2009 Trainee Views

March, Dubai 2011

It just feels like yesterday when everyone was gobsmacked by the sights of Dubai in the very first week and it’s hard to believe that now it’s the last week of our stint here and Dubai World Cup is tomorrow! Everyone appreciates every minute of being together as a group as we are one big happy family. As we know clearly, this big family will soon get fragmented and we all will head our own separate ways in the next three months.

Plenty of things have happened in the weeks leading up to Dubai World Cup. We have spent a lot of time on our Finance, Marketing, Human Resource and I.C.T. modules at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management. These lectures were new to most of us and we had to battle a bit with them but we came out on top. The discussion on who is the best stallion around the world has taken a back seat and we are now concentrating on our business plans which will take up most of our time in the coming few months. We spent more time together to work as a group on our assignments. We sincerely thank the staff at the Emirates Academy who helped us turn the initial idea of our business plans into a feasible report. Each of us presented the detailed marketing research on our business plan to the group, as well as working on financials, website developmen and HR policies. All of this knowledge will play a critical role in our future careers.

The placements in Dubai keep our schedule very intense. Some of the trainees working at racing stables have early morning starts at 4am. Trainees did successful stints with trainers such as Mick De Kock in Blue Stable, Erwan Charpy in Green Stable, Satish Seemar in Zabeel Stable, Dhruba Selvaratnam in Jebel Ali, John Hyde in Dubai Stable, and also Godolphin. The International stable was a good place to see international trainers and horses for the Dubai Racing Carnival and the World Cup. Falcon, the company set up to promote Dubai nationally and internationally gave the Darley Flying Start trainees the chance to work together in organizing the welcome reception for guests from around the world. We were joined by some Darley Flying Start graduates who are working with the Falcon team to help organize the smooth running of the Dubai World Cup. Jimmy Unwala who graduated last year showed some of the trainees around Dubai, giving them a cultural experience some would not forget, especially Ludovic! The World Cup is around the corner and all cylinders are on fire.

We also visited plenty of places and the one that stood out was at Godolphin Stables at Al Quoz. Simon Crisford and Saeed bin Suroor gave us the tour of the different facilities, such as the swimming pool, vet room and the famous sea walker. We were amazed by the huge changes that have happened in the past two decades compared to when they use to train horses in the desert. Simon’s superb memory also impressed us all, as he gave the details from race records to pedigrees to the vet history of every horse when we walked through the barn.

Dubai gave the Darley Flying Start course a good exposure as stories about trainees and their placements were published in the local racing press. Dubai Racing Channel interviewed trainees and presented a feature on Darley Flying Start and also individual interviews and photos with Gulf News. The International Racing Carnival provided us with a lot of quality racing. Ten to follow competition proved again that the ‘French’ punter is just undefeatable. We also visited racing in Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi to enjoy the local racing environment.

The next stop, Darley Flying Start is going back to Ireland, the same place where they took off just two years ago. In Ireland, we are going to finalize our business plan and get ready to be back in the "real world" of the thoroughbred industry for which the programme has shaped us so very well.

Jennifer Zhou and Veer Vikram Singh Tomar

Click here for a list of all 2009 trainee views

Camel Farm