Charlie Longsdon

Together with his wife, Sophie – who is the sister of fellow trainer Ben Pauling – Charlie Longsdon is based at the purpose-built Hull Farm Stables in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Longsdon first took out a training licence, in his own right, in 2006, but had previously served a lengthy apprenticeship. After leaving school, he worked for Nigel Twiston-Davies for six months and, during his summer holidays from Oxford Brookes University, for Oliver Sherwood. After graduation, he spent three years as assistant trainer to Kim Bailey and another five as assistant trainer to Nicky Henderson before, in 2004, winning the Alex Scott Memorial Fund Assistant Trainers’ Scholarship, which entitled him to spend a few months under the auspices of Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher in New York.

From his initial base at Cotswold Stud, near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, Longsdon sent out just nine winners but, following his move to Hull Farm Stables in 2009, gradually increased his tally, season-by-season, until 2013/14, when he peaked with 78 winners. Notable winners in the early part of his career included Songe in the Grade Two Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock in 2009, while more recently he has gained further Grade Two successes with Snow Leopardess in the ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle Finale at Newbury in 2017 and Castafiore in the Altcar Novices’ Chase at Haydock in 2019. All told, Longsdon has over 550 winners and upwards of £4 million to his name.