TREADING NEW GROUND

Q

You have a 187ha property at Greenmount named Darlington. What kind of role has that played in your increase in success on the track again?

A

We have a stud at Darlington so the horses go there for a spell. We have also started pre-training up there and got some treadmills brought in. It’s something new we have been doing. We decided it might be a good way to pre-train where they can spend a month on the treadmill and have the weekends off. They produce their groundwork on the treadmill and they are in the paddock every day and on the weekend.

Q

What are the major benefits you have found from the decision to do that?

A

It’s such a great thing for the horses heads. By the time they come to us they have a month of work under their belt. We started doing it about six months ago and it’s starting to show in the horses now. It’s so beneficial for them. They don’t get sour in the stable because they come in and go straight on to doing work. If we ever need to send them for a short break then the treadmill opens up that avenue. For so long I didn’t think much of the treadmills and I’d get the horses pre-trained somewhere else. I could see the benefits of sending them to the paddock but we didn’t have a track up there so when we got the treadmills we realised how much of an advantage it was. We had a good chat about how much work can be done on them and decided to give it a go. It shortens the time for us to get them ready for the races and it’s been a great decision.