A leading British thoroughbred horse trainer located at The Old Malthouse Stables, Upper Lambourn, Hungerford, Berkshire, England.
James Anthony Osborne was born in 1967, his father, Tony, was a director of Market Rasen Racecourse.
Osborne grew up in Yorkshire and enjoyed riding his pony and rode for a couple of seasons as an amateur jockey before moving to Nicky Henderson’s yard in 1987 where he took up his professional licence.
After a couple of years, he was stable jockey for Oliver Sherwood.
Osborne had a very successful partnership with Sherwood, including leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival in 1992 with 5 winners, with a treble on the same day. His most successful season was in 1996-97 when he finished runner-up in the British jump racing Champion Jockey title with 131 winners.
He retired in 1999 through injury.
He quoted: “I haven’t been enjoying the riding as much as I used to. There were lots of lows, I kept falling off, banging my head. I had just had enough of it. I’ve no regrets, but I will not miss going to Ludlow on a Thursday”.
He rode almost 1000 winners around the world.
Osborne was granted a dual-purpose trainer’s licence which he embarked in 1999.
‘The Osborne ethos is to blend old-fashioned horsemanship & experience with a modern, innovative training regime using up-to-date technology to assist in achieving our goals.’
This includes varied gallops managed by the Jockey Club Estates, including The Mandown and Kingsdown gallops, high-speed treadmill, cold salt-water therapy spa set in a small, picturesque village with individual stabling for two-year-olds and older horses.
The key for equine health being airflow and hygiene.
As Osborne says: ‘Racehorse owners can only truly enjoy the experience once they are clear and confident in the knowledge that their trainer is managing their investment as if it was their own.’
Predominantly a Flat horse trainer, he would see success early in his career when Milk It Mick won the Dewhurst Stakes Group One at Newmarket in October 2003. He did well with another two-year-old Drawnfromthepast who won the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2007.
Many horse racing fans will have fond memories of stable star Toast Of New York who won almost £2M from 13 international starts, including winning the UAE Derby in 2014. The same year, he was beaten a nose in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on the dirt track at Santa Anita Park.
Osborne is married to Katie, an artist, and they have one daughter, Saffie, who is a professional flat racing jockey.
