Ettington trainer making name for herself on point-to-point scene

ETTINGTON trainer Francesca Nimmo and her partner Charlie Poste, a national Hunt jockey, are quickly making a name for themselves as one of the most astute operations on the point-to-point circuit.

In the past two completed seasons, the Station Yard base has sent out 30 winners between the flags, almost half of which have been young maidens, many of whom have been sold on to race under rules.

When asked why the couple decided to focus on young horses, Poste said: “It happened by accident.

“We were offered Fortunata Fashions unbroken, so we thought we’d see how we got on and she bolted up Brocklesby Park.

“We enjoyed it, so we thought we’d keep trying with the young horses and the next year, we bought three.”

Nimmo added: “We’ve only ever invested our own money in the young horses.

“It helps greatly that we have the backing and pre-training business to help with the daily cash flow.

“We sold Fortunata Fashions well in 2015 and put the funds from her back in, then the next year we had Betterlatethanneva, Lost In Lecce and On Account, who made good money.

“The more we sell, the more we can afford to buy.”

When it comes to picking a horse to buy, Poste admitted the duo try to find themselves a bargain in the sales.

“We like to buy a naturally athletic horse that we feel we can get on with,” he said.

“Fran is very good with confirmation and is quite fussy about what she likes, while I’m more impulsive.

“However, we try our best to look for commercial stallions, as it’s important when it comes to selling them.

“With each horse, at worst we’ve broken even.

“We’ve been sensible and haven’t left ourselves exposed.

“We never have credit and we roll any profits back into the business.”

Nimmo was also quick to point out that people interested in getting into the sport did not have to be big spenders.

She added: “Just because some people spend £30,000 on a store horse doesn’t mean everyone does.

“Betterlatethanneva cost just £1,800, we’ve bought stores for as little as £5,000 and never spent more than £20,000 until this season.

“Kootenay River cost €10,000 and made eight times that.

“Anyone can do it – you don't need a big budget.”

It is clear that Nimmo and Poste are a true partnership but neither do anything until they have received the other’s input.

Poste continued: “We do everything together.

“We’re both quite stubborn and opinionated and we sometimes have heated debates, but it seems to work well.

“However, Fran runs the show when I’m not here and I tend to break the youngsters in as Fran’s too pretty to risk getting hurt.”