Prescott lauds Stoute following retirement news

Sir Mark Prescott hailed Sir Michael Stoute as “the most focused trainer of my time” following the news that his fellow veteran handler announced he will retire at the end of the season.

It was in 1972 that Stoute commenced what would turn out to be a glittering training career in Newmarket, two years after Prescott had taken over the licence at Heath House Stables.

Prescott, who himself has enjoyed has his fair share of big-race success over the past 50 years, has nothing but admiration for his Newmarket neighbour, who has been crowned champion trainer 10 times and saddled six Derby winners among 16 British Classic victories.

Prescott said: “Obviously I’m very sad he’s retiring, because it’s leaving me more and more exposed!

“I think he is probably the most focussed trainer of my time. When he got a good horse, he absolutely focussed on it.

“He is a tremendous jockey mentor as well. If he could see genius in a jockey, if he could see flair, he would go to tremendous lengths to nurture that and get the best out of his jockeys.

“I think the combination of that laser focus on his good horses and the mentoring of the men that rode them made him a very hard hard trainer for the finest in the world to beat.”

Prescott revealed it did not take him long to realise the Barbados born-and-raised Stoute would become a force to be reckoned with in Britain.

“He was obviously assistant to Doug Smith and played a significant part in training Sleeping Partner, who won the Oaks (1969),” he added.

“He then started up just behind where I am now and I remember when his horses first came out, about eight of them or something like that, they absolutely looked a string from the very, very first.

“I had a couple of years start, but he soon sailed past me and sailed into the distance! If I had to say why, I think those two things – the focus on the horse and the mentoring of his staff and his jockeys in particular, would be the reasons.”