Things are coming to an end in Ireland. Although, we’ve all had a great time here most of us are really looking forward to Newmarket, including myself. I can’t wait to be in close vicinity to the training grounds. Even though it will be winter and there probably won’t be a whole lot of activity on the gallops it will be nice to go over every once in a while to watch training.
Course work has continued to keep a steady pace. We’ve finished our Anatomy, Physiology, and Reproduction course taking our final exam the Friday after we returned from the Prix de L’arc de Triomphe. That was one of the best weekends of my life. Being at the Arc and seeing Sea the Stars win the final race of his career was phenomenal. He is definitely a horse for the ages.
The Goffs Orby sale was a great experience. There were a couple really nice yearlings that went through the ring and quite a few other nice yearlings as well during the first two days of the sale. It’s was great for us to be able to go around and inspect yearlings with people who really knew what they were doing. Some of us, including myself, haven’t had much experience at yearling sales from a buyer’s perspective and it was quite helpful to be able to have someone that could answer our questions. Mark Johnston was great, I definitely learned a lot from him. All the other trainees seemed to enjoy their time with their agents as well.
The Friday after the Goffs sale, the day before we left for the Arc, we went over to Coolmore. Seeing Sadler’s Wells in the flesh was an experience in itself. I remember a picture of my Dad and Sadler’s Wells from over 15 years ago so it was great to finally have a picture with him as well. To top it off we were also shown Montjeu, Galileo, Hurricane Run, and Peintre Celebre. It was a trip I’ll remember for some time.
Last weekend we had off so John, Vicky, and I decided to take advantage of it and went to the Curragh to watch morning training. Pat Kelly the manager of the Curragh training grounds was nice enough to take us around in his jeep as he went about his morning work. I’d have to agree with most trainers that this facility is one of the best places in the world to train horses. I was amazed by how many training options were available for the horses; they must love being out there. The early bird gets the warm was definitely true in this case, not only did we have a good time with Pat but we also saw Sea the Stars. He looked great and it was nice to see him one last time before he starts his new career in the breeding shed. It was a phenomenal morning, I really enjoyed being back in the situation of watching horses training. There’s nothing that I enjoy more than watching horses train in the mornings.
This Wednesday we have our presentations to industry professionals at the PGA National. I’m looking forward to hearing all the other trainee’s presentations and ideas. There are some very good topics this year. I’ll be making a presentation on The Feasibility of a European Breeders’ Cup. So this weekend we are all working on our presentations to make sure they’re the best they can be. However, we are planning on going out tonight to celebrate Bernard’s 26th birthday. Should be a great week!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Picking up the pace
Things in the program have still been great. I’ve been able to have some experiences that I would have never dreamt of before. Probably the most memorable was being able to see the two best horses in the world cement themselves in the record books on the same day. Being at the Irish Champion Stakes and seeing Sea the Stars in the flesh was amazing in itself. Watching him crush the field in an overpowering stretch drive on the other hand was indescribable. I can’t wait to watch him continue on his historic path in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Ten of us from the group are going to fly to France for the race and the Arc festivities. Thanks to Ludovic Cornuel, the French representative of the group.
The day was made even better when the group sat down that evening and watched Rachel Alexandra battle for the win in the Woodward. Out of sheer heart and class she got the job done. It would be fantastic to see these two great stars face off. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll both run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2010 at Churchill Downs.
The course work has really picked up pace but the material is great nonetheless. We’re learning so much. Whether, it’s been in our anatomy and physiology course or a guest lecturer on a topic such as proper sales preparation for a buyer at the sales, it’s all been very informative and I’ve learned a lot.
We started our hands on work about three works ago. It was as exciting as a trip to Disneyland to start working with horses again. We’ve started breaking yearlings and I’ve had a blast thus far. I have two yearling fillies that I’m breaking currently which I am very fond of. One of them in particular I think has a very bright future ahead of her. It’s a joy every morning to wake and work with them. I am looking forward to their continual progression. Training horses, no matter if it’s horses at the track or breaking yearlings is a true joy and I’m loving every minute of working with these yearlings.
This weekend and part of next week we are going to the Goffs Orby yearling sale to inspect yearlings. It’s been arranged for all of us to shadow some agents at the sales. All of us are studying our sales catalogues, after our exam this afternoon, in preparation for the upcoming sale. I’m really excited about the agent that I’ve been assigned to. He’s a very successful English based trainer named Mark Johnston. I’m looking forward to learning from him.
The day was made even better when the group sat down that evening and watched Rachel Alexandra battle for the win in the Woodward. Out of sheer heart and class she got the job done. It would be fantastic to see these two great stars face off. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll both run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2010 at Churchill Downs.
