The Racing Life of Rachael Phillips

‘Rossy was third in a Hennessy, and when we were going back to the stables, he stood on my foot and I fell over, putting a hole in my trousers,’ Rachel Phillips laughs as she tells the tales of her time working in racing. In fact, the most noticeable aspect to Rachel is that she laughs and smiles a lot. It is a smile that racing will miss because, in May 2024, Rach, as she was prolifically known, stepped away.

‘I had days when I thought I don’t want to work in racing anymore then I had other days when I still loved it. Then, all of a sudden, I realised I was done and I wasn’t happy: that the good days weren’t making up for the bad days.’ Rach’s voice stays positive, and not saddened. ‘Somehow, I knew in my heart that it was time to go. It was an easy decision, despite being a huge life changing one.’

Having worked with horses since her teens – before if counting the years she gathered, gleaned and absorbed all the horsey knowledge she could as a young girl – in eventing, before making the switch to racing. She spent over a decade as a hardworking and loyal member of the Twiston-Davies team, looking after many talented horses, including Double Ross, Ballyandy, Amber Brooke, Foxtail Hill, Jaunty Journey, Arctic Gold and Minella Reception... Rach was also associated with Little Josh, whom she led up when victorious in the 2012 Grand Sefton Chase.

Testament to her dedication and high standards, Rach won the 2018 best-turned-out for the Aintree Grand National with Double Ross. In fact, she cared for Double Ross for much of his career. For seven years, the duo was highly successful, winning six races, of which three were round Cheltenham; plus, there were two thirds at the Cheltenham Festival, a second in Ascot’s Sodexco Gold Cup, that third in the 2016 Hennessy Gold Cup and runs in two Aintree Grand Nationals.

Photo Credit: Geraldine Smith

Working in a new job, which is the polar opposite to the outdoor world of horses, Rach, 53, lives in Upper Rissington, Gloucestershire with her ‘darling’ partner Mike George. They have a ‘hairy lurcher’ called Flora and a ‘sometimes scruffy’ border terrier called Boris. ‘I’ve known Mike for years, since my late teens,’ Rach explains. ‘We got back in touch through the power of Facebook and we've been together for seven years.’

Mike and Rach, metal detecting and beloved dogs Flora and Boris

Did you have a horsey childhood? When I was a kid, I was obsessed with horses from the word go. I’ve no idea where it came from because no one else in my family was horsey – a random gene that came from goodness knows where.

How did you start working with horses? When I was nine or ten, Erica Watson’s land backed onto my house and I spied her riding her horses and ponies. So, I found out where she lived on Broadway high street and I took a letter round, asking if I could sometimes help. Erica’s mother knocked on our door, agreeing that I could.

My association with Erica and her eventers lasted right up until the early 1990s. I left there for four years to work in a hunting yard, before returning to Erica’s for another four years. In the many years I was there, Erica was brilliant but tough – back in the day, it was very different. Yet, if it hadn’t been for Erica, I would never have got into horses that way I did because I wouldn’t have had such a fabulous opportunity.

What jobs did you have in racing? My first jobs were in point-to-point yards but my most favourite job ever was working for Nigel Twiston-Davies. I started in July 2009 and stayed for over ten years.

After I left Nigel’s, I went to work for Claire Hart for a year, which was great and Claire was lovely. Then, covid hit and she had to lay me off. I messaged Cathy Twiston-Davies to relay my situation and if she knew of any jobs going…and Willy Twiston-Davies rang me back the same day. He was setting up in his father’s top yard so I went to work there, and I loved it. Willy was an absolute superstar – I can’t speak highly enough of him and Sammy Twiston-Davies was often around. Holly and Ellie were brilliant colleagues. I had a lovely four years there. The last year, Nigel and Willy merged so I was back under Nigel’s rule.

Favourite racecourse: I loved Cheltenham – the atmosphere was like nothing else. I liked Perth when the new accommodation was built, as well as Newton Abbot.

Favourite overnighter: Perth and Ayr.

Favourite canteen: Newton Abbot was always amazing.

Memories with Rossy

Favourite jockey: I loved Sammy Twiston-Davies, but I was also a huge fan of Ryan Hatch. Whenever Ryan came in on a horse after a race, whether it had won, been placed or ran badly, he was always positive and never slated the horse. Willy Twiston-Davies was super, super talented and he was a legend on Jaunty Journey. Those three boys were my absolute favourites.

Favourite racehorses: I looked after and loved so many but Double Ross (Rossy) was my standout horse. I rode him every day, he loved Cheltenham and was always good round there. I also absolutely adored Amber Brook. She was my first winner round Cheltenham and again I rode her daily. I only looked after her for a year – I lost her too soon but I loved every moment I had with her because she was so much fun.

What were your best days in racing? That day at Aintree when Little Josh and Hello Bud won over the big fences – the Grand Sefton and Becher Chases respectively, and Master Of The Sea won the novices’ hurdle by a short head. That was a really amazing day.

Ballyandy winning the 2017 Betfair Hurdle was a great day. There had been a lot of hype about him and I hoped he’d do well because I’d been riding him out every day – it was all ‘can he do it?’ And he did do it and he did it well!

Rossy round Cheltenham was always just amazing.

To be honest, whenever the horses ran well was a good day.

Best racing celebration: That was after Imperial Commander won the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Having started at Nigel’s the previous summer, I had been in a bad place but then I was in an amazingly lovely yard that had just had three winners at the Cheltenham Festival, one of which was the Gold Cup. It was just unreal.

