YOUNGEST GRAND NATIONAL WINNING OWNER REVEALS AMBITIOUS PLAN
Features | 19
Cameron Sword, who became the youngest owner to win a Grand National when Corach Rambler galloped to Aintree glory for his syndicate The Ramblers, has revealed ambitious plans to attract more young people into the sport he loves.
The 21-year-old university student is set to launch Claymore Racing later this year with the aim of making racehorse ownership more accessible to other young people.
“My aim is to buy the first horse at the Cheltenham sale in May,” explains Cameron, who is doing a degree in International Business Management at Edinburgh University.
“I want to attract other students from universities in the north of England to join me in an affordable racing club that will give them an exciting insight into owning a racehorse.
“I began developing the idea a couple of months ago because I’m so passionate about the sport and want to help promote everything that’s good about it, especially up here in Scotland.”
Claymore couldn’t be a more appropriate name for Cameron’s racing club, whose horse will be placed with Corach Rambler’s trainer Lucinda Russell. “It’s a type of Scottish sword,” he says. “I chose it because it links to my own surname and to Scottish history as well.”
Cameron, who joined the other partners at Aintree to shout home Corach Rambler to his impressive victory on 14th April, has plans to quickly expand the club. “If everything goes well with our first horse I will buy again later in the year and aim to keep on growing it by promoting it to universities.
“The student race days at tracks like Musselburgh are always so well attended and show what an appetite there is for the sport. Attracting young people into ownership can only be good for racing in Scotland.”
Cameron became the last of seven owners in The Ramblers partnership following a visit to Corach Rambler’s trainer Lucinda Russell’s Kinross yard in Scotland after lockdown.
“I really got into racing during the pandemic and contacted my local trainer Lucinda to ask if I could visit her yard,” he recalls. “She very kindly invited me and my dad Graeme, who is a huge fan of her partner (and former top jump jockey) Peter Scudamore, and I was hooked.
“It wasn’t my intention to buy a share in a horse at that stage but before we left Lucinda mentioned she had one share remaining in Corach so I bought it and that was the start of this incredible journey.”
Not only did Corach Rambler win the National for Russell and her stable jockey Derek Fox, but the nine-year-old gelding, who cost a meagre £17,000, has also won back-to-back Ultima Chases at the Cheltenham Festival for The Ramblers, taking his prize money haul over £700,000.
“My share wasn’t expensive and I’d have been happy to have some fun with him around Kelso and Perth, but none of us could have ever imagined we’d be tasting success at Cheltenham and then winning the greatest race in the world,” adds Cameron.
“It just goes to show that dreams can come true and if I can inspire other students to get involved then who knows where their journey might take them. Going back to Aintree one day with one of my own racing club horses would be amazing.”
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