Eve Johnson Houghton is closing in on £1m in prize money for the first time, thanks to a knack for buying cheap racehorses. The trainer has saddled three Royal Ascot winners in eight years, all bought for a combined total of under £30,000.
Speaking at the Doncaster sales this week, Johnson Houghton explained her approach: “I just like a nice horse. You’re looking for different things for different clients, but they’ve got to walk well and have a good outlook.” She added that she often has to forgive imperfections because “they can’t be perfect specimens at my price.”
The trainer is a third-generation operator at Woodway Stables in Oxfordshire, bought by her grandmother Helen in 1945. Helen trained the 1956 2,000 Guineas winner Gilles de Retz, but women were not allowed a licence then. Her father Fulke held the licence from 1961 to 2007, and died earlier this year. “I’ve really, really missed him this year, but it was a great grounding,” Johnson Houghton said.
Among her bargain buys are Accidental Agent, an 8,000-guinea purchase that won the 2018 Queen Anne Stakes, and Chipotle, who took the Windsor Castle Stakes in 2021. This season, Havana Hurricane (9,000 guineas) won the same race, while Zavateri (35,000 guineas) has won two Group Twos. Johnson Houghton said: “It’s amazing if you can win a Royal Ascot race for 10 grand. It’s possible, but it’s bloody hard.”
She described Woodway as “a wonderfully old-fashioned yard” and stressed the importance of her team. She is currently buying yearlings for next year, but budgets remain modest. “I have got more orders, but all to a level. It would be nice to get a few more grown-up orders,” she said.
