POOR PRIZEMONEY PROMPTS CYZER TO RETIRE

His recent announcement that he is to retire from training at the end of the season was accompanied by a hefty swipe at prize money levels and caused an even bigger stir.

A wealthy man, he has been able to indulge his passion for horses because of the Rickmansworth-based family business of manufacturing luxury crackers.

Cyzer (62) trains at Elliotts, Maplehurst, from where he has sent out more than 300 winners in his training career '“ most of them achieved by comparatively cheap horses.

He has always had a keen eye for a good horse and has delighted in taking successful tilts at the top ranks by placing his horses shrewdly.

He has trained mainly for himself during his career, and while it was his hobby and passion, he has always treated training seriously, getting up at 5am every day.

Always conscious about prize money and the costs of training, he told me as long ago as 1992: "Unless positive action is taken to boost prizemoney levels, racing in this country will once again become a rich man's sport

.

"The key to survival is the value of the horse."

He sent out Dazzle The Crowd that year to win a highly competitive handicap at Lingfield and earned only 900.

When Master Planner ran at Munich in a listed race, the prize money was 26,000. On the same day an equivalent listed race in this country offered only 8,000 prizemoney.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette September 12