“It’s my pleasure to introduce Ermyn Lodge in the heart of Epsom’s World-famous horseracing and training region. We are proud to have introduced two other essential elements of the Thoroughbred world to the area: breeding and sales preparation.

Epsom, the home of The Derby, needs no introduction and Ermyn Lodge equally has a long and prestigious history.

The 1971 Grand National Winner, Specify, was trained by John Sutcliffe here at Ermyn Lodge. So too was Cala Mesquida, that same year’s Schweppes Gold Trophy Winner. Due to the War, the 1916 Grand National was held at Gatwick and the winner, Vermouth, was ridden by Jack Reardon, a trainer at Ermyn Lodge.

For the first time in its history however, Ermyn Lodge can now truly be regarded not only as a place for all racing seasons (flat turf, jumps and all-weather) but also somewhere where racehorses are looked after from the start of their lives to the winning post.

We purchased Ermyn Lodge in 2005 and spent a considerable amount of time refurbishing the stables, improving the paddocks, preparing separate areas for the breeding operation and acquiring additional land to allow for the future expansion of the business.

We began with the idea of just breeding horses and getting them ready for the sales or to go into training, for ourselves and others. However we quickly realised there was a marvellous opportunity for Ermyn Lodge to do both – to train and to breed. Results have proved that we made the right decision.

Pat Phelan arrived in 2006 and we started with two racehorses and five broodmares. The first racehorse was the ill-fated The Big Orse who won a Newbury bumper and returned to be 2^nd in his novice hurdle. The other racehorse from that time was Ede’s, owned by our sponsors Ede’s (UK) Ltd. Ede’s gave us a great start and won six races consecutively over hurdles and fences. Ede’s (UK) Ltd continues as our sponsor to this day and always has at least one horse in training with us, including multiple-winner Run for Ede’s who is now a resident broodmare. Run for Ede’s won at Epsom, Ascot and Windsor. From a total of 29 runs she won five and was placed 16 times.

Syndicate horse Epsom Salts played a bit part in our early success and gave great pleasure to a very enthusiastic group of owners. He ran 68 times, winning 10 and was placed 30 times including at Epsom, The Ladies’ Derby, The Jump Jockey’s Derby and 2^nd in The Amateur Derby.

Other early winners include the two-year-olds Young Dottie and Leadenhall Lass. Young Dottie, still holder of the Seven Furlong Juvenile Record at Lingfield, is now a resident broodmare and we look forward to racing her 2016 filly by Mayson.

More recently Jakey has been our star performer and has just retired. We also had a number of horses win three consecutive races, including Celtic Ava, Saint Honore and Hatsaway. Leah Freya also pulled off two wins at Epsom including a Double with Quest for Wonder at the August meeting. She had a total of 17 runs, eight places and five wins in 2015/16. Sadly Leah Freya was injured fatally when travelling well in the Cesarewitch.

The also recently-retired Ermyn Lodge was a star stayer for the stable. Winning 5 times and 2^nd in the Cesarewitch at Royal Ascot.

At the beginning of December 2008, with Pat Phelan at the helm as trainer and breeding operations manager, the Ermyn Lodge staff of 12 had been responsible for 14 winners since Cactus King opened our account on 1 April 2007, as well as excellent results at the major bloodstock sales.

Winners have come from all directions, from two-year-old races to bumpers, from five furlongs to middle distances and under both codes. Ede’s won five jump races from six outings and Epsom Salts rattled up a hat trick on the flat in a three-week spell. Two two-year-old winners, Young Dottie and Leadenhall Lass have come from four runners with Young Dottie setting the fastest time for a juvenile over seven furlongs at Lingfield.

It’s been hard work but great fun and we want other people to enjoy the Ermyn Lodge experience. The rest of the brochure will explain what we have to offer. If you would like to be involved with a horse in training, or have a mare to board or a horse to prepare for the sales, we believe Ermyn Lodge is the place for you. We look forward to hearing from you!”