to emulate the achievements of Wiganthorpe, but she is clearly a talented filly.

“We’ve always liked her and she’d been working well, and we’ll think about stepping her up in class now,” said David. The Easterby stable at Sheriff Hutton is enjoying a terrific run at present and, following three winners at the recent York May Festival, a Carlisle double was completed by Alluring Star, ridden by the under-rated David Nolan.

DAVID O’MEARA proved the star of the show at Thirsk on Monday night when completing a double with War Poet and Quite Sparky.

The former Ryedale jump jockey has made a sensational impact in his first year as a trainer – he only took out a licence to train at Roger Fell’s Nawton yard last June – and, having substantially increased the size of his string, is fast becoming a major player on the northern circuit.

War Poet, after knocking on the door in maiden company, made his first appearance in handicap company a winning one with a decisive 11-4 success under Danny Tudhope.

As for Quite Sparky, he had to fight harder, but, in the hands of Silvestre de Sousa, prevailed by a head in the concluding handicap at 4-1.

COMMON TOUCH, who carries the colours of York Racecourse chairman Nicholas Wrigley, continues to endear himself to his biggest fan. The Malton gelding has won three of his five races – all on Knavesmire.

His latest success, coming on the back of a course victory at the May Festival, was gained last Saturday when Common Touch, part-owned by Kevin Hart, won in commanding fashion in the hands of Lee Topliss.

The apprentice was relieved to get on the scoreboard following a careless moment in the opening race on Halla San, when he eased down just before the line and lost second place, for which he was given a 10-day ban.

Plans for Common Touch, trained by Richard Fahey, remain fluid. The Britannia Handicap at Royal Ascot next month may be on his radar. But then so too may a return to York.

WESTOW trainer Paul Midgley has his horses in excellent form, as he proved with a 16-1 winner at Haydock last weekend.

Dazeen did the business in great style, at a meeting where Ollie Pears was also on the mark with Sound Amigo, the mount of Barry McHugh, who completed an unbeaten hat-trick of wins. “I was asked to take him last December and picked him up on Christmas Eve when there was about a foot of snow on the ground,” recalled Pears. “He’s a decent horse, and, hopefully, there’s more to come from him yet.”

Linda Stubbs was on the mark at Catterick last Friday night with sprinter Bronze Beau, ridden by Jimmy Sullivan, while up at Musselburgh, it was the stayer Hawk Mountain, trained by John Quinn, who came up trumps with a notable success under a good ride from Freddie Tylicki.

A winner at York’s Ebor Festival last August, Hawk Mountain is owned by racing broadcasters Nick Luck and Paul Morrison. A return visit to York next month may be next on his agenda.