NORTON-BASED trainer Linda Stubbs called time on her long training career after Carey Street had won the extended mile handicap at Wolverhampton on Friday evening.
“It was just about the perfect ending,” she said after the eight-year-old, who was partnered by top female rider Hollie Doyle, had won his first race since March 2022.
“We weren’t going to run him as he had run on Monday, but he came out of the race well and this race cut up. It’s great to win for his owner who has been with us for more than 40 years.”
Linda is one of three members of the Stubbs to hold a trainer’s licence. She took first over from her husband Bill in 1991, but that was only on a temporary basis, but she went on to hold the licence from 1995 to 2013 when daughter Kristen, who rode several of her winners, took it over.
But four years ago she resumed as the licence holder. However, now for the first time in around 40 years there will be no member of the Stubbs family training in Ryedale.
Linda had around 200 winners, her best horse being Mrs P, who won the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster at odds of 33-1 with the great Pat Eddery taking the ride.
Saxford, who was bought for just 2,500gns, won the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury for her in 2008, and her other notable winner was Forevertheoptimist who won the Listed Dragon Stakes at Sandown as a two-year-old.
He was another well-bought horse for he cost 14,000gns as a yearling and was sold on for 75,000gns at the end of his juvenile career.
One of Linda’s most prolific winners was Bronze Beau who ran a total of 137 times and won 12 of them, six of them at the Scottish venue of Hamilton Park.
On Friday, Hollie Doyle was winning her third race on Linda’s Carey Street, but he has also won twice in the hands of Malton-based Joanna Mason, who was also in the winners’ enclosure on Friday evening when partnering the 9-1 shot Beauty Choice for David and Mick Easterby to a short head success in the seven-furlong handicap.
This was continuing Joanna’s excellent start to 2024 for the seven-year-old, who was winning his fifth race, giving her winner number six of the year.
Overall Friday was a good day for local yards, for Alan Brown, who is based near Yedingham, got off the mark for the year when Urban Road won the mile-and-a-quarter handicap at Newcastle.
It was a close call for it was only in the final strides that jockey Rowan Scott got him up to beat the Newmarket raider Turner Girl by a nose.
Another local yard to break its duck for 2024 at Newcastle was Langton’s Nigel Tinkler, whose Athollblair Boy, partnered by Faye McManoman, landed the six-furlong handicap in good style at odds of 7-1.
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