RACING wouldn’t be particularly strong in my home country of Croatia, with no more than five or six meetings in the entire calendar year. However, the father of one of my friends both owned and trained a small string of seven or eight horses, so I was introduced to the sport via him.

As teenagers, my friend and I would help muck out and feed, as well as lead up on those rare race days. I started doing that around the age of 12 or 13, continuing right through into my college years. By that stage, I had gotten to know a lot of people within the industry, so I remained involved throughout the seven years I spent studying pharmacy and medical biochemistry in Zagreb.

My then girlfriend (now wife), Tajana, was both a jockey and trainer, although her main occupation was as a dental technician. Given the excessively small number of race meets per year, racing could never be anymore than a hobby for either of us while we lived in Croatia. However, I did help out on the ground at her yard whenever my studies permitted.

In order to fulfill our dreams of working full-time with horses, both Tajana and I decided to travel after I graduated. As Croatia had only recently become a member of the EU, we primarily focused our search on the UK and Ireland. After sending our CVs to a number of trainers, we managed to secure employment with Ed Dunlop in Newmarket. However, having arrived in the UK, we discovered that we were unable to get work permits as there was no employment agreement in place between that jurisdiction and Croatia.

What followed was a night of panic, as we rang around every contact we had in Ireland, in a last ditch attempt to find work before having to return home. Fortunately, Tajana managed to secure a position as a work rider for John Oxx at the Curragh, although I travelled to Ireland without such security. Arriving in Ireland the next day, as my wife went to work, I walked around the various training yards handing in my CV. Having done a few days here and there over the next while, I found my way to Michael Halford’s on the recommendation of Oxx. I started in January of 2016 and have been here ever since.

Godolphin string

I always worked on the ground; initially just mucking out, feeding and grooming the horses. Fabian Burke, who was very good to me starting off, was assistant trainer at Halford’s when I began. After that first day, I asked his advice as to what I was doing wrong – everyone else was much faster at their work. While they had two or, in some cases, three horses groomed, I was barely finished my first. However, he discovered that although I was slower than my colleagues, I was meticulous.

Upon his recommendation, the very next day Halford moved me across to the barn which housed the recently arrived Godolphin string. A few months after, Fabian (Burke) also put my name forward, when the man that was responsible for checking legs left to take up a role in another yard. So, by the end of my first year at Copper Beech Stables, I had taken over responsibility for both that latter job and grooming the Godolphin horses.

In all, I helped to oversee a string of 46, which were split between two separate barns. In 2019, when the then travelling head lad decided to step down from that role, Mr. Halford asked me if I would be interested. Having a small bit of previous experience, in that I would have driven for Tajana when she trained, I decided that I would give it a go. Remarkably, although I have been in the job for over four years now, I have yet to travel any horses abroad. We did have a couple of runners in Dubai shortly after I became travelling head lad but Fabian accompanied those, as he also rode them for track work while over there.

Strong friendships

On a normal race day, if we only have one or two runners, I will travel with the horses on my own. However, if we have more, especially in consecutive races, someone else will usually accompany me. My general duties are to check the horses in at the stable yard, help tack them up and lead up in the parade ring prior to races.

Having been doing the job for so many years now, I have forged many strong friendships with stable staff from different yards. While we are all competitors once the stalls open, I have found that for the most part, people can’t do enough for you. We travel all over the country week after week, meeting each other at different racecourses, so it is perhaps only natural that a close bond develops.

If I am not racing, the first thing I do when I arrive into Copper Beech Stables in the morning is do the gear for the next day. I will then muck out, pull manes, clean the yard and when required, travel the horses to the Curragh for work.

Like everyone who works in a racing yard, I have had my favourite horses over the years. Ambassadorial was one of the first that I became attached to when I started at Copper Beech. His sire, Elusive Quality, was familiar to me as Tajana had trained a smart sibling to win in Croatia. Having followed the colt from the outset, I was thrilled to see him win his maiden at Dundalk, before following up in a listed race.

For me personally, Surrounding winning a listed race at Galway last year was my most memorable moment. That filly had been in the yard since the age of four, so, to witness her record such a significant success aged nine was emotional for all of us. In flat racing, horses come and go, but Surrounding had been in training here for six years, so she almost felt like part of the family.

She had won a Group 3 at Fairyhouse three years previously but while she was arguably in her prime at that stage, the Galway win was effectively her swansong.

When I first started at Halford’s, Josh and Tommy were just kids, so it has been wonderful to watch them develop both as jockeys and young adults. Josh rode his first winner under rules at Punchestown on Tuesday on Tarnova, a filly trained by Michael (Halford) and Tracey Collins. I travelled the horse to the races and led her up on the afternoon. Since John Oxx retired from training, my wife Tajana has worked for Tom Whelan at Church View Stud.

Niko Jenjic was in conversation with John O’Riordan