Mark Prescott

Sir Mark Prescott in 2005

Sir Mark Prescott, 3rd Baronet (born 1948), is an English race horse trainer with over 1300 winners to his name.^[1] He inherited the Prescott baronetcy in 1965 from his uncle and obtained his first trainer's licence in 1970.^[2]

Life and career[]

He is the son of Stanley Prescott, a theatre and art critic for Punch,^[3] and was educated at Harrow School. He broke his back in a riding accident in 1965, resulting in a 9-month hospital stay.^[4]

On 1 September 2009, Prescott and television cook Clarissa Dickson-Wright received an absolute discharge from Scarborough Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to hare coursing whilst attending an event organized by Yorkshire Greyhound Field Trialling Club in March 2007.^[5]

Sir Mark trains at the Newmarket yard, Heath House (which traces back to Tregonwell Frampton, England's first professional race horse trainer). He took over running the yard in 1970 on the retirement of Jack Waugh, to whom Sir Mark was assistant. Sir Mark is well known and hugely respected as a patient trainer, whose horses are given time and not rushed. Sir Mark is also a famously skilled 'placer' of horses, choosing horse's races very carefully. He formerly had a decades-long association with veteran jockey George Duffield - the pair shared probably the sport's longest and strongest jockey/trainer alliance. Since George Duffield's retirement, Sir Mark has largely used riders Seb Sanders, Stevie Donohoe and Rosie Jessop. Luke Morris has also been used more recently.

Sir Mark's personal interests include coursing, cock fighting and bull fighting.^[6] Sir Mark was also an enthusiastic and valuable supporter of the Waterloo Cup - the blue riband of the sport of hare coursing.