Life as a Darley Flying Start Trainee
Flying Start – Newmarket 2006
Although having only negotiated a short ferry ride across the Irish Sea from Dublin to Holyhead and a supposedly straightforward drive to Newmarket, some tired heads and a few scenic detours ensured that we arrived in Newmarket looking as if we had swum the Irish sea and faced hostile Welsh barbarians en route. While there may be a shadow of truth in the latter we eventually made it to our new home at Wooditton Stud and reunited with the sensible few who had enjoyed the luxury of Ryanair. On arrival all concerns about the prospect of sharing a single house subsided as we were all very pleasantly surprised with our new luxury lodge. Not only did the huge kitchen promise to accommodate Bo’s tendency towards industrial cooking but the spacious rooms seemed able to cope with Liz’s ever expanding wardrobe, not to mention my own shoe collection.
The first week in the home of British racing was kick started with a tour of Dalham Hall and adjoining studs followed by a fantastic peek into the famed Jockey Club rooms and new Rowley Mile grandstand. During the week we also enjoyed a very informative tour of the vast range of gallops available in Newmarket much to the amazement of our American racecourse confined compatriots and the ever curious soil investigator, Junling. Later in the week the uniform blue mass of Flying Starters descended on the local studs of Shadwell and Cheveley Park where we enjoyed the privilege of seeing some of the world’s leading sires. A chance to see the legendary Green Desert at Shadwell and leading British sire Pivotal at Cheveley were fantastic experiences that will not be forgotten in a hurry.
The first weekend offered the perfect chance for our induction to the infamous De Niro’s nightclub in Newmarket. The charge was led as usual by a militant Liz who enforced obligatory sambuca shots on the rest of us unsuspecting tee-total members of the group! Although a select few did not display the adequate stamina necessary to make it the few metres from the Yard pub to De Niro’s the night was generally enjoyed by all and also suffered by all the following morning.
The rest of our time in Newmarket predominantly involved rotations between yearling pre-training yard Hamilton Hill, mare prepping at Hadrian Stud and the different departments of the stud office. In spite of the early start at Hamilton Hill, the chance to get back out on the gallops albeit on Bob the Cob and also follow up the progress made by some of the yearlings we had worked with while at Kildangan meant that this was a fantastic week all round. Mare prepping was insightful although slightly less enjoyable from my perspective as a strained gluteus muscle impaired my ability to hand walk the small marathon we completed each morning with the mares. I received a severe lack of sympathy from the rest of the group as it seems I was the only one who suffered from this unfortunate condition. The rotations between nominations, marketing, accounts and the racing office allowed us to gain a better idea of the interior workings of the operation and to follow up our time spent in the marketing department a marketing workshop with creative director Jocelyn Target brought our own creative genius Fabricio Buffolo to the forefront with his excellent caption for Bernadini which can be glimpsed in the new U.S. brochure.
Amongst a plethora of top class lectures from the likes of Bill Oppenheim, Barney Curley and James Crowhurst, we managed to fit in a busy week at the Tattersalls November Mare and Foal sales. Accompanying various agents throughout the sale we had the unique opportunity to witness history in the making with record prices reached for the likes of Magical Romance and Spinning Queen. During the mare sale we also had the privilege of a largely wine based lunch with Tattersalls Sales Director Martin Mitchell which I believe led to some complaints from one of the agents that a certain Flying Start trainee had been getting the wrong horses out for viewing!
In total Newmarket has been a fantastic experience all round and hopefully we will have the opportunity to thank all those in person who have generously contributed to it at the end of year party on Thursday. I have already purchased my snow suit so bring on Kentucky!
Gina Bryce
The Trainees survey the course at Newmarket. Larger image.
Andy and Fabricio try their hand at being a jockey at the
British racing school.
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Jerome atTattersalls sales. Larger image.
Liz lungeing at Hamilton Hill.
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Brandon and Gina in the Racing Office at Dalham Hall Stud.
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Fabricio with his hero, Monsun.
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