Zeal Racing

Trainer

Kevin Philippart de Foy

Kevin Philippart de Foy, a Belgian native, has a wealth of racing experience, dating back as early as he can remember. Kevin’s mother, a jockey and trainer herself in France, immersed Kevin in to the world of racing from a young age, setting him on the path to a fantastic globe-trotting career with renowned trainers John Oxx in Ireland, the legendary Criquette Head in France, Christophe Clement in America and most recently James Fanshawe in Newmarket.

Starting out as a rider, Kevin moved from Belgium to Ireland in October 2009 to work for John Oxx. During his time with John, he was involved in the later stages of SEA THE STARS’ great career. Kevin stayed with John for the winter of 2009/10 before heading back across the waters to France to work for the Chantilly based Criquette Head.

Kevin had previous experience working for Criquette, spending school holidays at the yard riding out, but in February 2010 he took on the roles of Pupil Assistant and 2nd Head Lad. During the 5 seasons Kevin spent there, he rode and assisted in the training of multiple Group 1 Winning horses EPICURIS, FULL MAST, SPECIAL DUTY and most significantly, the legendary TREVE.

Taking his career a step further, in 2014 Kevin moved to the USA to work for French-born trainer Christophe Clement as Assistant Trainer, notably training Classic Winners TONALIST and HARD NOT TO LIKE to multiple Group 1 victories, including The Belmont Stakes, Cigar Mile and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Kevin’s role as assistant trainer saw him taking charge of Christophe’s 2nd operation and was involved in the movement of a yard full of horses between NY, Kentucky and Florida, season dependant. In 2015, the yard saw home more than 100 winners and in excess of 11million dollars in prize money!

Having previously visited Newmarket previously, Kevin knew this was where he wanted to base his future, so in January 2016 he crossed the waters for the final time and became Assistant Trainer to James Fanshawe, a long established and well-respected part of the British racing scene. Based at Pegasus Stables for 5 seasons, Kevin has worked with James to produce multiple Group 1 winning horses SPEEDY BOARDING and THE TIN MAN, plus a full roster of listed race winners.​

Whilst working for James, Kevin developed a great understanding of the training requirements for horses racing in Great Britain and the race planning behind this.

His career development with James and has lead to him now taking out his own training license and building his own yard based at the picturesque Machell Place in Newmarket.​

18 months on from starting his own training venture at Machell Place Stables, Kevin then added the historic King Yard, Egerton to bolster his training facilities in the summer of 2022. A yard able to house a further 42 horses; whist giving the option of heard and individual turnout.

Kevin Philippart de Foy