Here I'm pictured at the Atlanta airport with my two bags, preparing to set off for Ireland. Sadly, my carefully packed luggage and I would not reunite for at least five days, as they are due to arrive tomorrow. One Flying Starter was generous to lend me a shirt, and another lent me some pants, which at several inches too large made me grateful for wearing a belt on the trip over. The difficulty in not having any of my personal belongings has kept me grounded during an otherwise incredible time during the first week of Flying Start. We've received laptops, bicycles, and several lectures including breeding, IT, and first aid. The allocation of our Darley uniforms today quadrupled my wardrobe, and everyone looks wonderful in blue. This weekend we'll go for our first taste of Irish racing at Leopardstown, and the next two months promise to bring plenty of excitement.
My lesson learned the first week is that all stereotypes about Ireland are true: the pastures are lush, the air is crisp, and the pubs are, simply, the place to be.
Every day is a busy one on the Darley Flying Start, as you could imagine with something half graduate program and half MTV’s The Real World. After spending a few full days at the University College Dublin Vet School receiving Anatomy & Physiology lectures, I’m pleased to have been through Dr. Schurg’s ANS 270 course and Dr. Arns’ farm courses. When not studying, we’ve been to Leopardstown and Dundalk race meetings. The former was my first live viewing of European racing which included a conditions race where 22 ran—amazing! Dundalk was the first ever Polytrack meeting in Ireland. I delivered my first blow to Irish bookmakers when a Galileo filly called Solas Na Greine went nearly wire-to-wire. The name is Irish (Gaelic) for “Light of the Sun.”
Also this week we traveled to see yearlings by Cape Cross, Dubai Destination, Verglas, Sadler’s Wells, Dalakhani, and even American stallion A.P. Indy. Darley pedigree guru Charles Spiller gave a monumental talk on breeding theory, providing a window to how much research goes into each mating decision. We also visited the Racing Academy and Centre of Education where we’re refining skills in grooming and bandaging. I’ve wished for seamstress fingers to improve my skills in plaiting (braiding) manes.
The course has definitely picked up speed. Assignments and presentations are coming quickly, and opportunities for adventure are ever-present. This weekend will mark our first trip for Curragh racing and the Group 1 Moyglare Stakes...can’t wait!
September '07 was the fastest month of my life, and I think the other Flying Starters would agree if they had time to think about it. Early in the month we witnessed the powerful victory of Dylan Thomas in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. Today, that horse clinched a European Horse of the Year title when taking an exciting Arc de Triomphe in Paris. I stayed home in Ireland to catch up on projects and sleep, but Jordyn and the rest of the gang made the trip over. I’m sure Jordyn will have much to say about Paris in her next update.
September was also the start of our work with yearlings. Each of the 12 trainees was assigned to one of four yards here at Kildangan Stud. My yard is the horseshoe-shaped stables of Brookfield, where I assist with the breaking of two yearling colts: one by Cape Cross (sire of Ouija Board) and one by Haafhd (winner of the English 2000 Guineas). We get to saddle, lunge, and drive the yearlings while monitoring their daily progress. It has been a major learning experience and I can’t wait to see how they handle someone on their backs next week.
The best farm visit so far was our trip to Coolmore Stud in Tipperary. Forget the rivalry between Darley and Coolmore, our hosts were most welcoming and pleased to give us the tour. The highlight for me was seeing stallions Galileo, Montjeu, Hurricane Run, Hawk Wing, and High Chaparral. I even got my picture taken with living legend Sadler’s Wells!
Finally, we spent last week at the Goffs yearling sale. This is the top yearling sale in Ireland, and each trainee spent the week with a bloodstock agent. My agent was Charlie Gordon-Watson, buyer of such stars as Derby champ Kris Kin and Guineas winner King’s Best. The week with Charlie showed me how a top agent organizes himself. I learned which elements of pedigree and conformation are most important to buyers, and I experienced firsthand the process including yearling evaluation, discussion with clients, vetting, and finally bidding. Our favorite colt in the sale was from the last crop of Indian Ridge. Charlie bought him for €600,000 and he will go into training with Sir Michael Stoute.
That brings you up to date for my time on the course. It’s hard to believe that we’ll be in Newmarket just three weeks from today. I’ll share my impressions of England next month.
