Following a successful career in eventing, which included representing Great Britain at junior level and running an eventing yard, Oliver Signy decided to transfer his skills to the realm of Horse Racing. Initially serving as assistant to Oliver Sherwood and later Jamie Snowden, Signy took out a licence under his own name in 2019.
Operating out of The Croft in Upper Lambourn and aided by his wife Katherine, the up-and-coming handler has made steady progress. An eight-winner 2023/24 season represented a slight dip from a 14-winner 2022/23, but the early signs suggest Signy may be in for a career-best year in 2024/25.
Particularly successful with his chasers, who operated at an excellent 31% strike rate in 2023/24, Signy registered a first Cheltenham success when Block Rockin Beats landed a bumper at the home of the National Hunt game in October.
Here, we outline the most intriguing runners from a yard that may be well worth keeping an eye on in the coming years.
Stable Stars
Block Rockin Beats
In a yard yet to achieve a Graded race breakthrough, this promising son of Sageburg takes the top spot. Recruited from the Irish Point-to-Point scene following a win at Castlelands, he made a winning start under rules when landing a Class 2 Bumper at Cheltenham. He backed that up with a close second in a Listed Bumper at that track in November but finished only fourth on his hurdles debut. However, he did well to finish as close as he did following a string of jumping errors and seems sure to improve with experience.
Four to Follow
Still only in his sixth season as a handler, we suspect the highs and star names lie in Oliver Signy’s future. If the trainer is to better his tally from 2023/24, the following quartet may help him along the way.
- Berkshire Lad – This half-brother to the Willie Mullins-trained Where’s My Jet, who picked up three wins in 2023/24, has shown plenty of promise in his two bumper outings. Notably staying on well in each of those events, he will be of interest when sent over hurdles over 2m2f+.
- Howzatjack – One of the more interesting unraced sorts in the yard, Howzatjack is by promising National Hunt stallion Jack Hobbs and out of the winning hurdler Abundantly. Set to make his debut around the turn of the year, there’s enough to like on paper to suggest he may not be long in making his mark.
- No Word Of A Lie – This half-brother to the Grade 1 winning hurdler Lieutenant Colonel was one of the yard’s leading lights back in the 2021/22 season, only for injury to see him miss the best part of two years. Now reportedly fit and firing, he could return as a well-handicapped horse off a chase mark of 113.
- The Scorpion King – Showing promise as a staying chaser last season, The Scorpion King has started the current campaign in flying form. He’s up to a mark of 110 following back-to-back wins at Ffos Las but was value for more than the winning margin in the latter of those. There may be more to come from this one in 3m events on soft or worse going.
Paul Harrison
Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.
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