The course work has really picked up pace but the material is great nonetheless. We’re learning so much. Whether, it’s been in our anatomy and physiology course or a guest lecturer on a topic such as proper sales preparation for a buyer at the sales, it’s all been very informative and I’ve learned a lot.
We started our hands on work about three works ago. It was as exciting as a trip to Disneyland to start working with horses again. We’ve started breaking yearlings and I’ve had a blast thus far. I have two yearling fillies that I’m breaking currently which I am very fond of. One of them in particular I think has a very bright future ahead of her. It’s a joy every morning to wake and work with them. I am looking forward to their continual progression. Training horses, no matter if it’s horses at the track or breaking yearlings is a true joy and I’m loving every minute of working with these yearlings.
This weekend and part of next week we are going to the Goffs Orby yearling sale to inspect yearlings. It’s been arranged for all of us to shadow some agents at the sales. All of us are studying our sales catalogues, after our exam this afternoon, in preparation for the upcoming sale. I’m really excited about the agent that I’ve been assigned to. He’s a very successful English based trainer named Mark Johnston. I’m looking forward to learning from him.
First Week
I’ve just finished the first week of the Darley Flying Start program. It’s everything I expected and more. The other 11 trainees are extremely knowledgeable in their areas of specialization. I really feel like I’m surrounded with the best of the best. They’re all great people as well. Darley has really done a fantastic job with the entire program. I’m living on a private section of the farm which has its own 12 stall yard and 5 large paddocks. I’m sharing the house with two gentlemen, one from France and one from Ireland so the house has a very international feel to it. As for the program itself, the course material is fantastic. There’s a lot of it so we will be kept very busy but it’s so in depth in every aspect of the thoroughbred industry.
It’s been great sitting down with the rest of the trainees and learning about the thoroughbred industry in their home countries. It’s amazing how different things are from place to place. That includes breeding, training, rules, and even conformation. Conformation that we look for in horses in the states is very different from what people like in horses over here.
The grounds where the horses are trained are unbelievable as well. Before the program started I did some travelling and visited various training gallops. Newmarket in England was unbelievable; there were multiple uphill gallops and trails lined with trees for the horses to walk back on. One group of about 30 horses stayed at the top of the gallop after training and grazed for about 20 minutes with the riders still up on their backs. The Curragh is a sight to see as well. It’s just acres upon acres of lush green gallops on the outer edge of the racetrack as well as numerous woodchip gallops, sand gallops, and one polytrack gallop. The day before I arrived I went to the races with my family. It was great to see that everybody was dressed up at the races. People still have a great respect for the sport of kings over here in Ireland. At the end of the races Aidan O’Brien worked four horses “a mile and a half” in groups of two over the undulating course at The Curragh. O’Brien worked the great Yeats, four time Ascot Gold Cup winner, in preparation for the Irish St. Leger. It was amazing seeing this unbelievable machine of a horse in the flesh finally and he didn’t disappoint in the work, dusting his workmate by over five lengths. I can’t wait to continue my education in this amazing program. I’ve been very fortunate to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity. To learn more about the program visit www.darleyflyingstart.com.
It’s been great sitting down with the rest of the trainees and learning about the thoroughbred industry in their home countries. It’s amazing how different things are from place to place. That includes breeding, training, rules, and even conformation. Conformation that we look for in horses in the states is very different from what people like in horses over here.
The grounds where the horses are trained are unbelievable as well. Before the program started I did some travelling and visited various training gallops. Newmarket in England was unbelievable; there were multiple uphill gallops and trails lined with trees for the horses to walk back on. One group of about 30 horses stayed at the top of the gallop after training and grazed for about 20 minutes with the riders still up on their backs. The Curragh is a sight to see as well. It’s just acres upon acres of lush green gallops on the outer edge of the racetrack as well as numerous woodchip gallops, sand gallops, and one polytrack gallop. The day before I arrived I went to the races with my family. It was great to see that everybody was dressed up at the races. People still have a great respect for the sport of kings over here in Ireland. At the end of the races Aidan O’Brien worked four horses “a mile and a half” in groups of two over the undulating course at The Curragh. O’Brien worked the great Yeats, four time Ascot Gold Cup winner, in preparation for the Irish St. Leger. It was amazing seeing this unbelievable machine of a horse in the flesh finally and he didn’t disappoint in the work, dusting his workmate by over five lengths. I can’t wait to continue my education in this amazing program. I’ve been very fortunate to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity. To learn more about the program visit www.darleyflyingstart.com.
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