Stout was a magical, mystical figure. Also a man of mystery. He’s the one who got me into racing

SIR MICHAEL STOUT sent out his last runner this week.
For most, he will go down in history as a legend of the sport, not trained in the game, but as a brilliant rider.

After 52 years as a trainer, Stout retires with more than 4,000 winners, 16 British Classics including half a dozen Derby victories under the imperious Shergar, 10 trainers’ championships, 82 Royal Ascot winners, an Arc with Workforce and eight Breeders’ Cup victories. .

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To someone like me, who had nothing to do with horse racing, Stout was a magical, almost mystical figure. Also a man of mystery.

I heard about Shergar when I first got hooked on racing, but it was Shadeed, Sonic Lady and Bella Colora who were the first Stout inmates to really push me.

It says a lot about this game that Stout will be the man to run Colorspin and Opera House, who were both related to Bella Color – the horse who in 1985 broke Oh So Sharp and Al Bahathri’s records in the top 1000 Guineas of all. time.

Of course, Stout’s stable driver for many years was Ryan Moore, and the pair were made for each other.

As a conversationalist, Stout was a challenge, and you know Moore is the same type.

People often wonder why journalists bother with people who don’t want to answer questions.

Indeed, many months ago on social media I lost count of the messages “Moore really hates Chapman, doesn’t he?”

As it happens, I had many fascinating conversations with Moore behind the scenes and exchanged many personal messages on industry issues.

Moore doesn’t like interviews and what he sees as meaningless questions rather than people.

However, the reason those who do my work continue to talk to the likes of Stout and Moore is because of the hope for “the moment,” whatever that may be.

Over the years, I have had some very unusual working relationships that I think have developed into a friendship of sorts.

Naturally, I can only speak about this for myself.

One was with Martin Pipe, the other with the late, great Sir Henry Cecil.

A few years ago, when I was given permission to make the Legends series about the old Utteraks, I spoke to Sir Henry about Sir Michael.

“He’s very hard to beat,” Cecil said. “We had a great rivalry.

“We were jealous of each other, if he doesn’t mind admitting it!

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Michael, he’s a very good coach. I can say that we are friends.”

During this conversation I felt Cecil Stout’s complete admiration for him.
It was real.

This alone speaks volumes about the kind of coach Barbados-born Stout was.

I always wondered why Sir Henry or Pipe spoke to me the way they did. Ultimately, I suspect it’s because I arrived with no luggage, no plans.

And I never betrayed them. The same thing is happening to Aidan O’Brien now.

I couldn’t get enough of the stories and “exclusives” from all three, and would flinch when someone else said something I knew.

But trust is important. I hope Pipe and Cecil can say that I’ve never let them down, on or off the record. O’Brien the same.

Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to experience Stout in the same way, but there were some “moments” along the way that I will never forget.

One of them appeared not so long ago in an interview about Desert Crown, which appeared after Passenger’s victory in Newmarket.

When I asked Sir Michael if the Arch was the end goal, Stout did what Stout always does so well: he started to walk away, commenting, “Come on, relax!”

But it was in a recent interview with Sir Michael before the Breeders’ Cup at the World Races that I realized why so many people embraced him, including, of course, his beloved late wife Coral Pritchard-Gordon.

Stout was being saucy, especially about my hair, which he didn’t like and described as “could have been done better” and “you don’t call that style, do you? It’s just a coincidence.”

However, I did my best to give the best credit possible by reminding Sir Michael that it took him 15 tries before he finally won the Breeders’ Cup race.

However, he did it in style in 1996, winning one-two on the Turf thanks to Piłsudski and Singspiel.

At some points in our conversation, Sir Michael managed to relax and even laugh at times. He also had an evil twinkle in his eyes.

I walked away thinking I had just met the “real” Sir Michael Stout (left).
Bright, funny, a little mischievous. And yes, magical.
I hope he realizes what he meant to so many of us.

Yeahhhh

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