Ed Vaughan announces decision to quit

Trainer enjoyed Group Two success last week.

Newmarket handler Ed Vaughan has announced he is to quit training later in the season.

Vaughan, who has sent out multiple Group and Listed winners since taking out a licence in 2004, claimed another noteworthy success with Dame Malliot in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket just last week.

However, he cited economic concerns as the driving force behind the decision to relinquish his licence.

He said: “I haven’t just woken up and decided to do this. It’s been on my mind for a while and now seems the right time to finish up training here in the UK.

“As everyone is aware, with the reductions in prize money and the cost of running a business being so high, the economics of training in Britain are not good. I’m taking this decision now because I can see things getting worse in the next year.

“I wouldn’t rule out training elsewhere, but with 25 horses, as we have here, I just don’t see a future for doing that in the UK because I think things are going to get very tough when we are already in the situation where we have prize money that hardly covers the cost of keeping a horse in training for a month.”

Vaughan has based a part of his business model on trading horses abroad, in particular to Australia through his association with bloodstock agent Paul Moroney.

He added: “I’ve trained horses here to continue their careers in places like Australia after putting a European-style base to their training, and they’ve gone on and done very well down there, winning several races and some of them won over $400,000.

“I have a good idea of the type of horse that’s required and the level and style of racing you need for various jurisdictions. We’ve also done well selling horses to Hong Kong and America.”

Vaughan spent four years in the United States after graduating from the Irish National Stud course and then broke in Dubai Millennium when working for Darley in Ireland.

He served as Assistant Trainer to dual Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Noel Chance, before joining the late Alec Stewart in Newmarket. Following Stewart’s death in 2004, Vaughan started training in his own right and he moved to the historic Machell Place Stables in 2011.

Alan Pickering was the first owner to support Vaughan in his training venture and the pair won the Group Three Winter Derby with Robin Hoods Bay.

Vaughan said: “Alan has become a valued friend and I would like to express my gratitude to all my owners and to my staff for their continued support.

“A special mention is due to Anthony Oppenheimer: we’ve shared plenty of success together, most recently with Dame Malliot. I must also thank Colin Murfitt, who has been a wonderful landlord, owner and friend over the years.

“There have been some great days, and I feel blessed to have met some wonderful people along the way. All these friendships I can take with me on the next stage of the journey, which will be somewhere in this industry that I love.”

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