Kingsclere itself is actually a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. Its history can be traced back to the time of King Alfred, gaining an association with horse racing in the years that followed. Ian Balding was based there, as were his children, including Andrew and Clare Balding.
The owners of the stables decided to give the village’s name to their horse racing operation, which bears the full title of Kingsclere – Park House Stables. The location was chosen thanks to the history of racehorses being trained there for centuries, adjacent as it is to Downland and the turf there.
A History of Kingsclere
The size of the estate of Kingsclere is such that its history is as much about wealthy people as it is about the trainers that have been based there. Sir Joseph Hawley was a colourful character in the Victorian era, for example, who kept a strict hold on the horse racing operations and decided the likes of where his horses were to race and what the trainers would do. He had run a number of stables in Italy as well as elsewhere in Britain, building a new venue at Kingsclere in 1867. It had produced its first Derby winner within two years of operations getting underway.
That was thanks to the victory of Blue Gown at Epsom Racecourse, who then went on to win the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot later in the year. Hawley died in 1880, having written into his will that his chief trainer, John Porter, could buy the estate for half of its original cost, £4,000. The trainer was ambitious and decided to do just that, going about transforming the location into what was a state-of-the-art venue at the time. Such was the job that Porter did that the stables he created remain in use more than a century and a half later thanks to their functionality and excellent drainage.
The line of big-race winners didn’t show any sign of abating. Isonomy, for example, won eight major races between 1878 and 1880, winning not just at Ascot Racecourse but also at the likes of Doncaster and Goodwood. Porter’s patience paid off with Ormonde, who won the Triple Crown of flat racing under the jockey Fred Archer. His son, Flying Fox, also won the Triple Crown, becoming the third horse to emerge from the stables under Porter to pull off the feat. As his retirement approached, however, the cost of running the place resulted in it being reconstituted as ‘Kingsclere Ltd’.
Moving into the 20th Century
Funded by the likes of the Duke of Westminster and the Duke of Portland, William Waugh was recruited as trainer and the Classics success continued. It took until the 1920s for the stables to undergo its first sustained period with limited success, but the wins returned when Mid-day Sun won the Derby in 1937. American soldiers were stationed at Kingsclere during the Second World War, whilst the jump jockey Evan Williams, who was one of the riders of Golden Miller during his five Cheltenham Gold Cup wins, took on a licence to train there following the end of hostilities.
In 1953, Peter Hastings bought Kingsclere before changing his name to Peter Hastings-Bass by deed poll a year later. Once more, the stables were producing winners, prior to Hastings passing away in 1964, aged just 43. The licence passed on to his assistant, Ian Balding, who went on to marry Hastings’ daughter Emma five years later. During his time in charge of Kingsclere, Ian Balding oversaw more than 2,000 winners. Perhaps the most famous of those was Mill Reef, who was one of the greatest horses ever to be run in the sport of flat racing.
The Modern Era
Mill Reef became the first in a long line of talent to emerge from Park House Stables. The likes of Mrs Penny, Glint of Gold and Diamond Shoal also came from Balding’s time in charge, with the trainer seeing many of the biggest prizes in flat racing being won by his charges. His last winner came on the 18th of December 2002 thanks to Manicani’s win at Lingfield. At that point, the baton was taken on by Andrew Balding, Ian’s son, who enjoyed his first runner on New Year’s Day 2003 and then his first winner 11 days later thanks to Easter Egg’s success at the same racecourse.
It is fair to say that Park House Stables is considered to be one of the most modern and well-equipped stables in the world, thanks to the work that has gone into keeping it at the forefront of the horse racing industry ever since John Porter put his plans in place. The history of the venue is something that the current owners are keen to embrace rather than shy away from, knowing how important and magical the heritage of Kingsclere developed by the likes of Sir Joseph Hawley and John Porter is to the current success that the horses trained at the venue get to enjoy.
The Facilities
The facilities that are in place at a stable where horses are trained and reared are the most important facet of any venue. It is one of the best-equipped venues in horse racing, anywhere in the world. Although the basis of the property is still the same as it was when the yard was originally built back in the 1860s, it has used that as the framework. Around it, the facilities have been kept up to date and state-of-the-art every step of the way. That allows for the horses to be receiving the best care possible, thanks to the flexibility that comes from it being a private enterprise.
The Yards
The Yard on-site has as many as 200 boxes available, which are actually split up into nine separate yards. These range from the original brick yards built all those years ago, through to the more modern, new, American-style barns. There are three walkways, which are covered, as well as a lunge pit and two vet boxes. There is a digital weighbridge on site, used to ensure a monitoring of the horses’ weight. The Yard also contains a two-furlong indoor ride, which is circular in nature and allows for horses to be exercised irrespective of what the weather is up. The outdoor area can be used for both schooling and groundwork.
The Gallops
Kingsclere’s lower gallops offer a four and a half furlong poly track gallop laid out on the straight. There is also a five furlong active-track gallop and a circular all-weather offering which is circular. Meanwhile, there are two grass gallops that are turf-based and offer a set of schooling fences. Watership Down boasts the upper gallops, which offers an extensive grass gallop that has been in place for hundreds of years and makes use of the perfect turf that the area is blessed with. It provides the horses with an excellent cushion, limiting the possibility of any injury.
The upper gallops are also where you will find a mile-long all-weather gallop, which is available for use throughout the year and gives the horses somewhere to train that will be available outside regardless of whether it is sunny, rainy or snowing. The gallops are all accessed via tracks that have been purpose-built, as well as beautiful, tree-lined avenues. This means that the horses don’t have to worry about contending with the nearby traffic as they move from one part of Kingsclere to another, giving access to the facilities at all times of the year.
Equine Pool
If you want to be a top-class facility for the training of horses, you need to have an equine pool available for use. This is because it can offer horses suffering from an injury, such as leg injuries, to be exercised without putting unnecessary strain on their injury. Horses carrying excess condition that need additional fittening work can also be exercised in the equine pool. Meanwhile, horses that seem to be becoming a bit more of their usual routine can see their exercises ‘freshened up’ through the use of an equine pool instead of the same gallops that they’ve been using previously.
Starting Stalls
If a horse is to make it in the world of flat racing, then they need to get used to the use of starting stalls, which are in operation at the vast majority of courses up and down the country as well as around the rest of the world. As a result, Kingsclere boasts three sets of starting stalls, which young horses are introduced to by a schoolmaster who initially fits them into a static stall in the yard area. From there, they will progress to walking through and then standing in a stall close to the yard, before eventually moving to the stage of jumping out of stalls and into a gallop.
