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Seconds Out: Oli Bell's Monthly Blog

Friday 19 May 2023
Seconds Out: Oli Bell's Monthly Blog

Hello Racesharers,

BREAKING NEWS! We are WINNING OWNERS. Congratulations to each and everyone of you, it's such a special feeling. How good was Scampi at York!? A huge thanks to Andrew Balding and all his team as well as Hayley Turner for a brilliant ride. Whilst Scampi has made history in being our first winner, I have no doubt he is the first of many. So I hope you all raised a glass, and here is to plenty more where that came from in the future.

Win, lose or draw though I hope you’re all getting as much enjoyment seeing the RaceShare horses in action as I have been. I was recently interviewed by Jonathan Harding at the Racing Post about my career in the sport and during the chat we touched on my early memories of racing and, like many, it came from watching the sport with my Grandad who owned horses.

I’ll never forget seeing the amount of enjoyment my Grandparents got out of ownership, and I guess from a very young age it was something I always hoped I would be able to experience also. That’s why I truly believe in syndicates such as RaceShare - because it allows so many people a chance to experience the thrill of racehorse ownership. Whilst my entry into the owners circle may have been away from RaceShare, I feel very fortunate to have become a part of the RaceShare family.

Many people will know of my first foray into ownership, because I basically never shut up about a horse called The Rainbow Hunter who went on to win the Skybet Chase and ran in three Grand Nationals. I’m fully aware it’s almost impossible to top that journey!

It all came about because after I returned to the UK having lived and worked in Oz for two years, I went for a drink with some great friends of mine, the Clancy Family, at Royal Ascot. I was at school with Jo Clancy and through the years got to know her brothers and parents very well, and as is the Clancy way, you then meet the uncles, cousins, the landlord at the local, the neighbour Mary Berry (that’s not a joke) etc etc. The point is that they are a phenomenal family that make sure everyone is welcome and everyone has a good time, and I have got to know them all really well - to the point I now can call them all very good friends of mine. Particularly Jo’s parents, Dermot and Vicky, who took me under their wing, gave me a bed after parties, cured many a hangover and always made me captivated by their stories and great humour.

Anyway, as the drinks were flowing after a day at the Royal Meeting, in walked Kim Bailey who had formerly trained for Kevin and Dermot Clancy. He very quickly turned the conversation to a horse he had for sale and very quickly we had bought said horse (Robbie, otherwise known as The Rainbow Hunter). Now, I’m going to level with you RaceShare owners, this was my pre-ITV days in my mid 20’s and I was drunk when I agreed to this. On waking up with the most monumental hangover I read a text from Kevin Clancy that said something along the lines of “great day, please send X amount of money to my bank account. Hope the head isn’t too sore.”

Well, the head was sore and despite my best efforts to act like I didn’t remember anything that happened the day before, I sent the money over before I could think too much about it. It was categorically the best decision I ever made.

We all had a reason to keep in touch, to meet up, to laugh, to get excited and to enjoy life away from work or the day to day. Obviously given Robbie was of a certain level we were able to go to major meetings and races such as the Grand National, but we were as happy cheering him on at Market Rasen midweek as we were at Aintree on the biggest Saturday of them all. I will never forget those days for many reasons but one will always stand out.

A few years ago Dermot Clancy tragically lost his life in a freak accident. He was, and I cannot stress this enough, a titan of a man. Always smiling, always living life to the full, generous with a capital G and the man you wanted around in every situation. For him to lose his life in the way he did is impossible to understand, but I feel so incredibly fortunate to have spent as much time in his presence as I did. The thing that brought us together and allowed us to enjoy so many memorable days was The Rainbow Hunter. A horse who gave so much joy to so many people, and gave me memories I will never forget on the track but gave me so so much more off it.

And that is the point I’m getting at in this month's blog, and to be honest, I'm not sure if im making it all that well, but racehorse ownership isn’t simply about watching a horse run round a field. There are so many facets and benefits to it that I hope all RaceShare owners are feeling since they got involved. It's about friendship, camaraderie and family. It’s about loving an animal and seeing them flourish and grow. It’s about dates in diaries and things to look forward away from the monotony of day to day life. It’s about building a community bigger than any individual. And in my experience, the most crucial thing is that racehorse ownership is about making memories with people you love that no matter what happens in life - no one can take away from you.

Congratulations to all of you involved in Scampi - let's make more memories together.

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Seconds Out: Oli Bell's Monthly Blog

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Upcoming and past events

Date Event Summary
18 November 2022
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The RaceShare team will be at Ascot on 18 and 19 November at the Shared Ownership Days. This is a great chance for us to meet racegoers and explain...
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19 November 2022
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RaceShare will be sponsoring the opening Novices' Hurdle at Ascot on 19 November. Alongside this, we will have a stand at Ascot's Shared Ownership ...
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Please visit the My Account section for a full list of events available to you as an owner, including any late availability.