AT 4.46am I stood in the tower in the centre of Randwick Racecourse, clocking the three-furlong time of a chesnut two-year-old.

The watch stopped at 39.1secs, a few ticks quicker than the last time I had seen this horse cover the track.

Like the string of two-year-olds Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott oversee, I too am in the midst of my training. Since I began my externship, I’ve put in my foundation work by rotating through the different training yards, including Desert War and Tempest Morn Lodge, here at Randwick Racecourse.

In the few weeks I spend in each I learn the feeding regimes, the routine each foreman follows, and preparing horses for training in the tie-ups. One of my favourite things I’ve learned since my placement began is the use and benefit of the array of training tools, including the equine treadmill and the swimming pool.

Now that I’ve begun spending more time in the tower I can better understand the training routines the horses undergo. Back home in America, a typical week of training consists of five or six days spent galloping (or cantering) and one breeze day (or gallop).

To my delightful surprise the Australian horses tend to put in two or three breeze ‘gallop’ days a week. These mornings provide a unique opportunity to ask Adrian Bott about the training and management of these young horses.

This is also the time the two-year-olds receive their early education in the barriers, and I’ve been able to see this process carried out right on the track. This is normally a side you typically wouldn’t see in America as this is usually done at separate training facilities.

Mrs Waterhouse takes a very careful approach with barrier training, as she is a firm believer in getting this part absolutely right. If you can make the break, you can make the race.

Now in the month of December, we are currently in between the spring and summer racing carnivals, but the time and the workload has certainly not let off. My time in the afternoons is spent in the office preparing Mrs Waterhouse’s catalogue, writing notes on the yearlings that were inspected in November and December, and writing research reports. The two-year-olds are training well, and veteran stakes horses are preparing to make their return to the stables to begin their next prep.

There is a palpable build-up in energy and excitement leading up to January, where the team will hopefully see the fruits of the labour come to fruition when their buys from the 2022 Magic Millions will take their shot in the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic.

Moreover, the team and thousands of industry participants will descend on the Gold Coast to try and find their next champion at the January Yearling Sale. I am most looking forward to my time at the sales.

Mrs Waterhouse has been generous with her time, and we’ve spoken at length about yearlings we liked or disliked, discussing faults in conformation, and her process of selecting winners. I am looking forward to revisiting the yearlings we saw four weeks ago and seeing the progress they’ve made for the sale.

Far and away the highlight of my externship thus far has been attending the on-site inspections at various farms across the Hunter Valley, the Southern Highlands, and more, viewing the yearlings slotted to sell in January. There are still three weeks left of my externship, and I have a lot to learn and look forward to until then.

See godolphinflyingstart.com for more on the programme