An Interview with Charlie Longsdon

Charlie Longsdon, 46, was born and bred in Gloucestershire. He is married to Sophie and they have three children; Milly and twin boys Harry and Freddie.

He had a horsey childhood, pony clubbing, hunting and eventing. Not from a racing family, Charlie followed his dream and started training in 2006. So far, he has sent out over 600 winners from Hull Farm near Chipping Norton. This season he will be planning on building upon the big winners and successes of last year…

How did you get into racing?
'My family had no active involvement in racing, but we did go racing as children and that is when I got hooked. We would always go to Cheltenham, the Hennessy meeting at Newbury, and Ascot for the King George meeting. You can’t fail to get hooked when you see those top class horses race…'

What trainers have you worked for and in which roles?
'I started off with a couple of holiday jobs for Oliver Sherwood during university holidays, basically working as a ‘stable lad’. Then, when I left university, I spent three years with Kim Bailey as a pupil assistant. After that, I spent five years at Nicky Henderson’s as his assistant. All three were great people to learn off and set me up nicely for a training career.'

Which is your favourite racecourse?
'Sandown would definitely be my favourite track - it’s an amazing course especially with the iconic Railway fences. It also helps that we have had a few good winners there including the Imperial Cup with Paintball and the Veterans’ Final with Pete The Feat.'

As a trainer, which race would you most lie to win?
'The Grand National - it is the most watched and iconic race in the world…. who wouldn’t want to win it!!'

What have been your best days as a trainer so far?
'There having been a few - ranging from my first ever winner with Royal Katidoki in 2006 to the likes of Bentelimar’s big win at the National meeting and Snow Leopardess’ Becher Chase win last December.'

Generally, in which aspects does racing do really well?
'Racing is very good at rallying around in someone’s hour of need. It can be a dangerous sport but when something does go wrong, I’d like to think that the racing community is one big family…'

And where could improvements be made?
'It is improving all the time but there is plenty of room for more improvement in prize money and the race day looking after owners. Some racecourses look after the owners exceptionally well and that can be said also with prize money, but there are plenty of courses lagging behind.'

Who is your racing hero?
'Sir Mark Prescott - the most interesting man you’ll ever meet. A fountain of knowledge and a very shrewd trainer.'

Which is the best party or celebration you’ve been too?!
'I’ve been lucky enough to have been to a few…. AP McCoy’s retirement 'do' in Ireland was probably the most special. A proper all-night party with Robbie Williams being the star attraction.'

What is the best advice you’ve been given?
'To not panic and be patient when your horses are running badly. Do not change the way you train. You know how to train winners so be patient and they will come right and the winners will then start flowing again...'