Kentucky, January 2015
After a relaxing Christmas break where most trainees returned home to their respective countries, it was time to embark on phase three of Godolphin Flying Start and head for the Bluegrass of Lexington Kentucky.
After speaking to Godolphin Flying Start graduates during our first two phases, we had a pretty good idea of what to expect during our time in Kentucky – beautiful stud farms, friendly people and most of all, freezing temperatures! All of these aspects have been experienced in great abundance in our first few weeks when we have been so warmly welcomed by members of the Kentucky Thoroughbred industry, visited some of America’s leading stud farm’s and experienced temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius!
Our first day of the phase in Kentucky was spent at Darley America’s flagship stud farm, Jonabell, where we were welcomed by Darley office and farm staff. We were fortunate enough to be shown around the farm by Director of Farm Operations, Michael Banahan, who happily shared his experience and knowledge with us on all aspects of stud farm management. This tour was followed by a parade of Jonabell’s stallions with Head of Sales, Charlie Boden. We were star struck by leading American sires such as Bernardini and Medaglia d’Oro.
Our tours of Sheikh Mohammed’s Thoroughbred properties didn’t stop there, as over the following days we visited other Darley properties including Gainsborough, Raceland, Darley’s Keeneland training barn and Stonerside. Once again, all trainees were extremely impressed by the layout and quality of these facilities which would not be possible without the fine attention to detail from the managers of these properties which was evident during our visits. These initial visits gave us a taste of what we will be experiencing in the coming months when we will spend time at all of these locations during our work rotations for this phase of the programme.
External to Darley, we have also visited some other Thoroughbred enterprises in the Lexington area. The first of these was Keeneland, the world famous sales complex and racecourse where we were received a lecture from members of the Keeneland Sales and Racing team which included 2011 Godolphin Flying Start graduate, Will Mayer. We sat and listened to the interesting stories and opinions of members of the sales and racing team in the same sales auditorium battleground where the world’s largest racehorse owners have gone head to head for the best American bloodstock for years. This was an excellently timed introduction to Keeneland as the very next week we returned for the Keeneland Horses of All Ages sale where we spent time with the Darley nominations team including Godolphin Flying Start graduates Kate Galvin, Dean Roethemeier and Kate Hardy. With their help we acquired some invaluable insights into evaluating bloodstock and the general running of an American sale which we found to be a very educational experience.
Another educational visit was to the Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre (KESMARC) where Kristen Johnson, owner of the establishment, gave us a detailed account of the day to day operation of a successful Thoroughbred rehabilitation centre. Kristen’s passion for prudent management of the equine athlete was evident and she engaged and entertained us with her opinions and past experiences within the industry.
Adena Springs Farm in Paris, Kentucky was another eye opening experience where there was a huge emphasis on efficiency and attention to detail in how the farm operates. This was very clearly outlined to us by Cormac Breathnac who helped us understand the importance of a wellrun operation and talked us through each of the lucky stallions who call Adena Spring Farm home.
Our first formal lecture in our Godolphin Flying Start classroom was given to us by 2007 Godolphin Flying Start graduate Conor Foley where we had an introduction to Analysing American form. For many of the trainees, the American past performances looked like complex rocket science but with Conor’s help we were able to break the figures down and understand the useful information that these figures provide for the racing fan. We were then able to use what we learned the following day during a visit to our first experience of live American racing at Turfway Park just one hour from Lexington.
We have just started our two week programme at the Kentucky Horse Shoeing School where we will be receiving training in practical footcare, equine conformation, horsemanship and general anatomy of the foot and leg from the experienced director of the course, Mitch Taylor. Our time at the Kentucky Horse Shoeing School will give us the opportunity to work on live horses and cadaver legs and apply what we have learned in the classroom to real life situations.
On behalf of the 2014 – 2016 Godolphin Flying Start trainees the team leaders of this phase, Sam Harte and Stu Hampson, would like to thank everybody who has made us feel so welcome in Kentucky thus far and we look forward to experiencing all the Thoroughbred industry of Kentucky has to offer in the coming months .
Steven & Sam