The dynasty will continue. “We’ve got two boys [Jonno and Toby] who are 17 and 16, and they have got their hearts set on it,” says Anna Lisa. During the lockdown, she admits, homeschooling involved the then 12 and 13 year olds being sent out “to ride five racehorses every day”.
Balding hopes the series will give an inside view of just how many people are involved in the behind-the-scenes part of horse racing, and the many different backgrounds they come from. The individual grooms, from young Frenchwoman Marie to Abdul, from war-torn Sudan, who leaves the yard to search for his younger brother in the refugee camps of Chad, provide fascinating backstories. As for the lobby that suggests horse racing is cruel, Andrew says, “I don’t think it’s any more cruel than riding horses on a busy road, and in fact, [is] probably a lot safer.”
It’s a sport facing significant challenges, though, perhaps obscured by how popular the historic race meetings, such as Royal Ascot (and in jump-racing, Aintree and the Cheltenham Festival) have become on the social calendar. But there is a downward trend in attendances and perhaps a sense that the centre of gravity of the sport is shifting, with domestic racing unable to compete with the huge prize money on offer for races in Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In the $20m Saudi Cup, which Andrew and daughter Flora, 13, watch back at home in Hampshire, winning is no longer essential. “We’ve just got to finish in the first 10 to get some good money,” he tells her. Is there a danger that like golf and football, the financial draw will change the sport? “We have owners from Bahrain, Saudi, Qatar, Dubai, and they’re all passionate about it, and have very good understanding and knowledge,” Andrew adds.
But he notes, “the thing is that no matter how much money you have here, unless you bought every single horse, you cannot guarantee success… I think that is what might made Alex Ferguson and Queen Elizabeth interested – the fact that they were competing against other people. That even though you’re the queen of England, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be queen of the racecourse.”
They have to get on. The yard will soon spring back to life after its lunchtime quiet. The Baldings have to make sure they don’t let the sport consume their every waking moment, but they voted for the election by post to save time and haven’t had a chance to watch a second of Wimbledon yet, Andrew says, before adding, “Don’t tell Clare”.
Horsepower will air on BBC Four at 10pm & 11pm, with all episodes available on iPlayer, on Tuesday 9 July. The following two episodes will air on Tuesday 16 July.
