The new Tote is a ray of hope for British racing

There is nothing like visiting a stud early in the foaling season. As amiable mums-to-be saunter up to the paddock rails, it both rekindles the basic passion — admiration for the magnificent animals that give us such pleasure contesting their prowess — and recharges the optimism sometimes sapped by racing’s structural problems. In Friday’s winter sunshine, at Alex and Olivia Frost’s Ladyswood Stud near Malmesbury, the Dubawi mare Empress Consort, once trained by Andre Fabré and now in foal to the mighty Frankel, nibbled my notebook while Malaya, formerly a classy hurdler with Paul Nicholls, arched her neck and nuzzled up to help Alex reach her favourite scratching spot. In Tom’s Field was Spring Fling, whom they hope will produce a speedy youngster from her mating with Starspangledbanner. Amid 14 mares there were two young fillies bought to race with Henry Candy, one by the increasingly popular Wootton Bassett, another by Night of Thunder.

Alex and Olivia have jumpers, too, with Oliver Sherwood and the promising Naughtinesse in Ireland with Lorna Fowler. A breeder only since 2017, Alex’s first significant success has been with Grand Bazaar, a 210,000 guineas sale who has won three races for John Gosden. His importance to racing, though, lies in a different sphere. A managing director of Merrill Lynch at the age of only 29, he retired from the City at 40. As he muttered about the poor prize money that bedevils British racing, with more and more owners diverting horses to jurisdictions such as France and Hong Kong, which enjoy rich Tote monopoly funding, Olivia declared: ‘You can either drive me mad by moaning on for 20 years or do something about it.’ He drew up a business plan for the Tote and showed it to Simon Larkin, ‘the best analyst in the City’, who resigned from his job and joined him.