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.