THE Godolphin Flying Start class of 2022-2024 began the month of September with a tour of the Curragh training grounds with Pat Kelly.

Coming from New Zealand, where our racecourses are relatively flat, this was an eye-opening experience for me. Walking the track at the Curragh, as opposed to viewing from the stand, I gained a real appreciation for the toughness required of each horse to compete at this world-renowned racecourse.

It is no wonder then that the Irish Derby winners High Chaparral and Montjeu have had such a significant influence on the Southern Hemisphere breeding scene, with horses featuring either of these two stallions in their lineage continuing to compete at the highest level throughout Australasia.

Laytown

From the Curragh to a slightly more obscure setting - a visit to Laytown.

A beach-side town located 30 minutes north of Dublin where an iconic meeting, rarely seen anywhere in the world, showcases the versatility of thoroughbreds and offers a racing product vastly different to anything I have experienced before.

Beaches would commonly be incorporated into training regimes back home. However, Laytown takes this to another level, transforming its beach backdrop into a licensed racecourse which hosts one of the most anticipated race meetings of the year.

An event not to be missed, with it being the first meeting back in its rightful position since the Covid-19 pandemic, people traveled from all over Ireland to attend. The unusual going, and the intimacy of the final furlong provided an unforgettable experience and established the perfect lead into the biggest two days that Irish racing has to offer, Irish Champions Weekend.

Highly talked about

With a racecard featuring some of the most highly talked about racehorses in Europe, I eagerly anticipated the first day of Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown. The sun was shining, thousands of people were in attendance, and the quality of horses on display were matched only by the vibrant atmosphere of the course.

The Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes presented a thrilling contest with the highly touted Luxembourg (Camelot) living up to his potential, beating Onesto (Frankel) by half a length, and Vadeni (Churchill) back in third by one and three-quater lengths.

During my time in Ireland so far, I have been told countless times by people “don’t get too used to this weather” and finally on the Sunday of Irish Champions Weekend, I understood what they meant.

If the sun was shining the previous day at Leopardstown, it certainly was not at the Curragh.

While the rain and wind no doubt provided testing conditions for the horses and jockeys on the track, the weather paid no factor in the viewing experience with four Group 1 races on the card. These were headlined by the National Stakes for two-year-olds, Moyglare Stud Stakes for two-year-old fillies, and the Group 1 Irish St Leger.

The Moyglare Stud Stakes was my highlight race of the weekend where the lightly raced Tahiyra (Siyouni) proved to be an emphatic winner. She beat the highly rated Meditate (No Nay Never) by two and a quarter lengths, with a further six and three-quarter lengths back to the third-placed Eternal Silence (War Front). Now sent for a spell, I look forward to following Tahiyra throughout her three-year-old campaign.

Plenty of exposure

While we have had plenty of exposure to the glamour of Irish racing and breeding, this has not been without hours spent learning at Kildangan Stud.

We have been busy learning anatomy and physiology through lectures from University College Dublin and have been privileged to have had esteemed guest speakers such as: veterinarian Meta Osborne MRCVS of Tinnakill House, Mark Bird handicapper for the IHRB, and Godolphin Ireland Stud Director Jimmy Hyland. We are extremely grateful to these speakers for sharing their invaluable experience and knowledge with us.

For the past three weeks we have spent the mornings hands-on in the yards working the yearlings through their breaking preparations.

It has been a hugely rewarding experience watching these young horses develop mentally and physically and our own horsemanship skills have developed simultaneously.

From the quality of their breeding to the education they’ve received from the day they were born, it is difficult not to envisage some of these yearlings competing at the highest level of racing when we return to Ireland in 2024!

Looking back

Looking back on our first full month on the Godolphin Flying Start course here in Ireland our time has absolutely flown by.

From Laytown to Irish Champions Weekend we have been provided some wonderful opportunities to experience all that Irish racing and breeding has to offer. Most of all, I have enjoyed getting to know my fellow trainees; everyone has come from a variety of backgrounds and have their own experiences to share.

To say I am looking forward to the next 20 months would be an understatement.

See godolphinflyingstart.com for more information on the programme.