racing
Group one winning racehorse trainer Michael Dods opened his doors to the public last Monday, as part of National Racehorse Week promoted by The Jockey Club.
National Racehorse Week is a nationwide annual celebration of the racehorse and a chance to see first-hand the love, care and attention that goes into looking after them.
Other trainers in the area including Rebecca Menzies and Charlie Johnston also had similar events, where members of the public were welcomed free of charge to see how the inner workings of a stable are run on a day-to-day basis.
Michael who is based just outside of Darlington, has had a successful season on the track and has already notched 47 winners, picking up over £600,000 in prize money in the process.
Michael said: “People see the horses at the races and they don’t realise what goes on behind the scenes. As you can see from today, they’ve clearly really enjoyed seeing how well the horses are looked after.
“We’ve got treadmills here, a water spa, as well as the traditional gallops, it’s great to be able to demonstrate those.”
Also, on site was all of Michael’s staff of approximately 15 members.
They included jockeys and the stable staff who are responsible on a daily basis for Michael’s string of 76 horses.
Rhys Elliot is an up-and-coming 18-year-old jockey who has had 119 rides and picked up 11 wins.
He spoke to the Mercury: “It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest. Before this season I’d only had five rides, so I never thought I’d get this far.
“I've got a lot of great trainers that have used me as their jockey so the plan is just to keep that going into the winter then back on to the turf next summer. I’m based here at Michael’s and he’s been brilliant for me from the start.”
As well as Michael’s staff, Craig Talbot, from Butterknowle, was present on the day to speak to visitors about his racing club as well as his experiences in racing yards.
Craig runs the URSA Major Racing Club which has four horses in Michael’s yard.
He said: “Open days like this one are great because it lets the public know how well loved the horses are. They have the best of everything, ranging from their food to the facilities on offer and it’s great to see.
“Syndicates are a good way to get in at a reasonable price, we have 350 members and 40 horses spread across several yards.”
Despite the focus of the open day being less on the racing and more on the welfare of the horses, I couldn’t resist asking Michael about his exciting two-year-old, Northern Ticker.
He said: “He’s a horse that will definitely be looking to move up in trip, from the six furlong he’s already won at. He’s running at Redcar on October 5 and then he’ll be put away for the winter. We haven’t got a target yet for next season, but he’s definitely a horse with a bright future.”
Open days like this one, and the many others that have taken place across the country in the past week seem to be a fantastic way of introducing the public to a sport that to many might look like a closed shop.
You don’t have to be Rich Ricci or JP McManus to enjoy the sport at all levels.