What was the best aspect to working in racing? Having left my job, I needed to pay my bills so I rang up Nigel’s previous head lad Fergal O’Brien and he was brilliant. When I asked him for a job, I added that I wasn’t a good rider, and he answered, ‘I’ll see you on Monday morning.’ Within a week, I was offered a full-time job and Fergal brushed aside my insecurities, putting me on good horses. I never thought I’d fit into a big successful yard like that – I didn’t think I was good enough. But, when I got there it didn’t feel like a big yard. We were one big happy family – everyone smiled and laughed a lot. After a couple of years, Nigel gave me the head of travelling job, and I realised I was OK and I could do it.

What I’m trying to say was the best thing about it working there was that it totally restored my faith back in myself and in other people, it was a fabulous place to work; it got me laughing again.

Rach with her Minella Reception, Foxtail Hill and Ballyandy

What was the worst aspect to working in racing? The obvious one is coming home without your horse. That was devastating. It was horrific when I lost both Little Josh and Minella Reception in the Topham Chase a year apart. You got over any of the other shit but when you came home and the horse wasn’t there, it was just heartbreaking and horrid.

What type of boss was Nigel? Nigel was amazing and a fabulous boss. If he bollocked me, which he seldom did, he always apologised afterwards. Nige was kind, and Willy has very much his kind trait.

Leading up Jaunty Journey at Warwick

Photo Credit: Sarah Matthews

Over the years, how did racing change for the better? There's a good support system for racing staff now, which there never was, and the important of mental health is recognised.

I must give Racing Welfare shout out because, after I'd had my shoulder op, I was struggling to get physiotherapy. It was covid year and finding any NHS physio was impossible. Racing Welfare got me into Oaksey House, the IJF rehab centre in Lambourn. I'm not sure I would’ve got back to work without Racing Welfare – they were phenomenal.

Also, horse welfare has improved an awful lot, but it had to in view of all the bad press about racing in recent years.

How did racing change for the worst? Financially, racing hasn't worsened but it hasn't vastly improved either.

What changes do you wish racing could have adopted? That it was more family friendly. I know that they’ve increase the time off but I really believe there should be more time for staff, jockeys, everyone between the seasons, because it's not enough of a break. One season ends and before you know it, you're back in the new season.              

Another of the big negatives in racing was how staff had to take holidays in accordance with the racing calendar. So, everyone has to cram their holidays into that small break then work for nine months without any chance of taking any further time off.

Do you still ride out? After my big shoulder op, I assumed that I’d get back riding but as time went on, I realised I hadn't missed it. Subconsciously, I realised if I had another fall I'd be really, really knackered – and beyond repair.

Why did you leave racing? This thing with racing is that the money is OK if you work your absolute arse off and take all the overtime there is. You can make it work financially but I’d got to the point that I wanted to take it a little bit easier. When I came out of racing and worked in a pre-training yard (Not Claire Hart’s though, as she was a great payer and further ahead in every way), I didn’t want to work all the weekends, wanting that time to be with my family and Mike. Going onto a standard wage without any overtime was crap.

Physically, I’ve got completely knackered shoulders. One has been operated on and is brilliant, but the other one is beyond an operation. The two big tears in the rotator cuff are too severe so it had got to the point that I was hurting daily.

Also, another factor was that awful weather we had last winter, when it seemed to rain every day. I’d had enough – I simply got to the age that money was at the bottom of the reasons for leaving but I wanted more time for us. I started to prioritise the things and work became of a secondary importance.

Have you adjusted to an office job? At Christmastime 2023, I silently made the decision to leave racing. I was mentally ready for a change. I miss the outdoor life but I’m not going to miss the bad weather. I’m such a nature person – I love being outdoors and surrounded by animals and birds – that I thought it would be horrendously hard to work inside but, weirdly, it hasn’t. This tells me I was definitely ready to leave.

Photo Credit: Michael Harris

What retraining did you do? In May 2024, I did a Door Supervisor Course through the SIA (Security Industry Authority) and got my license to work in security. When I went to do the course, I was the most terrified that I’ve ever been. I was so far out of my comfort zone, I sat in my car, wondering what I had done. Going into a completely new job meant doing stuff on computers and dealing with people… yet, my colleague has been so kind and patient. Plus, Mike has been my rock – every time I doubted myself, he gave me the confidence that I could do it, even when I thought I couldn’t.

Three months in, I’ve nearly got the hang of it. There were times I was on the verge of giving up but I’ve settled down and now cope.

How do you reflect back on your time in racing? Changing my job has been challenging, especially mentally, but I can look back on my time in racing with such fond memories because I didn’t stay until the point that I hated it. Also, I met amazing people and made lifelong friends.

Photo Credit: Geraldine Smith

Favourite food: Mike is the most brilliant cook and he does the most amazing cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes. My most perfect meal would be a plate of Mike’s cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes.

Favourite drink: I love a G&T, especially with Tanqueray gin.

Favourite snack: I love crisps – the cheesier the better.

Favourite holiday destination: My favourite holiday is jumping in our campervan, go to wherever in a field. We light the fire pit and take our metal detectors. Flora over hates going in the campervan so she goes to stay with my mum but Boris loves coming with us. I love going away with Mikey and the dog – is just perfect to be together in the middle of nowhere.

Other hobbies: Metal detecting and walking the dogs – anything outdoorsy.

Hopes/dreams/aspirations for the future: We'd love to go travelling in the campervan. We need a bigger van but would love to go off grid and travel to wherever we wanted to go. That's our big dream and, one day, it'll be nice to be in the position that we can just go.