'Shadowing the industry's renowned judges has been a fantastic opportunity'

Our latest Godolphin Flying Start blog comes from Angus Robertson, 23, from Scone in New South Wales, Australia. A graduate from the University of Sydney in accounting and agricultural and resource economics, he rode work for multiple trainers in Sydney at Randwick while completing his degree. Angus travelled to Ireland at the beginning of 2020 and spent the northern hemisphere season working at Ballyhane Stud.

While the Flying Start cohort of 2022 hardly expected yet another Christmas overshadowed by Covid, the team has certainly been busy making the most of their Australian externships over the past six weeks.

Having completed the Macquarie Graduate School of Management module, as well as farm rotations and business workshops in the Upper Hunter conducted by senior Godolphin management, the trainees have been getting heavily involved in their respective placements in the lead up to the exciting Magic Millions January Yearling Sale.

I have been lucky enough to spend time with the team at Magic Millions and can say it’s certainly been a fantastic six weeks.

December is an exciting part of the calendar for many, with the lead up to Christmas and the new year, however it’s also one of the busiest times for consignors, agents and trainers.

In January the Gold Coast comes alive, playing host to the famed Magic Millions Sale, raceday and an array of other events including the barrier draw on the beach, the Magic Millions polo, the 2YO Classic Calcutta and, for the first time in 2022, the Magic Millions showjumping.

The trainees commenced their individual externships back in the middle of November, with the placements ranging from trainers to syndicators, bloodstock agents to sales companies.

Not only do these placements give the trainees a fantastic learning opportunity but also the chance to make their own contributions, be it through trackwork mornings, yearling inspections, and everything in between.

Many of the trainees have been lucky enough to travel with their externship hosts during the inspections period, spending time in various regions including the Hunter Valley, the Southern Highlands, and South East Queensland.

Shadowing some of the industry's renowned equine judges, it's been a fantastic opportunity for the trainees to train their eye and also meet plenty of great people along the way.

Trainees visit Widden Stud for inspections ahead of Magic Millions

It’s also been an opportunity to visit some of the top stud farms in the country, and cast the eye over some of the new stallions' first crop of yearlings.

This is an exciting time of year for Australia with many of the new two-year-olds starting to hit the track, and also the first runners for this year’s first-season sires.

It doesn’t stop in December either, with many of these horses aiming for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast, one of seven races on their January raceday worth over A$1 million.

While the latest strain is generating some uncertainty down under, it definitely hasn’t deterred the trainees from getting right amongst it during their placements.

The whole group were very excited for the Christmas and new year break, before getting back into it with their hosts in January at the Gold Coast.

It’s a fantastic spectacle with some of the finest bloodstock from around Australia, as well as a deep buying bench with influx of spending from some of the biggest and best racing operations around the world.

With good weather and great horses, the group are certainly excited for the next few weeks.

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