Denton Hall News

A champagne toast to an owner who likens racedays to Christmas

Continuing our series on owners, Peter Barron talks to successful businessman JOHN SAGAR about the joys of being involved in horse racing…

ASKED what he loves about owning racehorses, John Sagar instinctively likens it to the childhood magic of Christmas.

“Every raceday is like Christmas morning,” he says. “You wake up, full of anticipation and high expectations, wondering what you’re going to get, and I’ll never lose that sense of excitement.”

John and his wife, Alwyn, spend the English summers going racing, the winters in Barbados, and are deservedly enjoying life after building a successful steel business from scratch.

At Denton Hall, John currently owns Pol Roger outright, Jack of Clubs and Billy No Mates in partnership with Michael Dods, Woven with Ian Bennett, and unraced two-year-old Our Randolph with Dave Stone.

Pol Roger (pictured below), sired by classic winner Churchill, has won four times and is named after the wartime Prime Minister’s favourite champagne. Newcomer Our Randolph is also by Churchill and is named after Sir Winston’s only son.

Jack of Clubs has won twice, the veteran Billy No Mates has made plenty of friends with six career wins, and Woven has won four times, so John and Alwyn are no strangers to the winner’s enclosure.

Born and bred in Blackburn, John’s love of horses goes back to his childhood. Two spinster aunts paid for him to have riding lessons as an eight-year-old, and he’s been hooked ever since.

By the time he was in his twenties, he had his own horse and loved going out for hacks in the countryside.

Around that time, he went into a pub and got chatting to two men who had a racehorse, called Caspardale. The horse, trained in Cumbria by Gordon Richards, had been a winner but had broken down and the men, knowing John already had a horse, talked him into taking Caspardale as a second hack.

John’s success in business started in 1972 when, as a 22-year-old, he sold stainless steel for Jack Walker, the legendary owner of Blackburn Rovers, who led his local club to the Premier League title in 1994/95.

John and Alwyn were at Anfield on the day Blackburn, managed by Kenny Dalglish, became champions despite losing 2-1 to Liverpool on the last day of the season.

In 2002, John started his own company, Premier Steel Stockholding, in a Blackburn warehouse, with a tiny broom cupboard as his office. Since then, the business has flourished, and now has a turnover of £30m-plus with 42 employees at two sites.

During Covid, John suffered a pulmonary embolism, so it was decided he should take a backseat, and the company is now run by his son, Michael, alongside business partner Chris Duckworth.

John’s first taste of racehorse ownership came with a filly called Miss Cosette, trained at Thirsk by David Barron. Though she didn’t win, John didn’t give up and had his first winner with Field Gunner Kirkup, again trained by David Barron.

The connection with Michael Dods came in 2014 after John introduced himself to Kevin Kirkup, the owner of Osteopathic Remedy, after the horse had won a decent race at Thirsk.

John was persuaded to use Michael as a trainer and his first horse at Denton Hall was Lady McGuffy, a winner at Redcar under Joe Fanning in October 2015. She was only small, so Michael recommended selling her, and she went on to be the dam of multiple winner Lil Guff.

Asked for the highlight of his time in racing, John looks back to the John Smith’s Nursery Handicap at York in July 2019, when the tough grey gelding Troubador – owned in partnership with Steve Lowthian – triumphed under 9st 7lbs.

Troubador went on to be a gallant second in the listed Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy, giving 9lbs to the classy Summer Sands, but didn’t train on, and he was sold to run abroad.

“We bought him for £10,000, won £90,000, and sold him for £15,000, having turned down an offer of a quarter of a million from Hong Kong when he was a two-year-old!” recalls John, summing up the vagaries of racehorse ownership.

Another highlight was Woven’s 16-1 victory under Cieran Fallon at Haydock last September (see picture below). John remembers the day with a smile because he and Alwyn were accompanied by their daughter, Alex, and their eight-year-old granddaughter, Mary, who’d brought along a friend called Isobel.

When Isobel was dropped off at home afterwards, her dad came to the door, rubbing his hands in anticipation, because he’d given her £20, with the instruction to give it to Alex to have £10 each-way on Woven.

Instead, little Isobel explained to her forlorn father that she’d kept the money safe in her purse, so she could give it back to him!

Woven had been bought out of the David Simcock yard for the start of the 2021 season, and John’s ambition is to win the Ayr Silver Cup with him. The bonny chestnut gelding was second in the race in 2022, and Ayr is John and Alwyn’s favourite track.

“We love the drive up there, staying at the Western House Hotel, and the Scottish people are so hospitable, so it would be lovely if Woven could lift the Silver Cup,” says John.

Whether their investment in racing produces that silver lining this year remains to be seen but the friendly couple are looking forward to another season, travelling around the country to see their horses run.

“Racing is a big part of our lives, and you know what you’re going to get with Michael Dods. He says it as it is and is completely honest,” says John.

Win or lose, every raceday will feel like Christmas for John Sagar. Here’s hoping the champagne is flowing – Pol Roger or otherwise – in 2025 and beyond.

• Main picture: John and Alwyn Sagar with Woven at Redcar