End Of Year Review From Ed

It has been a good year for Bethell Racing as we have amassed over £1,000,000 in prize money worldwide for the second year running and we have trained over 50 winners for the second year running. A lot of this could not have been achieved without our owners, who have supported us throughout the years and we are incredibly grateful to you all, we hope you are continuing to enjoy the journey and there is a distinct feeling that 2026 could be even more exciting, with the lovely crop of two year olds who have been slow burners but could well develop into some very smart prospects for 2026!

We also could not have achieved this season or continued progress without our valuable team they have been brilliant, worked tirelessly throughout the year and its due to all their hard work that we have been able to achieve the results we have and how the horses look. WE are very lucky to have every single one of the team, as they care for all the horses as if they were their own.

The season itself, started off as if second was the new first, we seemingly constantly were hitting the cross bar, the horse were running brilliantly and all to form but it was rather frustrating, at least it is more than can be said for Manchester United! However, we seemed to come through the difficult spell of seconds and have found ourselves hitting the net, with plenty of winners.

The year started off in the Middle East, with Point Lynas running an almighty race on a track, that looked fit for the Olympic skiing slalom, luckily we came through it unscathed and picked up a large share of the prize money, it was a trip we thoroughly enjoyed and as long as we get the all clear that the track has been repaired to the highest standard then we will certainly be sending horses back out there.

Regional went over to Dubai for World Cup night, an experience like no other, the spectacle. Regional and his syndicate experience was truly one of the most special nights racing, and the prize money was tremendous too boot. Bethell Racing will be represented there more regularly throughout the forthcoming years, we firmly have the bit between our teeth.

Old Cock flew the flag at the Dante meeting winning the prestigious Hambleton Handicap, giving us back to back wins in such a tricky race to win. He is such a cool horse, who has had to come through a fair bit of adversity to be as good as he has been.

Royal Ascot was a great week, we fired three bullets down there. Regional finishing third in the Group 1 Kings Stand, running a blinder and picking up plenty of money in the process. Yorkshire ran heroically to finish fifth in the Buckingham Palace for our in-house syndicate Clarendon Thoroughbred Racing, one of the hardest races in the calendar to win. Oolong Poobong also flying the flag for the Clarendon Racing syndicate, finishing fourth in the Sandringham. The great thing about these horses, they were all owned by syndicates showing that anyone can match the giants of racing and show up. They will all be back for 2026 and lets hope they can go close again!

July was a month where seconds seemed to be our favourite word, we had eight runners on one Saturday and we had five seconds that day! See That Storm finished second in the John Smiths Cup was one of the highlights of the season, we bought him relatively cheaply from the horses in training sales rated 74 and he went on to be rated 100 before being sold to Australia.

Point Lynas was heroic in defeat in the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot, nearly stealing the race from a subsequent Gr. 1 winner. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is a huge character and is great fun to have in training, he trains himself and we just live in his world. This fateful day in July was superb but as most of you know the competitive side of me, would only go home and reflect as to why we came second and not win! The answer is I think had we had a little more luck on the day it might have been different. It’s racing and we are fortunate as there will be a lot more days like this to be had and hopefully we are at the right end of the result!

In August and September we had sixteen winners, the horses ran well and the highlight was Azure Angel blitzing a very competitive £75,000 handicap at Southwell and looking like a sprinter with a big future.

Corolla Point hit the board twice in a month, also looking like a sprinter that could make the big jump from Handicaps into group company in 2026. He originally cost £900,000 as a breeze up and luckily for us Godolphin were happy to offload him for £60,000 in the horses in training sale in July. Fingers crossed he will be well on his way to paying for himself! We might even target the £900,000!!

October started off very well with Elim winning and running a career best in the Listed Guisborough stakes after not having seen a racetrack for exactly a year, she is an almighty filly who we are very lucky to have in training.

I have always been a man with a plan, I always look forward and I am very much looking forward to 2026 and the horses we have going into next year. It is great to reflect on the 2025 season and we can look back at what our great team have done over the years but we must always look to future, look to where we can improve our facilities, where racing can improve the owner experience and what we can to improve other aspects about the sport.

Our sport has been tremendous at creating the doom and gloom, but actually we have so much to be positive about. We have the best horses in the world, although Japan are catching up with us, we have the best racing in the world or definitely the most prestigious where international competition wants to come to try and beat us.

Owners are the lifeblood of the sport and I think the new chair of the BHA knows this and the change in leadership in the ROA can only benefit everyone. We all know the flaws of the sport, and we need everyone to come together to communicate with each other show transparency.

Lord Allen looks the man to do this and I feel that he could really create light at the end of the tunnel, it wont be a quick fix but it will happen if we can all get behind him for the future. I am fully invested, I want to see the sport get better and interact with a new audience. I also want to help grow the owner experience, some tracks do it superbly and others need to catch up.

With all the doom and gloom of the political world I am hopeful that racing and Bethell Racing can really shine a light through a tricky period to ensure we can have enjoyment.