Rebecca Menzies Racing Racing

Hello and welcome to the new-look website home page for Racing Menzies Racing.

It has been quite the journey for Rebecca and her team, having risen from relative obscurity to becoming one of the leading yards in the north over the past 12 years.

Following a successful grounding with Ferdy Murphy, a stalwart of the northern jumps scene and the trainer of 10 Cheltenham Festival winners, Rebecca took the plunge and decided to go it alone in 2013, becoming Britain’s youngest trainer at the age of just 24.

It did not take her long to silence a few doubters as that November she became the youngest ever female trainer to saddle a winner in Britain when Pistol Basc struck gold at Sedgefield, kickstarting an initial three-year spell at the Brandsby stables owned by Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Peter Beaumont before the chance to take her career to the next step presented itself.

THE MOVE TO HOWE HILLS

In 2016 Rebecca was given the opportunity to make take over the reins at Howe Hills, a state-of-the-art facility based in the County Durham countryside owned by another veteran trainer in the late John Wade.

Having seen her string almost double to around 40 horses overnight, Rebecca has continued to go from strength to strength, with extra barns and stables meaning she is now able to accommodate 100 horses at any one time.

Being just a stone’s throw from Sedgefield racecourse, 45 minutes from Newcastle and only a couple of miles from the A1, the yard is ideally situated to travel up and down the country in the relentless pursuit of success.

MAJOR MILESTONES SO FAR

While the smaller fruit can sometimes be just as sweet, it is hugely important for a growing yard to have success on the bigger stage and in 2020 Rebecca made a breakthrough at Listed level as Stormy Girl landed the Flying Fillies’ Stakes at Pontefract.

She also struck Listed gold over jumps with both Fonzerelli and Return Ticket in the spring of 2022 and saddled Balalaika to finish third at Royal Ascot the following year, proving her worth as a talented dual-purpose trainer.

In all the team have enjoyed over 450 winners under both codes, a tally which includes two winners over jumps in Ireland following a memorable double at Downpatrick in October 2024, while in terms of prize-money the £4million mark is looming large.

THE MENZIES MANTRA AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Although now able to house and train a three-figure string, Rebecca and her dedicated team still have a small yard in mentality in terms of looking after the needs of each horse on an individual basis.

Attention to detail is viewed as hugely important and no stone is left unturned, with specialist nutritionists, physiotherapists and vets always on hand to ensure all horses are happy and healthy, leaving each horse well placed to achieve their maximum potential on the track.

There is very much an open door policy at Howe Hills, with owners actively encouraged to come to the yard to watch their horses work and catch up on plans over a coffee or something stronger in our brand new owners’ room.

Whether you own a horse outright, with friends and colleagues - or are part of one of the several syndicates which Rebecca either runs herself or has built up a successful relationship with in recent years - everyone is welcome and made to feel part of Team Menzies.

The fact Rebecca has now bought Howe Hills following John Wade’s sad passing is evidence of her commitment to the yard and she is fully focussed on continually striving to improve the quality of her string in a bid to ensure the team can challenge on the biggest stage and for the biggest prizes on the Flat and over jumps in the coming years.

There is a lot of work to do to get that stage, but Rebecca has never been work shy and with hugely improved gallops and schooling facilities on site, everything is in place for this already successful yard to move to the next level.

Having developed strong contacts with a number of leading bloodstock agents and point-to-point trainers, Rebecca is able to cast her net far and wide in search of new talent, travelling the length and breadth of the country as well as to Ireland, France and Germany to try and find the next potential star.

Whatever your budget, why not become part of the team? Contact Rebecca to get involved. We hope you enjoy the website and thank you for visiting us.