If you look up the name Nicholas Alexander, it is possible that you will be presented with information about the American actor who was a regular in the soap General Hospital. It goes without saying that that is not who we are talking about here.
Instead, we’re looking at the man who emerged from a family steeped in the history of National Hunt racing in Scotland, going on to become a financier in London before returning to the sport of his father in order to try to get some winners to the yard. He succeeded in that aim, trying to mirror his hero, Aidan O’Brien.
About
It must have been difficult for Nicholas Alexander to tell his parents that he had decided to enter the world of finance in London, given the fact that his father, Cyril Alexander, had been a successful racehorse trainer. It was Cyril who trained Subaltern, the horse that won the Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase over the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in 1967. When his father died in 1992, Jim Barclay took over the family yard and trained under licence, but it soon emerged that he struggled to get many winners out of the Scotlandwell yard, Kinneston Stables.
The result of that was that Alexander decided to give up his job and return home, believing that he could do better than the five winners that Barclay managed in both 1994-1995 and 1996-1997; his highest tally during his time in charge. He operated under permit in 2002, but also struggled during his first five years at the helm. Even once he’d taken out his full training licence in 2007, he still struggled to make any kind of meaningful impact. Eventually, though, the tide began to turn and Alexander was able to add more than a few winners to his tally, which continued in the years thereafter.
Major Successes
For Alexander, it wasn’t easy to bring winning horses to his yard. His luck changed at the end of the 2011-2012 season, however, when Sue Bradburne decided to retire as a National Hunt trainer. Located close to his yard, Bradburne took on the role of Alexander’s assistant, taking horses as well as owners over to his yard. The result was that he returned 28 winners during the 2012-2013 campaign, kick-starting his life as a professional trainer. In the years that followed, he improved his work to the point that he sent out more than 300 winners, with 25% of horses coming first or second.
Success, of course, is relative. Whilst Willie Mullins might not think twice about winning some races, a trainer like Alexander will see them as huge victories for such a relatively small yard. Here is a look at some of the races that he trained the winners of:
- Go North Final
- Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase
- Weatherby’s Maiden Hurdle
Horse Trained
Three runners at @PerthRacecourse today – https://t.co/JhwaoNgdQS pic.twitter.com/fMD4bL7zEt
— Nick Alexander (@kinneston) July 3, 2025
As with the races, the kinds of horses trained by Alexander might not make much of an impact in the yards of bigger trainers, but for him they have done exactly what he needed. He has seen wins thanks to names such as Everyday Champagne, earning modest returns but ones that are more than good enough for a stable such as his. Here is a look at some of the horses that he has managed to train to victory over the years:
Wise Man
Whilst Wise Man may not have achieved a huge amount in his racing career, the fact that he was the first winner that Alexander trained under National Hunt rules means that he stands out as being one of the most important. It was, he said, the moment that he realised that he could actually do this, giving him the confidence to go on and continue working as a professional trainer. If you are going to highlight a horse for its involvement with a trainer, picking out the one that kept him going and believing is about the most important of the choices that you could make.
