WHEN tasked with writing a review of the past month in Australia as a second-year Godolphin Flying Start trainee to be published in an Irish publication, I felt a sense of guilt.

We are currently based in Australia, where we can travel, learn, work, and socialise with limited restrictions placed on us. I realise that this is not the current ‘normal’ for many of the readers and I will endeavour to deliver my account of this time with the acute awareness of just how fortunate we all are.

For those that follow the progress of trainees each year, you will know that staying in Australia beyond Christmas is not the common timeframe for Godolphin Flying Start.

However, this is a schedule change which was confirmed long before the current pandemic. Beginning with the class of 2021, every group of trainees thereafter will have the opportunity to experience the spectacle that is the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Additionally, the externships for the Australian phase have been extended from three weeks to five weeks, allowing every trainee to become immersed in each team they join.

Gold Coast

In January, my 11 fellow trainees and I spent 10 incredible days at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale where we assisted the auction house and soaked up the atmosphere and learning from the industry’s leading consignors, trainers and agents.

I spent the full sale with Mitchell Bloodstock and the experience they gave me of my first southern hemisphere sale is something I will never forget.

Together, Bill and James have purchased multiple top-class racehorses, including Group 1 winners Beat The Clock and Excellent Proposal. Their knowledge and welcoming nature made them valuable mentors, who I will certainly be seeking guidance and advice from in the future.

With the exception of Joe Bradley and Julie Witt (who remained on the Gold Coast to complete their externships with Magic Millions and Boomer Bloodstock) the rest of us journeyed back down the coast to the Hunter Valley or Sydney.

Excited

For reference, it would be quicker to drive from Malin Head to Mizen Head in a day than this journey. However, I cannot imagine any of us appeared travel-jaded the following morning, as we were all too excited to join the various teams and begin our Australian externships.

I have joined Inglis for my externship. The team here have allowed me to experience so many elements of what they do while I spend time with each of the departments, especially their bloodstock and marketing department.

This is led by Sebastian Hutch, a Cork native like myself, who has been nothing short of exceptional when it comes to teaching me as much as possible and allowing me to challenge myself in various roles.

From the first day I joined the Inglis team on yearling inspections around the Hunter Valley it is clear that they are hugely supportive of Godolphin Flying Start and are committed to allowing me every possible opportunity whilst at Inglis. The highlight for me has been participating in their phenomenal Classic Yearling sale.

On the eve of the sale, I witnessed the 2020 graduate, Profiteer, put in what was arguably the best performance of the season in the $2 million Inglis Millennium over 1,100 metres and it gave me goosebumps.

He put in some eye-watering sectionals and when every punter on the racecourse thought he was going to fade away, the son of Capitalist just kept pulling clear. To see a horse do that for connections which include graduate Henry Field and Newgate Farm, elevated the sale to another level for me.

Sale success

Inglis’s commitment to working for their clients, both buyers and sellers, was reflected in the resounding success of the sale.

When you read Bill Oppenheim’s Thoroughbred Market Report, seeing that the turnover across North American and European Sales contracted by 25%, and you compare it with this sale which grew its gross by 25% this year, it is a testament to the health of the Australian industry and the hard work of the whole team at Inglis.

On a more sombre note, due to the current pandemic, for the first time since the inception of Godolphin Flying Start the 12 trainees will not spend time in Dubai.

Instead, each of our externship hosts have very kindly allowed us to stay an extra two weeks, making it a seven-week Australian externship.

This is something which I am delighted about as it allows me to experience the Inglis Premier Sale in Melbourne. The trainees will now head straight to Ireland on March 12th to complete the final phase while based at Kildangan Stud.

So, as I sign off, I have so many emotions. Gratitude to Sheikh Mohammed and the opportunities Godolphin Flying Start have afforded us over the past few months. Guilt to be relaying this fairy-tale life to the readers of The Irish Field as I know that the freedom I currently experience is not a reality for many. And anticipation.

As a group, we are anxious to see what the new, adapted Irish phase will hold for us but we are equally eager to gain employment and rejoin the international industry as graduates in July.

Learn more about the programme on godolphinflyingstart.com