Nearing The Wire

We’re at the sixteenth pole nearing the wire day by day. With graduation coming up this Saturday it's amazing looking back and thinking how fast the two years on the course have flown by. Last week we turned in our final project, our business plans which have been on all our minds for the past several months. As probably expected I did mine on a training stable based at Santa Anita Park. The assignment was a lot of work but I enjoyed it thoroughly because I learned so much from it. Now I just have to give my sales pitch to a panel of 4 judges on Wednesday. It's like going on Dragon's Den or Shark Tank, and I'm looking forward to it.

The last three months on the course have been focused on entrepreneurship and it's been great learning all the various aspects that go in to creating a successful business. It really has been fun learning all about entrepreneurship and business, which was an area of knowledge I was lacking before the course. Last week we had a great seminar in Sligo from Epona Biotech on innovation and branding.

It's very hard to believe but today was our last industry visit and it was excellent. We went to Coolcullen to visit Jim Bolger. It was a pleasure to see his training operation. We had the opportunity to sit down with him afterwards and have a chat as well. It was a great day and a fantastic visit.

The two years are almost over and then it's time for a new beginning back out in the "real world". The course has been the experience of a lifetime. I will forever be grateful to the generosity of His Highness Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for creating this wonderful program that I have been so fortunate to be a part of.

Jeremy Noseda Placement

I’ve now been in Newmarket for over three weeks. We arrived here on the 29^th of April, which allowed us to see the Guineas! It was a great weekend of racing. Frankel ran like a freak in the 2000 Guineas and won well. Hopefully after his campaign in Europe they’ll bring him over for the Breeder’s Cup in honor of Bobby Frankel. It was also nice to see Godolphin win the 1000 Guineas with Blue Bunting. She looks like a very talented filly and should do well in the Oaks.

It’s been great being back in England and working in a racing stable. I’ve been doing my work placement with Jeremy Noseda for the past three weeks and he’s been great. I’ve really been able to get involved and learn about European training. With the experience that Jeremy has from the time he spent training in California and his knowledge of European racing, we’ve had some great discussion comparing and contrasting the two types of racing. It’s really helped me get a better grasp of why things are done the way they are over here and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve been going with him and watching the horses canter and gallop. Also, I’ve really been able to get stuck in and help out. I love working hands on with all the horses. Nothing makes me happier than working with racehorses.

Last weekend was great. Jeremy thought that it might be fun for me to go racing at York Racecourse. So, I travelled up to York on Friday afternoon in the horse van with two of Jeremy’s lads and the van driver. We arrived Friday evening staying overnight and the horse ran on Saturday. It was a very nice racecourse and I got the opportunity to walk the course with the Assistant Clerk of the Course. The horse ended up running second in his race but ran great. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Everybody I talked to told me that I would love York and to tell you the truth they were right. It was also great to have my uncle and cousin at the races as well.

In the meantime it’s been fun watching the American Triple Crown unfold. Animal Kingdom looks like one heck of a horse. His run in the Derby was phenomenal. I was very happy to see Graham Motion win the race. He also ran great in the Preakness. Shackleford however proved he was a top horse by going to the lead and still having enough to fight off the Derby winner as he came barrelling down the stretch. Animal Kingdom looks like a horse that should easily get the Belmont distance if he runs. I’m looking forward to seeing the result.

Back in Ireland

We’ve been in Ireland for three weeks now. It’s kind of cool coming back to the beginning where the course started. I look back and think about how much I thought I knew when I began the course and what I actually know now. In the first few days of being back we had a stallion show. That’s when it really sank in how much we’ve learnt on the course. I remember our first stallion show at Kildangan looking at the stallions I thought I knew so much about conformation but through the sales we’ve attended, stallion shows we’ve had at various farms throughout the world, and all the foal/yearling inspections we’ve done I realize how little I knew when we started the course. Life is funny that way isn’t it.

The course has been an amazing opportunity and I’ve learned so much over the past year and a half. During the past three weeks we’ve been learning a lot about entrepreneurship. It’s been really great learning and hearing from entrepreneurs in the industry because it’s given me a lot of new ideas about my future training stable and has helped me learn about all the details that go in to running a successful business.

We have four more days here in Ireland and then we begin our work placements. Most of us are heading to England. I’ll be beginning my placement with Jeremy Noseda. He’s a trainer in Newmarket that has had a lot of success internationally including the United States. He won the 2004 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile with Wilko and ran Awesome Act in the Kentucky Derby last year after winning the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. I spent time in Jeremy’s yard last time I was in Newmarket and I really enjoyed it. With the success that he’s had in Europe and what he’s accomplished in America, I know I will learn a lot and I’m really looking forward to it.

Dubai World Cup

The end of our time in Dubai was great. I enjoyed the rest of my placement at Jebel Ali Stables. The staff was really was great and they were so nice to me during my time there. It was very kind of Dhruba to invite us all to the Jebel Ali Ball at the culmination of the Jebel Ali race meet.

The World Cup was an event that I will always remember. There were so many different events leading up to the big evening that it really made the World Cup spectacular. It was great to go and watch training in the mornings with all the international horses on hand. There were horses from various different countries including Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Ireland, Japan, South Africa, and the United States. Though the training was interesting to watch it was even more entertaining hearing all the trainers talking to their riders in various languages. This international feel really added a lot to the event as a whole. It was enjoyable talking to the connections of the horses when they arrived. I was happy when the Californians arrived, I felt like I was back on the backside of Santa Anita for a little bit. It was great to see and be able to catch up with two of my former bosses Richard Mandella and Bob Baffert.

The week’s events started with the post position draw in the IMAX cinema. The size of the cinema was unbelievable and it was something else to be able to watch the race replays of some of the competitors on a screen that size. The next morning was the Breakfast With the Stars event. Meydan set up a large breakfast buffet at the racecourse right in front of the grandstand. It was great way to see all the horses train before the World Cup while eating a very nice breakfast. Everybody seemed to enjoy the morning. The event that truly was spectacular was the Desert Party. The event took place in a huge arena out in the desert and the entertainment was second to none. They had horses and riders jumping through hoops of fire and horses doing all kinds of spins and jumps while their riders had fireworks shooting out of their back packs. I was really impressed how well the horses were trained. The World Cup was a fantastic night of racing. The quality of the racing was top notch and the entertainment was great as well. The firework displays were incredible. I was so happy to see the Japanese horses ran first and second in the World Cup. With everything that had happened in Japan it was great to see them do so well in the big race.