In a mere ninety minutes of northward driving from London’s busy Stansted airport, we arrived at the birthplace of the thoroughbred. If any town could bear such an epic title on its shoulders, it is certainly historic Newmarket. Here, miles of narrow gallops trace the heathland, undulating over hills and bending with the tree line. We spent the first day of our seven-week stay touring these gallops—many of the same paths that have carried Derby and Oaks champions since the 1700s. Uniformly saddled in matching quarter sheets, large strings of racehorses march single file from their trainers’ yards to the gallops which can be turf, peat, sand, woodchip, or one of a dozen varieties of Polytrack. On their way, you’ll find that in Newmarket, extra-wide sidewalks are made for horses, not people.
A tour of the original Jockey Club introduced us to as much thoroughbred history as you could ever imagine. For a moment I was Indiana Jones as I held—ever so delicately—the preserved hoof of ECLIPSE, foal of 1764 and eventually the breed’s most influential sire to which 90% of all thoroughbreds trace their male lineage.
In the first few weeks here, high quality lectures on sectional timing, equine fertility, mare evaluation, stallion management, insurance, and employment law have been spaced around visits to Godolphin Stables, Shadwell Farm, Newmarket Race Course, Tattersalls Bloodstock Auctioneers, and Cheveley Park Stud. At Cheveley Park, we inspected top stallion PIVOTAL who resides in the same stall as 1893 Triple Crown winner ISINGLASS.
We spent a week at the British Racing School where the next crop of young jockeys are refining their skills before going off to work with trainers. There were many fun learning opportunities for us: pulling shoes, saddling with racing tack, and time on the Equicizer, a mechanical horse for riding practice. In a van, we raced alongside the riders as they rode speed work for the first time; this was interesting to say the least.
Newmarket has been quite a destination for the twelve wide-eyed Flying Starters. The history continues to amaze, and the town’s warm, welcoming charm casts perfectly against the chilly English weather. Although there is no Thanksgiving celebration in England, thoughts of Turkey Day remind me to say that every admirer of the thoroughbred should make a Newmarket pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. This Thursday, I’ll be thankful to have three more weeks in this wonderful place.
After our exciting stay in Newmarket, we took a two-week holiday to regroup before kicking off 2008 in Lexington, Kentucky. The next six months will include the entire breeding season, rotating between foaling mares, working with stallions, and riding with veterinarians. We’ll also spend time in Darley’s Jonabell Farm office and at Keeneland with Darley trainer Johnny Burke.
January began with moving into our very comfortable apartments, strategically located only a few minutes from both Jonabell Farm and Keeneland—perfect for early morning trips to the racetrack. Our first farm visit was to Overbrook Farm and the one and only STORM CAT. The great stallion looked well, definitely more spry than your average 25-year-old horse. We spent the next week at the Keeneland January sale, inspecting mares and yearlings with the Darley nominations staff and assisting vets from Hagyard-Davidson-McGee. This sale included a dispersal of the late Cynthia Phipps’s bloodstock, and I got to see the top racemare VERSAILLES TREATY, and a vertical viewing of her broodmare daughters RHINELAND (by Mr. Prospector), SUPREME COUNCIL (by Rahy), and PALAIS VERSAILLES (by Pulpit). It was rare and interesting to see, simultaneously, the influence of different stallions on the same mare.
After the Keeneland sale, we began a two-week farrier course at the Kentucky Horseshoeing School. Director Mitch Taylor was outstanding—what we learned about the distal limb alone was some of the best instruction so far on the course. Mitch dissected a cadaver leg in the classroom which gave us an intimate look at how the tendons, ligaments, and bones function together. We also learned the proper way to trim and balance the foot, and we practiced our craft on several horses of ranging tolerance. I trimmed an off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding, an Appaloosa mare, and a mystery breed stallion—about as much variety as I could get!
Earlier this week we were at the Jonabell breeding shed where young gun HARD SPUN and big pro BERNARDINI test covered mares in preparation for their respective first and second seasons at stud. Currently we’re in Cincinnati attending an international farrier conference to build on what we learned at horseshoeing school. While there have been some very educational talks, most conspicuous is the free massage booth which I may be visiting tomorrow since I did trim three horses last week. Soon we’ll begin our work rotations where there will be plenty to learn and experience. I’ll keep you posted!