Archie Watson has spent his whole life around thoroughbreds. He grew up near Lambourn, the Valley of the Racehorse, and started riding out at the yard of Charlie Morlock as soon as he was old enough. After holiday stints with Alan King and Paul Webber and a summer with Graham Motion in the USA, his heart was already set on training racehorses.
On leaving school in 2007, Archie spent time working first at Shadwell Stud in Norfolk before completing a stud season at historic Windsor Park Stud in New Zealand. He spent bloodstock sale seasons working for leading consultancy Blandford Bloodstock and then travelled to South Africa. There he successfully managed a satellite yard for two seasons based in Summerveld, Kwa-Zulu Natal for leading trainer Alec Laird, handler of South African racing legend London News.