Chelsea Banham

A graduate of the British Racing School, Chelsea Banham officially became the youngest trainer in Britain, when, on August 7, 2019, at age of 20, she saddled her first runner, Makambe, in a Yarmouth handicap. Her arrival in the training ranks caused a minor kerfuffle insofar that he father, Gary, had been subject an indefinite ban – albeit later rescinded – by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) in January 2011, having failed to answer questions regarding the running and riding of Sabre Light at Lingfield in December 2008. Chelsea Banham, who was still a child at the time of the incident, said, quite rightly, ‘I had absolutely nothing to do with that’.

Having persuaded the BHA to overturn his ban, Gary Banham bought Mulligan’s Yard, near the village of Cowlinge, Suffolk, less than ten miles from Newmarket, for his daughter. The yard had previously been occupied by John Ferguson and, subsequently, by Paul Howling, for whom Chelsea Banham worked as assistant before striking out on her own. Prior to that, she had spent a year in a similar position with veteran Alan Bailey at Cavendish Stables on the Hamilton Road in Newmarket.

Chelsea Banham holds a combined licence, but has, so far, saddled all bar one runner on the Flat. She enjoyed her most successful season so far, numerically, in 2020, with 15 winners from 129 winners, at a strike rate of 12%, and just over £70,000 in prize money.

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Email: chelseabanhamracing@gmail.com