Flourishing Ferguson Focused on Festival

East Anglia-based trainer, John Ferguson, is hoping to continue his fledging debut season as a jumps trainer as he names seven entrants for the Cheltenham Festival.

Ferguson, based in Newmarket, has enjoyed an impressive first season as a jumps trainer, securing 24 wins in 65 races. This statistic is all the more striking when one considers the fact that Ferguson is in fact a Flat race specialist.

Having been unable to afford the fees to become a trainer, Ferguson started out as a stable lad. Later, he went on to become an assistant at Sir Michael Stoute’s stables in Newmarket, before moving into bloodstock under Godolphin majority shareholder, Sheik Mohammed. Since then, Ferguson has become one of the Sheik’s most trusted advisors, helping to choose, buy and place the horses owned by the UAE Prime Minister.

Given his success at racing’s largest ever bloodstock operation and his regular travels to Dubai, Ferguson might have been forgiven for resting on his laurels.

This season, however, Ferguson finally realised his 25-year-long dream to become a trainer and has proven himself to be just as astute at training jump winners as he is at purchasing Flat race winners.

Cotton Mill, who won on his last time out at Warwick, represents an appealing outside shot for Wednesday’s Neptune Investments Novices’ Hurdle. Ferguson’s five-year-old is unbeaten over hurdles, although the Grade One race marks a massive step up for the novice. Despite his inexperience, Cotton Mill’s unbeaten run has seen his odds slashed from 33/1 to 20/1.

Arguably, Ferguson’s best chance at Cheltenham glory, however, comes in the form of New Year’s Eve. Like Cotton Mill, New Year’s Eve is running on the Wednesday fixture of the four-day festival, in the 17:15 Weatherby’s Champion Bumper. In his only two other races (albeit at a lower level), the gelding is unbeaten and he goes into the Grade One race as an 8/1 outsider. New Year’s Eve will be competing with his stable mate, Population, who also runs for Ferguson in the last race of the day.

In light of the step up in class, Ferguson made the decision to replace his regular, novice jockey, Jack Quinlan, with the experienced, Grade One winner, Barry Geraghty. Ferguson said, ‘Jack has done absolutely nothing wrong on these horses but he has yet to ride at the Festival so it was the right thing to do to employ top jockeys who have ridden winners at the meeting for the top conditions races’. Ferguson also secured the services of Denis O’Regan to ride Cotton Mill, whilst Quinlan will keep his mounts in the handicaps.

Cheltenham is the pinnacle of the jump race season and Ferguson is obviously serious about taking his chance at the top level.

The Suffolk-based trainer will also be represented by Cape Dutch and Perpetually in the 16:00 Coral Cup on Wednesday. Whilst the four-year-old, Creekside, will run in the following 16:40 Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap.

Finally, on Thursday, Ferguson’s last winning horse, Asiad, will run in the 13:30 JCB Triumph Hurdle. Asiad is yet to win at Grade One level and his inexperience is reflected in his long-shot price of 50/1.