Paul Barber (1942 - 2023)
Paul Barber once declared it was his ambition to milk 1,000 cows and own a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. By 1999, that double was achieved, as the Somerset dairy farmer watched Mick Fitzgerald carry his silks to glory in the blue ribband event on See More Business.
Born into a farming family in the village of Ditcheat, Barber owned point-to-pointers from a young age – landing his first winner at Badbury Rings in 1969. Six years later he recorded a first winner under rules with Spats, trained by John Thorne – a great friend of Barber’s.
The dairy farmer owned 3,000 acres in Somerset and Dorset, and his farmhouse cheddar and other cheeses are sold in supermarkets nationwide. Ironically, Barber himself was allergic to cheese.
Thorne died in 1986 and Barber then converted some cowsheds at Manor Farm into stables. Having advertised for a replacement trainer in the Racing Post, the cheese tycoon was drawn to the enthusiasm and drive of former jump jockey, Paul Nicholls.
Although Barber was Nicholls’ landlord for more than 30 years and continued to live in the house he was born, he never interfered in the training of the horses. His relationship with Nicholls developed from a business arrangement to a great friendship, with Paul stating that Mr Barber took him “under his wing”.
“I certainly saw him as something of a father figure. He taught me so much about running a business, especially in the early years,” said Paul.
See More Business, or ‘Seemore’ as he was known on the yard, enjoyed a successful start to his career, going unbeaten in his novice hurdling campaign, before readily accounting for his rivals on chase debut at Chepstow after a lengthy absence.
A first top-level victory came with Andrew Thornton in the saddle in the King George of 1997, when the pair came home ahead of AP McCoy and the Martin Pipe-trained Challenger Du Luc. Seemore then made the trip to Prestbury Park, with Nicholls having high hopes for one of his outstanding chasers.
Through no fault of his own, See More Business was out of the race approaching the seventh fence. Tony McCoy had felt his mount Cyborgo falter and break down. He pulled out to spare the stricken horse jumping the fence but, as he did so, interfered with stable companion Indian Tracker. The two of them took See More Business off the course with them and out of the race.
A year later, Seemore headed to the Cotswolds a 16-1 shot. Favourite was Ireland’s Florida Pearl and the Venetia Williams-trained Teeton Mill had also seen a wave of support. Despite co-owner John Keighley reluctant to do so, the decision was made that See More Business would sport blinkers for the first time.
The nine-year-old jumped beautifully throughout the contest and, as Florida Pearl looked beaten before the final two fences, only Go Ballistic was standing in his way. The pair jumped the last as one and See More Business edged clear up the run-in to prevail by a length.
Barber and Nicholls went on to record a second victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Denman claiming victory over stable-mate Kauto Star in 2008. His enthusiasm for the sport never waned and he was still highly active in the yard until his death in 2023 at the age of 80.