'We found ourselves completely immersed in the world of stallions and sales'

Our latest Godolphin Flying Start blog comes from Taylor Owens, from Iowa. A graduate from the University of Arizona in animal sciences, her work experience includes spells with trainer Jack Sisterson and Black Horse Farms. Taylor is an aspiring trainer herself, with a big interest too in pedigrees and bloodstock.

The first-year Godolphin Flying Start trainees arrived in Lexington, Kentucky in early 2022. In true Kentucky fashion we experienced the mild sunny days in the first week of January, only for our first weekend to be completely snowed out. The group took advantage of the snowstorm to engage in snowball fights and making snow angels.

We were warmly welcomed by the staff at Jonabell Farm, Godolphin’s flagship farm in Lexington. We toured all five Godolphin farms in Kentucky, including Gainsborough; in the near future, most of us will complete our night watch foaling rotations at this farm. We also met the full stallion roster at Jonabell, which is headlined by the stars Street Sense and Medaglia D’Oro and newcomers Essential Quality and Maxfield.

We found ourselves completely immersed in the world of stallions and sales the following week. For two days we helped with the Godolphin consignment at Keeneland’s Horses of All Ages sale. This sale was much smaller than the likes of the Keeneland September sale, so it was a perfect place for us to get our feet wet; we comfortably settled into the sales routine while also familiarising ourselves with a myriad owners, breeders and bloodstock agents.

To start our mornings with the consignment, we arrived early to clean stalls and prepare the fillies and mares for a day of showing. In the latter part of the morning, we ran cards to potential buyers and showed them the horses of their choosing.

To conclude, many of us took horses up to the ring, which for myself was my first time experiencing this part of the sale and it was a very rewarding experience. The Godolphin consignment was a success, and the 27-horse consignment was headlined by the mare Crowning Jewel, who sold for $480,000.

The Godolphin consignment team at a snowbound KeenelandCredit: Taylor Owens

One of the highlights of this time of year is the opportunity to visit the stallion farms that surround Keeneland. These farms include the likes of Calumet Farm, which is steeped in racing history, and Hill 'n' Dale’s new location at Xalapa.

During this week we were able to make several trips out to visit many different stallions. For many of my group it was a chance to meet farm managers and compare the conformation of the American thoroughbred to that of the stallions standing in Ireland and England.

During our first month in the United States, we began our equine nutrition course at the University of Kentucky, and in our final week of January we have had a range of lectures, from Pat Cummings (Thoroughbred Idea Foundation) and Hank Zeitlin (interim CEO of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority).

The discussions with Pat included challenges the industry is facing and what is under way to overcome them, from topics of transparency to implementing sports betting and fixed odds.

Hank covered the expansive topic that is HISA, how it came to be, and what it will mean for the industry moving forward.

We have also commenced our five-day Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP), a course in which we will learn about the structure of American horseracing and how it is regulated, from the track level through to the federal level.

As we look ahead to February and the months to come, I speak for the group when I say that the Keeneland spring race meet is highly anticipated, as are our rotations that will include practical experience with stallions and foaling mares.

There are so many opportunities presented to us during this phase and we are heading into it with our eyes and ears open and an insatiable appetite to learn.

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