Ramsdens come home

The past tense is no longer necessary. Contracts have been exchanged between the Ramsdens and wealthy racehorse owner Dr John Hollowood on their old yard at Breckenbrough House that changed hands for a reputed £1 million in 1998. The completion date is set for 7 December.

Jack pinpointed the new turf Flat season in March 2001 as the start date. Plans to cap their new string at 35 - even leaving horses such as Royal Ascot hero Nuclear Debate, whom Lynda part-owns, with French handler John Hammond - have already over-run. "Lynda is keen to get started," he said. "After two years on the peripheries, we miss the involvement with racing and Lynda misses the horses. We don't regret moving to France. It's been good fun and I bet many a trainer would fancy two years off mid-career. Now, refreshed and wiser, we're keen to come back.

"We never intended to train here but nurtured a rather ill-conceived plan for Lynda to carry on within another trainer's yard, but it didn't work. I'm not blaming anyone. A trainer's stable is his own little kingdom and the last thing I would want is someone kicking around the outer limits of it. That's why the plan was ill-conceived."

Ramsden reiterated that bitterness towards the Jockey Club, stewards or handicappers was not a factor in their exile.

"After the libel trial, it became very apparent how united the press are - they rallied round when the result was announced," he said. "But we were also full up with horses and going nowhere. It was the right thing to do at the time and we may not have come back at all had the old place not become available."

Jack welcomes the Jockey Club's fine-tuning of its attitude towards 'non-triers' in a race, with penalties differing according to case details, and the change in the whip rules prompted by the York stewards breaking ranks. He notes the change in emphasis by British handicappers.

"They're much tougher on winners and placed horses than they used to be and you could argue they're correct - such horses are more likely to win. But I feel sorry for their owners and trainers as they go up in the ratings without any pay-off," he said. "It's now harder to back winners in the UK."

Jack has also noted with mixed feelings the victorious exploits of horses he sold two years ago such as Rudi's Pet, Naviasky and Taffs Well. "We made a cock-up with Rudi's Pet in not gelding him," admitted Jack. "But if any trainer - even a Stoute or Cecil - held a dispersal sale, inevitably a few will do better for their new trainer. You don't hear about the others."

The Ramsdens have certain targets in mind. "We always like to win a big handicap and, having been runner-up twice in both the Cambridgeshire and Cesarewitch, they spring to mind. We've also never had much luck at Royal Ascot," noted Jack.

But this is a fresh start for the bookies' old adversaries and racing's old friends.