2009 Trainee Views

December, Australia 2010

First it was Sea The Stars in Ireland, then Zenyatta in America, and finally So You Think in Australia. Our intake of Darley Flying Start has probably been amongst the most fortunate to witness some of the greatest horses of all time, let alone our generation, and their breathtaking exploits. After watching So You Think decimate his rivals in his second Cox Plate from the ‘comfort’ of the Aberdeen local, we were itching to head south to see what the big fella could do over cup week.

So with eleven foreigners to Australia making up this year’s Darley Flying Start group, we were all extremely excited as we embarked on our maiden Melbourne Cup Carnival. The downpours did not dampen our spirits, and the quality of racing quickly became evident as Lion Tamer’s romp in the VRC Derby kicked off the carnival with a kiwi bang. So You Think looked every inch a champion as he cruised home in the last Melbourne Cup preparation race, the MacKinnon Stakes; his fifth Group One victory. The morning following Derby Day we headed out to Darley’s Victorian farm, Northwood Park, to check out the stallions and see the property, then on Monday we were shown around Lee Freedman’s state of the art training facility on the beach at Rye. We also visited Robbie Griffiths Stable where his assistant, Darley Flying Start graduate Liam Howley gave us a rundown of proceedings.

The spectacle of Melbourne Cup Day was simply amazing on Tuesday with Ludovic declaring it the most impressive race day he had attended (only slightly influenced by a lovely pot of winnings rewarding his French loyalty!). Plenty of bickering ensured as the Frenchman and Americans debated the true nationality of Americain; American bred, French trained, Australian owned - you be the judge! Following Cup Day, the group visited the stables of Mark Kavanagh, Mick Price, Danny O’Brien, and Darley’s Melbourne stable Carbine Lodge, to have a look at their facilities and see the stable stars. Finally, we completed the week with Ladies Day where Brazilian Pulse ran away with an impressive win in the VRC Oaks. Upon leaving Flemington with mostly empty pockets and minds full of memories, everybody agreed that the Aussie’s certainly know how to arrange a fantastic race meeting!

After the excitement of cup week it was time to knuckle down again with the commencement of our four week work placements. The trainees were split between three locations; Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand. In Melbourne Mike, Chris and Veer were based with trainers Danny O’Brien, Mark Kavanagh and Peter Moody respectively. Mike found an appropriate horse to look after during his time at O’Brien Racing; a filly named Placement. Veer reinforced his self claimed title as the hardest worker in the group by starting at 3.30am each day while the others started at the much more respectable hour of 4am!

In Sydney, Scott, Katie and Will also rose early for their placements with Peter Snowden, John O’Shea and Chris Waller. The list of six trainers reads like a who’s who of top trainers in Australia and illustrates the calibre of people the trainees had access to. Meanwhile, Vicky was to put work at Arrowfield Stud’s head office which included a trip to the Hunter Valley to inspect the progress of their Magic Millions draft. Jenny and Jennifer put their selling skills to the test while working for racehorse syndicators Star Thoroughbreds and bloodstock sales company Inglis. John O’Shea was extremely generous in inviting the six Sydney based trainees for dinner one evening with Australian bloodstock agents James Bester and Vin Cox, and Champion Syndications principal Jason Abrahams.

Across the ditch in New Zealand, John was busy at Waikato Stud looking after the next generation of stars while Ludovic determined the best way to sell them at New Zealand Bloodstock. Both of the trainees made the most of the opportunity to immerse themselves in another country, returning to Australia well versed in kiwi lingo with ‘aye’ and ‘mate’ now ending every sentence. Ludovic was a touch disturbed by the general acceptance of New Zealanders to go around barefoot; apparently this is not common practice in France!

We have now returned to the Hunter Valley to complete the final week of the Australian leg of our journey. This week includes our Australian conference, game-show style, as well as some valuable lectures on culture and etiquette in Dubai when the course kicks off there after the Christmas break. In the meantime, several members of the group are taking the opportunity to head to Hong Kong for the international meeting on the way home. It will be a good chance to experience Asian racing at its best before heading home to repack the bags for our final six months on the course; it’s hard to believe we are on the home straight already!

Thank you to everybody who made our time in Australia so enjoyable. We visited some amazing farms and met many fantastic people along the way. Special thanks to Darley Flying Start coordinator Belinda Miller who facilitated our time in Australia and made sure it ran smoothly.

Scott Calder and Vicky Leonard

Click here for a list of all 2009 trainee views

The boys at the Melbourne Cup Carnival