Marten Julian’s Weekly Roundup 10 November 2025

On Sunday a colleague sent me a copy of a piece from the Racing Post Grapevine feature in which Tony Charlton expressed his appreciation for my putting him in touch with Toby Balding.

I don’t recall doing that but I remember Tony well, as a shy, quietly-spoken young lad and although I knew that he had taken over responsibility for Milton Harris’s string when that trainer was suspended, I was intrigued to see that he had also spent four years with David Elsworth.

He has now started working as assistant to Neil Mulholland – a partnership that I expect to flourish. Neil’s yard is in the ascendant and I’ve noticed that he places his horses, especially the less talented ones, with great skill.

Going back to Tony, I started to wonder how things might have been had I ‘networked’, to adopt the current jargon, more. I was never one to appear at corporate functions or social gatherings, but I’ve long believed that it is because I kept a low profile that people in the business felt they could trust me.

Thinking, and forgive me for name-dropping, about a few of them … I went to Prep School with Simon Crisford and he worked on a casual basis for me in the early days of the Dark Horses. Barney Curley told Declan Murphy to ask me to become his agent, perhaps encouraged by my distance from the hub. Michael Stoute used to guide me through his horses every season, with great success I should add. Luca Cumani became a chum and I had an evening or two with Henry Cecil. Then there was my time with Tony Clark during the years when Guy Harwood was at his peak.

The one person I wish I’d kept in touch with is Andrew ‘Sammy’ Stringer, having set him up as a trainer before he took on the role of assistant to Barney Curley and now travelling Head Lad to John and Thady Gosden.

There are countless others, but I never exploited these relationships for personal gain. I didn’t want to be considered a freeloader and never knowingly betrayed something told to me in confidence.

If I had my time again I would probably handle things differently. Yes, I used to travel the best part of 40,000 miles a year getting to racecourses before the M25 was built, but when I see Nick Luck covering the Breeders’ Cup and Melbourne over just two days I’m not sure I could have matched that.

However back then there was not the transparency there is today. There was something of an ‘inner sanctum’ with an element of ‘omerta’ sworn amongst its members.

By contrast these days no sooner does a horse pass the post than a microphone is thrust in the direction of the jockey, before he even has a chance to speak to his owner and trainer.

I’m not convinced I could play that game but still wish I had been more assertive in nurturing the many opportunities that have come my way.

Bye for now

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