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SHAFTS CHANCE: Stable star retired to paddocks

Our 'Trainers in Profile' features return for 2010 - and kicking off the season is Kelda Wood, who is acknowledged as one of the most capable handlers in the traditionally strong North West area.

Kelda is also currently involved with raising money for "Help For Heroes", organising a charity ball in Shrewsbury on February 6th, plus, at the end of the Point-to-Point season, doing a sponsored climb of Mount Kilimanjaro.

For how long have you been training? I'm now coming into my sixth season.

Where are you based? In South Shropshire, near Pontesbury, at the yard where Pamela Sykes used to train. It's a beautiful location.

Do you combine training with another job or profession? No, although I also do a lot of breaking and pre-training.

Are you from a racing background? And if not, how did you get started in Point-to-Pointing? I've no background in racing at all. I think I got hooked on horses when I watched "Black Beauty" at the age of three! My mother's a teacher, and dad worked for the County Council - they tried to discourage me but it only made me more determined!

I evented for several years, then I started breaking for a couple of trainers. The more I did the more interested I became, and ended up leasing a Pointer for a bit of fun...the rest, as they say, is history!

What training facilities do you have available? I have two grass gallops, one of which is very steep and which I only use on work days. I also have schooling fences, a large indoor school and horse walker. These facilities, combined with the surrounding hills, make it a fantastic place to train from.

How many horses do you train, and are they just for yourself and your family or for outside owners as well? I've got seven pointers in for this season, all for outside owners. I moved yards last season, but my owners have been very loyal and stayed with me.

What was the first winner you sent out? Name, owner, rider, date, course? My own Shafts Chance was the first winner I trained. She won division one of the Panacur/TBA Mares Maiden at Garnons on March 7th 2004. She was ridden for me by Stuart Ross, coincidentally it was the Ross Harriers fixture! It was a great day as she'd been given to me by Eddie Hales just to see what I could do with her and she won on her first run.

Of which horse performance are you most proud? Both my proudest moments were last season and have concerned Shafts Chance, who has been an awesome little mare for me. I won on her at Garnons, when another one I train, Fresh Love, was second to her, and five weeks later the pair of them won the Opens at Tabley, where Shafts Chance took the Ladies and Fresh Love the Mens under Will Telfer.

It was also a great day when she won at Brampton Bryan the season before, which was my first ride back from eight weeks off after a nasty fall.

Did you race-ride before you started training? I combined the two until this season but I've now decided to concentrate on training. I rode five winners in all and achieved my ambition of getting out of Novice Riders...it only took me five seasons to do it!

Who has been most influential on your training career? Dai Jones has given me a kick up the bum when I've needed it and both he and Mark Brisbourne have given me an incredible amount of help and advice, as well as listening to me whinging when I've got it wrong!

Which jockeys do you use regularly? Mainly Will Telfer and Ben Poste, while Hannah Watson will be riding any Ladies horses this year.

What car do you drive? A very dirty Corsa!

What kind of music do you like? Anything depending on my mood, although it has to be a really bad one for me to put up with heavy metal!

What are your favourite films and TV programmes? I never end up watching any, as I always fall asleep on the sofa before they even start! But if ever I could keep my eyes open it would be "Racing Stripes." It's a great kiddies film about a zebra that wants to be a racehorse!

Describe your perfect night in and perfect night out: Night in would be a takeaway and a good DVD. Night out would be down the pub with my buddies

Where do you like to go on holiday? I just wish I had a) the time, and b) the money, to go on holiday! I wouldn't care where!

Who would be your ideal travelling companions to the races? Anyone who makes me laugh, brings along good sandwiches, and can pour the coffee whilst I drive!

Who are your biggest heroes in racing? I'm still waiting to find one - would it be corny to say Shafts Chance? She's now been retired and is going to be put in foal. Hopefully she'll breed tough genuine foals like herself.

What has been either your own funniest incident, or the most amusing thing you have seen or heard at the races? I think the funniest incident would have to be my first ride Pointing. My horse took off with me down to the start, slipped on a bend and dropped me before the race had even started. They then had to delay the start while they retrieved me from about three fields away.

When we eventually got going I jumped the first and my hat slid over my eyes so I couldn't see anything...then it started raining; in my ignorance I had worn leather gloves, so the reins were just slipping through my hands! I cut Gary Hanmer up on the second bend, muttering something along the lines of "I cant see and I'm totally out of control Gary, what do I do?" Much to my relief I got unseated at the 14th!

Which particular horse would you like to train - either in Points or under Rules? The Paul Nicholls-trained Hoo La Baloo - he's a little pocket rocket!

If you hadn't taken up training what would you have done instead? I used to work in radio, originally at an independent station and later for BBC local radio, so maybe I could have been a racing presenter.

What are your favourite courses and meetings? And for what reasons? Tabley, Brampton Bryan and Garnons, the three tracks where I've had most of my winners!

What ambitions do you have in racing? To keep doing the job well and keep training winners. In the long term, at some point I aim to get my professional licence.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges for Point-to-Point trainers? To convince owners to run their horses Pointing and not under Rules. The prize money is so much stronger under Rules that you can't really blame them.

What is your opinion on December racing? Bring it on!

What are your opinions on the changes in Point-to-Pointing in recent years, and what developments do you think would benefit the sport in the future? I think it would be fantastic to run under the same system as in Ireland - autumn racing, have a break over Christmas and then back into full swing. It would give horses a chance to recover if they have problems and would also mean you could spread their racing out or give them a break mid-season. I think this would help to give owners their money's worth too.

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