Formerly an amateur National Hunt jockey, with a handful of winners to his name, and successful point-to-point trainer, Richard Bandey first took out as full training licence as recently as October 2018. However, he made a promising start to his time in the professional training ranks, winning with just his fourth runner in that sphere.

Firmly established at Plantation Farm in Wolverton, near Tadley, on the edge of the Hampshire Downs, Bandey holds combined licence, for all that he has yet to saddle a winner on the Flat, albeit from relatively few runners. His wife, Kate, who is a qualified veterinary surgeon, oversees the health and well-being of the horses in his charge.

Although hardly prolific in the early years of his career, Bandey enjoyed something of a breakthrough season in 2021/22, when he saddled 19 winners from 79 runners, at a hearty 24% strike rate, and amassed £212,243 in total prize money. A virus in his yard, which led to a run of three months without a winner, between December and March, restricted his seasonal tally to 13 winners in 2022/23, but, in 2023/24 so far, he has added eight more to his career total.

website: http://www.plantationfarm.co.uk/

Email: info@plantationfarm.co.uk