The final blog is Australia – German Gallop

Most recently I told you about my internship with Godolphin trainer James Cummings where I was sent to the Perth Carnival with four horses and two people. I stayed in Perth for a few more weeks and we had three starters. Unfortunately we couldn’t get another win. Cascadian ran a strong race in the 1800m Group 1 race Northerly Stakes and finished fourth. If the race had gone a little better, surely there would have been more.
From Perth it was back to Sydney and I spent a few days at Osborne Park doing my internship.
While most of us went on vacation, we had a few days off at Christmas. However, I used the time to look a bit more into the practice in Australia. Kai Waterhouse came up to me and asked if I wanted to see her and Adrian Pott. Of course, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and then rode there over Christmas and New Year, and helped out at the stables to see as much as possible. It gave me a good insight into how the stables run, what is fed and how often, and how much the horses are outside.
I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with both of them and was able to ask any question I could think of. Coincidentally, Kai is also a good friend of Monty Roberts, so I spent time with her and the team at the starting gate, where she teaches the young horses how to get off quickly. Because their horses jump very quickly and are at the front of the race.

From there we went to Gold Coast. There was an auction for the Magic Million Year. We trainees spent this again with our internships. So I rejoined the Godolphin team there. James was there for a few days but I spent most of the time with Godolphin’s Racing & Bloodstock Manager Jason Walsh and Godolphin’s Managing Director Vin Cox. A total of 1273 horses were listed, of which 979 were in Book 1. These are the horses we saw. The sale was held for a total of six days from January 10 to January 14. Following this, Book 2 took two days. Study days started six days earlier. All Buch 1-year-olds can be examined from January 4. We started on January 5th and averaged 120 horses a day. Which was really cool. As with every auction, there is a search for the next star. However, a different type of horse is sought here than in Baden-Baden or Europe in general. We tend to focus more on finding horses for the classic races, especially the Derby. Here they look for horses that are precocious for short distances. Then you have to get used to it. It was a very good exercise to learn what criteria Godolphin has for buying horses. Godolphin’s Andrew flew into Edgar to do a vet check. Andrew is from Newmarket Equine Hospital and is Godolphin’s consultant on all veterinary matters worldwide.

Auction days here are also slightly different than in Europe. The auction house is slightly larger and has a different layout. Horses are normally shown in front of the auctioneer, with standard standing and sitting room as in all other auctions. However, most people sit at tables with food and drinks and bid as you normally would. This creates a different atmosphere in the auction hall. A bit more relaxing and a great experience to enjoy in the moment. Eventually, Godolphin bought two stallions. A son by Extreme Choice, currently making headlines with his first crop on the racetrack. Horse number 2 is a son of three-time Royal Ascot winner Blue Point, who was having his first years at auction. Two very good horses in my opinion.

After my days on the Gold Coast, I spent another week in Sydney with the James Cummings group, where I spent a few days at Crown Lodge Stables. Here, Charlie Appleby’s sister, Victoria Appleby, is James’ assistant and mainly looks after the aged children and the two-year-old horses. It was great and Victoria showed me everything that goes with her job. Then I rode some horses, spent time in the tower where all the trainers see their horses in the morning, went around with the vet and saw the daily stable management.

The application period for the next Godolphin Flying Start course 2023-2025 closes on 6 February. So if any of you are still considering applying or have any other questions about the course, as always, please feel free to contact me. As I said earlier, the course is truly unique and anyone interested should grab the opportunity and apply.

Information and my contact details are belowhttps://www.godolphinflyingstart.com to find out.