Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Susannah ‘Squeezy’ Bagnell has endless fond memories of working in racing: the people, partying and the talented horses.

Squeezy leading in Razor Royale after his 2010 Racing Post Chase win

In her years working for Nigel Twiston-Davies in the Cotswolds, Squeezy looked after and rode some of his best horses.  Ballyfitz (nicknamed Fitzy) won eight races, including the Pertemps Final at the 2008 Cheltenham Festival and Pettifour (P4) won five races, including the Grade 1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree in April ’08. The beautiful Razor Royale won five races, was a young Sam Twiston-Davies’ first winner round Cheltenham in an amateur chase in November ‘09 and won the Racing Post Chase at Kempton in ‘10.

Never a stranger to the big days, Squeezy was also in the Cheltenham winner’s enclosure with Best Profile and Diablo. She was associated with favourite mares, Swing Quartet (Sweaty Betty), who won six races, and prolific winner, Petite Margot (Marge), of twelve races, just one less than her full-brother Ollie Magern. She also looked after the infamous Mad Moose in his younger days.

Squeezy’s memory of her first winner has been lost over time but her first lead up remains vivid. ‘It was at Worcester with Clever Remark, owned by Mrs Jan Smith who had recently passed away,’ remembers Squeezy. ‘He finished well behind Bone Setter and my parents came all the way from Dorchester to watch!’

Squeezy’s nickname began when she began. ‘My dad called me that since I was a baby,’ she explains. Since coming to Gloucestershire, she has not left the Cotswolds, now living in Guiting Power with partner Jonathan Grey, a hamster called Eric and Molly, who is the latest addition to a long line of beloved tortoiseshell cats. She's now a sous chef at the Farmer’s Dog pub, opened last year by Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson and featured on the latest series of Clarkson’s Farm.

Big winners at all the big tracks, a phallic iced decoration on a birthday cake, wintery mornings when temperatures were mind-numbingly cold, a photograph in the Racing Post... Squeezy, 49, was a resolute colleague, nutshell tough but warm as dough... firm, amusing, witty and straightlaced until let loose on a Scottish overnight or a staff celebration. Up there with the best of that generation of stable staff.

Did you have a horsey childhood? Growing up in Dorchester, I rode before I could

walk, starting on our two evil Shetland ponies, Pippa and Duncan. Looking back, it was pretty idyllic. I was often left to my own devices, which meant I was able to go out hacking for the whole day. I went hunting all winter and did Pony Club activities all summer. I was big into eventing and my claim to fame is doing a better dressage test than a young Mark Todd. Even when I went to an all-girls boarding school, I took my horse there and did work experience at Ginny Elliott’s.

How did you get into racing? Whilst I was at college in Warwickshire, my best friend Georgie Price, need Farebrother, went to agricultural college with George Haine, whose mother trained and father was a good jockey who’d won the Champion Hurdle twice. George Haine went to work for David ‘the Duke’ Nicholson as an amateur jockey. Georgie met up with George and invited me down, and we all hung out with Mark Rimell, Tom Jenks, Warren Marston and Gerry Hogan.

I had to do a sandwich year at college but I'd left it too late to get a proper job. Mark Rimell invited me to Nigel Twiston-Davies’. I came down for an interview and the rest is history. I remember it was the day after the Grand National in 1995, in which Dakyn's Boy and Young Hustler had run for the yard.

Which trainers have you worked for? For Nigel Twiston-Davies on and off about seventeen years. I can't remember which month I started in but I remember having my eighteenth birthday party when I was there.

Favourite racehorse: Razor Royale, who I called Ray. I picked him from the minute he arrived. Even when I first rode him round the roads, he felt like a proper horse.

Squeezy and her beloved 'Ray'

Photo Credit: Toby Connors

Favourite racecourse: I always liked Ludlow and an overnight at Perth.

Most memorable overnight: The one at Ayr with Rach Phillips and Maddie Webster – but I can't say any more about it.

Favourite canteen: Ludlow. I used to love their roast pork, and bacon, mushroom and cheese toasties. The ladies were very personable and they also did Hereford.

