Spadestep

Spadestep is a well-built 6-year-old gelding who won his first and only Point-to-Point ahead of joining Lucinda Russell’s yard just before Christmas.

Spadestep looked a smart prospect at Loughanmore in October. Always traveling well, he showed an impressive turn of foot to put the race to bed in promising fashion.

He looks to be the kind of horse that will progress a great deal further under rules, so Paul McIvor made every effort to secure him at the Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale 2024 on behalf of Old Gold Racing. Here are Paul and Lucinda to let you know their thoughts:

Spadestep’s sire, Jukebox Jury, is a multiple Group 1 winner who earned over £850,000 in a career spanning four seasons.

At stud he has become a leading Dual-Purpose sire, producing the likes of Princess Zoe, a winner of seven races, including the Group 1 Prix du Cadran. Over jumps he is responsible for Farclas, winner of the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle, and Il Etait Temps, who won four Grade 1s including the 2024 Irish Arkle, Manifesto Chase and Barberstown Castle Novice Chase.

Spadestep’s dam, Glibin, ran in 34 races, winning on 5 occasions and placing a further 12 times, including in the Grade 3 Lombardstown Mares Novice Chase. She gained a peak official rating of 123 and earned over £50,000 in prize money.

She has produced two winners from her two registered runners, including the 12-time winner Tommy’s Oscar, who reached a rating of 157 and scored in the Champion Hurdle Trial Race and Lightning Novices’ Chase, both of which are Grade 2 contests.

Spadestep’s damsire, Luso, earned over £1.6 million in a career that saw him win ten times in four different countries.

Lucinda, who is as always on the lookout for the next Old Gold Racing superstar, said that Spadestep “just stood out straight away - he was exactly our sort of horse… he’s big, he’s strong, he moves amazingly well… he’s got very, very good relations and he himself is a beautiful looking horse”.

“He was a 5-year-old at the sales, which we quite like because it means that they’re a little bit more mature” and that “we can really crack on with him”, adding that “he definitely has the make and the build to become a very good chaser”.

Spadestep has familiarised himself with the routine at Lucinda Russell Racing and, following some downtime over Christmas, is now being prepped for a race in the spring.

Lucinda Russell grew up surrounded by horses competing in a variety of disciplines. Lucinda trains in the beautiful Kinross countryside half an hour north of Edinburgh. Lucinda started training Point-to-Pointers before getting out her professional licence in 1995.

Lucinda trains with her partner Peter ‘Scu’ Scudamore MBE, an eight-time Champion Jockey who rode 1,678 winners in a record breaking career. Together they have formed a partnership that has produced the most successful racing yard in the history of Scottish jumps racing. To date, Lucinda Russell has trained over 750 National Hunt winners including 17 Graded winners and triumphs at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals. From 2009/10 season to the present, she is the leading National Hunt trainer in Scotland.

In 2017, she became an Aintree Grand National winning trainer with One For Arthur, ridden by Derek Fox - winning again in 2023 with Corach Rambler. She became only the fourth female trainer to do so and the first Scottish trainer since 1979. Lucinda was awarded an OBE for her services to horseracing in 2018.