'The work ethic required to reach the top of the industry was impressive to witness' - Orlaith Nangle's Flying Start blog

Our latest Godolphin Flying Start blog comes from Orlaith Nangle, from Dublin. A graduate of Maynooth University with a degree in Equine Business, she worked for Coolmore America and Ballyphilip Stud, as well as completing the National Stud course in Newmarket.

With one last chicken snitzel consumed in the Commercial Hotel, it was time for the second-year trainees to say goodbye to Australia and look towards our Dubai phase. The 14-hour flight gave me ample opportunity to reflect on what has been my, and indeed many others', favourite leg of our journey so far. 

Picking up from my fellow trainee Ben Triandafillou’s last article, we each embarked on our externships after the Melbourne Cup. We were scattered throughout Sydney, Melbourne, the Southern Highlands, and one made the journey over to New Zealand.

I was lucky enough to be placed with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott at Randwick racecourse in Sydney. The team was on fire throughout my six weeks there, and almost every weekend another exciting two-year-old came out of the woodwork at Tulloch Lodge. I split my time between working in the yard and the tie-ups in the morning, watching and clocking horses from the tower, and then helping in the office in the afternoons. 

With most of my background in the breeding side of the industry, I found myself learning a huge amount each day. I was particularly impressed with the level of effort and time the Waterhouse Bott team put into client communications and it was one of my biggest learnings from the placement. 

No-one does client relations and service better than Gai and Adrian, and the rewards of this were evident whenever I was in the company of their owners. This was also particularly apparent at Magic Millions, where a huge number of owners were looked after and entertained by the team. Speaking with fellow trainees on placements with trainers, client communication is obviously a big area of emphasis down under, and from what I have seen from my travels so far, they are miles ahead of other racing jurisdictions in terms of both the quality and quantity of their content.

All 12 of us attended the Magic Millions sale at the start of January and have just about recovered from a strong case of the post-sales blues. Having previously worked many sales in Ireland, Britain and America, I was fascinated at how different an experience Magic Millions was. It is a huge event in the social calendars of the Gold Coast’s general public. 

With the polo, showjumping and different functions and dinners each evening, it felt as though the sale itself was only a part of the larger Magic Millions bonanza. We were fortunate enough to receive a lecture from co-owner and CEO Katie Page-Harvey and this ‘open to all’ idea was a point she emphasised where a lot of money and effort has been put into, in the hopes that the wider public engages with the sale and the industry.

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott team at Magic Millions with the Frankel filly out of Cercle D'Or Credit: Bronwen Healy Photography

I attended the sales with Gai and Adrian, as well as their highly skilled team of Bruce Slade, Claudia Miller and Emma Coleman. Each of them were hugely insightful, and they ended the sale as leading buyers. Inspecting horses with the first lady of racing was a very enjoyable experience. Her sharp eye combined with her wit and humour throughout the days led to an educational and entertaining time. 

I was lucky enough to attend the raceday with the team on the Saturday, and when Storm Boy powered through the line in first place, it was truly a pinch myself moment. However, fast forward a few hours and the lady trainer’s Asics runners were firmly pounding the sales complex, determinedly hunting down the next Magic Millions two-year-old classic winner. The work ethic required to reach the top of the industry was impressive to witness.

One aspect I found particularly educational was the selling Gai and Adrian’s team does for each of their purchases. Differently from home, most horses at this sale are bought on spec. Therefore, once the hammer falls, the team is busy sending emails, text messages, making phone calls and putting out content on social media to try to sell shares in the horses. This selling mindset was present the whole way through inspections, with every horse looked at through the prism of which clients would be interested in their different profiles.

With ten days of intensive Gold Coast living under our belts, I think we were all firmly in need of a quiet week back in the Hunter Valley to pack up and say goodbye to the friends and contacts we made during our stay. A huge thank you to the Godolphin team and all those in the Australian industry who have made us feel so welcome and generously gave us their time. 

While we are reaching the final few furlongs of our course, there are plenty of us leaving Australia with hopes to return in the not-so-distant future. 

For those interested in the Godolphin Flying Start programme, applications are now open for the 2024-2026 intake of course. Click here for more information. Any questions about the programme can be directed to current trainees.

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Ben Triandafillou's Flying Start blog

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