THE father-son combination of Paul and Oliver Cole will hold a joint training licence from this season.

Cole senior has been training out of his yard in Whatcombe since the late 1980s and has sent out a whole host of big-race winners during the last three decades, including the 1991 Derby, Irish Derby and King George hero Generous.

Other notable triumphs for Cole, who was also crowned champion flat trainer in Britain at the end of a memorable 1991 campaign, include the classic victory of Snurge in the 1990 St Leger and the success of Mr Dinos in the 2003 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

Son Oliver had been acting as assistant to his father, but with the British Horseracing Authority having last year introduced dual licences – which have long been used in other countries – the team feel the time is right for the pair to share the top job.

“I’m very much looking forward to it,” said Oliver Cole. “I think it’s a positive thing to do. We have some very nice horses to look forward to, including Duke Of Hazzard, and hopefully there are some exciting times ahead.

“Dad still has his owners who want him to train and I’ve got some owners coming through, so it should work really well.

“I’ve been the assistant for a long time and Dad can’t go on forever, so this is just part of the natural progression. It will very much be business as usual.”

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