Trainers
Lucinda Russell
Lucinda trains in the beautiful Kinross countryside half an hour north of Edinburgh with her partner Peter Scudamore MBE, an eight time champion jockey who rode 1,678 winners in a record breaking career. Together they have formed a partnership that has produced the most successful racing yard in the history of Scottish jump racing.
The Russell family values and standards of honesty, integrity and diligence are etched in the Scotch Whisky history, and the same principles have led Lucinda Russell Racing to be consistently one of the leading jumps yards in Britain.
From the moment a horse arrives at LRR it is surrounded by a team that gives it the best chance to thrive and succeed.
Lucinda Russell Racing champion old fashioned customer service together with innovative thinking and modern communication to share our passion and love of horses and racing.
We have a distinguished history of winners behind us and an exciting future ahead.
”The race is won or lost far away from crowds; behind the lines, on the gallops, in the yard, in the sun, the rain, the snow, long before the glory”
adrian keatley
Adrian grew up on a farm in Kildare, Ireland with a family that had no involvement in racing, but it didn’t take long for a young Adrian to fall in love with racing and start to get involved with his neighbours’ horses.
During his teenage years; Adrian started work with Francis Flood, who had good horses such as To Your Honour, Unas Choice and Finchpalm at the time. While working for Francis, Adrian rode in several point-to-points before moving on to work with the likes of Dermot Weld and Ger O’Leary before joining Oliver Kiernan’s yard as assistant trainer. It was with Oliver Kiernan that Adrian got his first taste of Bloodstock as Adrian was responsible for the buying and selling of the horses; it was a very successful 6 years for the yard with horses such as Whatuthink, Whatever Jacksays and Follow The Plan.
Adrian then decided he wanted to learn more about Flat racing and this interest took him to Sydney to join John O’Shea’s yard. It was from there Adrian joined one of Australia’s most successful trainers in Chris Waller, known fairly recently as the trainer of Winx. Adrian credits his time with Chris as invaluable; as Adrian says, Chris is a great businessman as well as horseman, so it gave Adrian excellent grounding to begin his training career back in Ireland.
Adrian began training in Ireland in April 2014 and it didn’t take long for success to follow; in just his 3rd year as a trainer he gained Classic success with Jet Setting in the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas, beating one of Aidan O’Brien’s best ever fillies in Minding, who had already won the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and later went on to win The Oaks at Epsom.
Jet Setting cost just 12,000 Guineas, showing the fantastic eye for a horse Adrian possesses.
Over the next couple of years Adrian gained other notable successes with The Broghie Man who won the Listed Committed Stakes and Caffe Macchiato who won the Blackwater Handicap, a Premier Handicap run at Navan.
It was in 2019/2020 Adrian decided it was time to make the switch to England to continue his training career and it didn’t take long to choose Malton as his base. Adrian is more determined than ever to establish himself among the Elite trainers in Europe and he feels he has everything right to achieve his goals. His career in England made the perfect start with Drumconnor Lad winning on an ITV Saturday coverage day and since then, the yard has gone from strength to strength, having many highlights in recent times.
2022 was Adrian’s best year in England at the time, he has since gone on to smash this in 2023 , surpassing 2022’s total to make it his most successful year in England. Adrian has had winners all over the country, and has won some nice races, including two Sky Bet Sunday series races this year, and an Ayr Silver Cup! We have also had doubles and trebles, and plenty of success stories. Most recently, in 2023, Ballymount Boy finished 2nd in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood & the G3 Acomb Stakes at York. He has also won the Listed Prospect Stakes at Doncaster, This is a massive achievement and something you have to be excited about!
Katie Scott
Having spent my childhood on the hunting field, in the pony club and competing BSJA a progression to working with racehorses came very naturally. The highlights of my pony career include producing the now infamous Jacaranda Prince from a 3 yo to open level and being selected to show jump for Scotland on my coloured mare Overnight Sensation. My parents trained the odd family pointer when I was a child as well as having a couple in training locally with Alistair Whillans.
At 17 I took over the training of the family pointers and then a few years later after spending some time learning in outside yards I turned it into a small business. By 26 I had sent out 19 winners and many placed horses in point-to-points and Hunter chases, priding myself in the horses being exceptionally fit and happy come race day.
Douglas Julian gave me a great start to my professional career racking up a quick chasing Double at Kelso and since then the yard has went from strength to strength. With many winners both National Hunt and on the flat.
I am very fortunate to train in the heart of the Scottish Borders, where the many hills provide natural gallops that the horses love as they are not restricted to the same work every day. This means the young horses are always learning as they are always tackling new hills galloping on fresh ground and seeing different things. It also allows older horses a change in routine, keeping them fresh and happy. The other area which I also work hard is in the schooling of our horses. I feel that regular dressage and schooling over poles keeps horses supple and also keeps their minds occupied as they enjoy a new challenge. It also means they have the groundwork to find a successful job in retirement when the day comes.
I also strive to ensure my horses are always immaculately turned out on race day, as not only does it make the horse and owners feel great but I also think it is brilliant for the image of our sport. The best turned out money is great for buying tea on the way home to!!!
