Formerly an amateur and conditional jockey, with 45 winners to his name under Rules, Anthony Honeyball retired from the saddle at the age of 26 to embark on his training career. He saddled his first winner, Classic Fair, ridden by Sam Thomas in a mares’ only maiden hurdle at Taunton on December 18, 2006. In 2012, Honeyball moved to his current base, Potwell Farm in Mosterton, near Beaminster, West Dorset, which he bought five years later.
Honeyball enjoyed the most successful season of his training career, so far, in 2025/26, when he saddled 52 winners from 298 runners, at a strike rate of 18%, and amassed nearly £932,000 in prize money. Highlights included victories for Gustavian in the Badger Beers Handicap Chase at Wincanton and Dartmoor Pirate in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster, both of whom were ridden by Rex Dingle.
Success at the highest level has so far proved elusive but, at the time of writing, Honeyball has two Grade 2 victories to his name, courtesy of Midnight Tune in the Jane Seymour Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown in 2018 and Sam Brown in the Altcar Novices’ Chase at Haydock in 2020, both of whom were ridden by Aidan Coleman. Indeed, Sam Brown, who was officially rated 159 over fences at his peak, proved to be an excellent money-spinner for the yard, winning nine of his 36 races and over £273,000 in prize money prior to his retirement, at the age of 14, in March 2026. Honeyball described the Black Sam Bellamy gelding as ” a rock-solid chaser, a great competitor, battle-hardened and one of the best I’ve had…”.
In 2026/27, so far, Honeyball has saddled 12 winners from 28 runners, at a strike rate of 22%, and lies on the cusp of the top 10 in the trainers’ championship table. Steeplechasers Gore Point, who is still a novice, and Breaking Cover have been responsible for eight wins between them.
