THE TRAINER
Niall Saville
Trainer, High Kings Racing
Training a racehorse is a work of heart. It’s about building strong, personal relationships with your horses – knowing their mind, their ears, their expressions. A good thoroughbred trainer will know whether his horse is having a good day or when to scratch because their athlete just isn’t ready for competition that day.
Niall Saville is a native of northern England who learned his craft under the tutelage of trainer Michael Dickinson and has been training winners for High Kings Racing for the last seven years. A stakes-winning trainer, Saville travelled to America in 2009 with a dream of becoming the next top thoroughbred trainer and has been making waves in the racing industry ever since. His flagship stakes horse, Legendary (GB), won the G3 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont in 2014.
Best known for his gentle touch and kind word, High Kings horses respond to Saville’s training programs and consistent attention to detail. Saville recently relocated from Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland.
2022 Statistics*
| Starts | Firsts | Seconds | Thirds | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $11,742 |
Career Statistics
| Starts | Firsts | Seconds | Thirds | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 693 | 74 | 77 | 94 | $3,166,250 |
THE FOUNDER
MARTIN SOMERS
High Kings Racing LLC was founded by Martin Somers in 2015 after the native Irishmen grew disappointed with the amount of misinformation and questionable corporate nature of the modern racing industry. A lifelong fan of the sport, Somers was already well acquainted with thoroughbred racing, but was new at the time to the cyclical underbelly of bloodstock Sales & breeding programs in the United States. By the time he became an owner himself, it was already clear that there was more to racing in the 21st century than just breeding a decent racehorse.
Throughout the years, Somers watched a sport that lies so heavily in tradition break rank from its original cores values in order to focus more on flash and potential mark-up at next year’s Sales. Horses that were once bred for the track – to breeze and school and run – are now only being bred to name-brand sires so that they can sell big at Sales.
The more he learned about the thoroughbred breeding industry in America, the more disappointed Somers became. That is when he decided to start his own business – it didn’t matter if it meant he had to start small. High Kings Racing was never about the money.
“I wanted to create an ownership group that any new fan could be a part of – that any new person to the business could really trust. My father always put it into my head that a man was only as good as his word and that if I didn’t have the strength to back that up, then not to say anything at all,” Somers recalls.
“So High Kings Racing kind of came about because I was looking to become an owner and wanted to do it my way. Focus on the horse again. Focus on the tracks. Create a trustworthy space that other small-time or new owners could be a part of. Help this indsutry grow from within.”
Somers grew up in _____ and built his business from the ground up through honest work and dedication. He has carefully selected each member of the High Kings Racing team for their commitment to High Kings horses and firmly believes in building a better partnership for the sake of his horses.
“It’s important for every person who has eyes or hands on a racehorse to understand that these are athletes – these are animals. Forcing a horse with swollen knees or that’s still groggy from transport or ship-in to run in a highly competitive race or in questionable weather, isn’t the right call just because the owner is there to watch it race that day.”
High Kings Racing breeds and trains racehorses with a commitment to honesty and respect. And if you were to meet founder Martin Somers tomorrow, that is exactly what you would feel. To know the founder of High Kings is to know honor of royal regard. So it’s no surprise that High Kings Racing leads with highest standards of integrity & loyalty both to its horses and to its partners.
A resident of Dover Plains, NY, Martin can be found at any of the local New York tracks with his partner Crystal and __ children, name & name. Is there anything else you’d like to say here bio-wise? Maybe about you and Crystal or your life? Happy to throw in any fun facts or anecdotes to add a little color!