Moore has ‘no regrets’ as he says farewell to racing

Moore bows out of the game with “no regrets”, but admits he is leaving a different sport to the one he joined when he first took out a licence in 1984.

A winner of two Northumberland Plates through Highflying and Toldo, a Finale Juvenile Hurdle with Good Profile and at Royal Ascot through Regal Reform, Moore was as adept at training three-mile chasers as he was handicap sprinters.

“There’ll be mixed emotions, that’s for sure,” said Moore, who has put his Warwick Lodge yard on the market.

“We’ll be staying in Yorkshire as we’ve got grandchildren in Hartlepool and Ripon, but we don’t know where as yet.

“We decided three months ago this would be it and the hardest part was telling the owners, as some have supported us for 30 years.

“You’ve got to have the horses to make you get up in a morning and we’re slightly down on numbers, I didn’t want it to become a struggle and thankfully it never has been – we’ve always had good payers.

“When I hear some of the stories of how some owners carry on I don’t know how people survive.”

A former jockey, Moore said: “I started training in November 1984 and have enjoyed every minute. It’s hard to split the two Northumberland Plates. When Highflying won it in 1993 the Queen presented the Trophy, I think it was the 100th running, and then when Toldo won it was worth £200,000.

“The year after Toldo won Macorville was beaten a short head and I was convinced he’d won. That would have been nice.”

While Moore is still intoxicated by the sport, the state of the northern jumping scene worries him.

“The simple fact is that all the rich owners live down south and a lot of very good trainers up here have sadly passed, Gordon Richards, Arthur Stephenson and the Dickinsons,” he added.

“We set off as a jumping yard – 10 years ago we were 50-50, but we ended up mostly Flat. That’s because people these days want instant success, they don’t want to wait for years with a store horse.

“The big shining light in the north are Sue and Harvey Smith, every year they seem to find a star and now it’s Wakanda. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve trained for great people and it’s far from doom and gloom. It’s a game for the youngsters now, I’ve no regrets.”

As for Wolf Shield’s chances of sending him out on a winner, Moore said: “He’ll run well, he’s had a breathing operation as he wasn’t quite getting home in his races, so we’ll see how he goes.”

Holywell, fourth in last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, heads a 15-strong field declared for the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster tomorrow.