WITH the new National Hunt racing season getting underway in earnest shortly, I caught up with Johnson White who shares the trainers licence with Philip Hobbs at Sandhill Racing Stables at Bilbrook.

“I’m still as excited now as I was when we turned the horses out in May,” said Johnson. “At the end of last season we thought we’d have an exciting team going into the autumn and I still stand by that.

“All of the horses have summered well and have been back in since the middle of July with a view to them running in the middle of October, if the ground allows. We have had a bit of rain but we still need an awful lot more, but it will come and is the same for everyone.

“As far as we are concerned the horses are doing what we’d like them to at this stage and just beginning to step up their work now. They are all looking well so it’s so far so good.

“We finished on a high last season and to have Kap Vert winning the Scottish Grand National at Ayr was a great way to end it, if somewhat unexpected. Having won twice at Taunton which was lovely in itself, then to go up there and win it - that was the icing on the cake for the season.

“Winning at Ayr has got us revved up even more for what we have got to look forward to.

“To win the Scottish Grand National was the biggest winner we have since I have become the joint licence holder.

“There were several things that were great about it. The horse was carrying my parents colours in our syndicate which was very special; most of the owners were there which was fantastic and I think it was also a good advert for new syndicates as well.

“With a relatively inexpensive horse to have a big winner just proves that you don’t have to spend massive bucks to be competitive in valuable race s- not that it’s always the case but it was the case with Kap Vert.

“Every now again you need a story like Hewick, Dream Alliance or Kap Vert to name three just to keep it real and make people aware that you don’t have to spend £500k on a horse to run on Saturdays on television.

“Syndication of horses is certainly the way that we have gone in recent years in the current climate financially; it just makes it more affordable and it’s been very interesting to see the dynamics of the individual syndicates.

“Our horses will all be ready to run by mid October - if the ground allows and when they are all back we will have about 65 in the yard.

“We have got just over 20 members of staff who are a great team and work really well together. I’m as happy and confident with the staff team as I am with the horses that we have got.”

“We have got some lovely unexposed horses in the yard likeLord Max, a half brother to Sober Glory, and Sitting on a Fortune, a very nice horse bought from Ireland who will go straight over hurdles.

“Then we have got the older horses Kap Vert, Sober Glory, Captain Hugo, Imperial Saint, and Kikki Jo all to look forward to as well.”