Favourite jockey: It's hard to pinpoint an actual favourite jockey because it depended on the time: it's different jockeys for different horses. Jamie Goldstein on Swing Quartet was hilarious. At Sandown, she tailed herself off so far, she was off the television screen then came storming home to bolt up by fourteen lengths. Tom Molloy always got on very well with Petite Margot.

Squeezy and Ballyfitz (photo credit:Catrin Nack), on the long gallop on Razor Royale (famousracehorses.com) and with Mad Moose

Racing hero: John Francome was such a gentleman. When Peter Scudamore broke his leg, John equalled Scu’s number of winners and stopped riding so they both won the title jointly.

Best aspect of racing: The parties.

Photo Credit: KJ

Worst aspect of racing: Coming home with an empty bridle.

Best racing celebration: One Christmas party, everyone dressed as Nigel in tank tops, curly wigs and big glasses. He didn't even notice.

One of Gordy Clarkson’s birthday parties at the Plough had the theme of scousers, and nearly everyone dressed in shell suits. I tried to re-use the curly wig but in the end, I used the wash-in, wash-out black hair dye. But it didn't do what it said on the packet and two years later, I still had black ends.

Is it true a racehorse was named after you? Easy Squeezy, owned and trained by Nige. He was useless but won a selling hurdle at Worcester.

Favourite best-turned-out story: One season, I won seventeen best-turned-outs at Cheltenham alone. Hence, I won Leading Stable Hand of the Year and was supposed to be presented with a coffee table by sculpturer Mark Stoddart but, living in a tiny flat, I picked two hippo sculptures instead.

Ballyfitz won the best-turned-out for the 2010 Aintree Grand National. In fact, he won the turn-out in every single ‘National’ he ran in.

In 1999, I won a best-turned-out at Stratford with Swing Quartet, presented by the author Dick Francis, who was sponsoring the race (pictured). I loved his books and had read nearly all of them before I had started in racing, so I was delighted.

Best days in racing: When I led up my first televised winner, which was Wisley Wonder at Ascot. My parents recorded in on a Betamax tape that I kept for years.

How has working in racing changed? I think, the reasons it's changed, for better and worse, are combined. The time off has improved but only because there’s no passion for the job anymore. The wages are still bad but the treatment of the staff is better and a lot fairer. Plus, the racecourse facilities are better with the free food and drink.

What jobs have you done since leaving racing? I worked in a cafe called Mulberries in Bourton-on-the-Water. When that shut down, a friend went to Huffkins in Stow-on-the-Wold. As they were looking for more staff, I went there too. Within three months, I was head chef. After they changed their business model, I got a job at The Bell, also in Stow, before, last summer, joining the team at The Farmer’s Dog, where the staff are known as Doggers on the work’s app.

Why did you decide to become a chef? I always loved food and cooking. I basically taught myself how to cook and often cooked for my colleagues when I was at Nige’s. Having left racing, I wondered what to do and always loved cooking so it was a natural choice to become a chef.

What do you love about being a chef? I enjoy cooking nice food that fills people's bellies and makes them happy.

Ballyfitz after winning the '08 Pertemps Final at the Cheltenham Festival

What is the worst aspect to being a chef? The heat.

Describe working at The Farmer's Dog: Immensely busy but immensely fun.

Are there any similarities between pubs and racing yards? Both are very different but equally hard work. People do point out that I've gone from the frying pan into the fire.

Advice for people wanting to leave racing: You can do it. It's hard but there's life outside racing. One former boss of a bakery-tearoom, Topsy Taee, once told me she loved to employ horsey girls because they're always such good workers. Someone out there will give you a chance.

With Petite Margot (photo credit: Sarah Matthews), on Mad Moose (Jamey Price Photography) and Molly

Favourite meal: I don't really know. I'm like a horse and graze little and often.

Favourite drink: Strongbow cider or Absolut Raspberri vodka.

Favourite snack: Sandwiches.

Favourite holiday destination: I don't really go on holiday, only the odd staycation or long weekend away.

Favourite music: None. I prefer silence.

Favourite TV programme: The Walking Dead and The Last of Us. Both are scary because they are very feasible.

Favourite book: I love reading and can read up to three books a week, especially crime novels. Ward D by Frieda McFadden was my latest read and it was really good.

Other hobbies: Do I have the time to have hobbies? When I do, I love walking and visiting new places.