“I can always tell when he’s ready to run a big race,” said trainer Sara Ryan of Friday’s Coffs Harbour Gold Cup winner Attractable. “When he’s at the top of his game he’s a nightmare as he comes off the training track at Kulnura. He might buck, he might spin around or shy at other horses. Sometimes he does all three. He was on his worst behaviour one morning last week, right on cue for the Coffs Harbour Cup.”
As Attractable’s regular work rider, Sara has first hand knowledge of the gelding’s idiosyncrasies. Riding work is just one component of the method employed by the young lady who this time last year was appointed head trainer for Domeland’s long time Australian racing operation. Her five year association with the Hong Kong based enterprise began as racing manager, but her obvious affinity with horses quickly propelled her into the role of pre-training director. She was actually involved with the breaking in and education of Attractable before he was consigned to Peter Moody in Melbourne. “Peter won four races with him including two at Sandown, but he came back to me when Domeland made the decision a year ago to have all of their horses under the one roof,” said Sara.
The young trainer identified Attractable’s natural racing style after his first two runs back from a spell. He was ridden well off the pace in BM 88 races at Rosehill, finishing right behind the placegetters but showing no turn of foot. Next run he led before finishing second to I’ve Bean Tryin’ at Warwick Farm and that was followed by a seventh beaten only 2.3 lengths in the The Coast at Gosford won by Palmetto. “He may have appeared disappointing next start when sixth at Rosehill but he was only 1.6 lengths from the winner and he didn’t like the Soft 6 track one little bit,” said Sara. “His last four runs have all been on good tracks and you can see the difference. He sat outside the leader to win his next two at Rosehill and then we fell into the trap of riding him off the pace when fourth to Bold Mac at Randwick. He raced well and tried hard but couldn’t let down. I stressed to Andrew Gibbons before the Coffs Harbour Cup that I wanted him to lead or be outside the leader. Andrew parked him outside Stonecoat to the turn where he forged clear with the race in his keeping. He’s a terrific trier.”
The genuine Attractable gives Andrew Gibbons another country Cup success in the dazzling Domeland colours - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Sara put herself through a trying few days by accepting with another stable favourite Much Much Better in the Gr 3 Aurie’s Star Hcp at Flemington, her very first runner in Victoria. Sheer adrenaline in the wake of the Coffs Cup win would have buoyed her for the return flight to Sydney and the long drive back to the Central Coast. Amazingly she rode trackwork on Saturday morning before driving all the way back to Sydney airport to catch a Melbourne flight. It was one excited trainer who watched the big striding grey Much Much Better come down the straight course for the first time and finish a very respectable sixth only 2.2 lengths from winner It’sourtime in the black type sprint. “He handled the big change fairly well and was far from disgraced, but I think he was looking for the turn,” said Sara. “If you watch the replay you’ll see him switch to the other leg at the clock tower, and for a few strides he didn’t know where he was. A good run in very smart company.”
Sara and Brock Ryan combined to win this race with Much Much Better in February 2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Sara’s interest in horses may never have materialised had she not had a school friend who owned her own pony. She watched her friend ride the pony most days after school, and quickly learned the fundamentals of horse management. Within weeks her casual interest had turned into a near obsession. Following many months of persistent pleading, her parents finally agreed to find her the right horse. It wasn’t long before show jumping emerged as her favourite pursuit, and her development in the art was rapid. She got to ride the odd retired racehorse in the show jumping arena and found them great pupils in the main. She was later given a failed racehorse called Onyabob who’d been beaten out of sight in his six race starts. “He took to show jumping like a duck to water, and we had a lot of success together,” said Sara. “He’s now twenty four years old and being cared for by a friend. Often think of old Bob.”
Sara met her long time partner Will Matthews at the time she was receiving riding tuition from former Olympian and legendary riding coach Vicki Roycroft. Will was working for Vicki at the time, and instantly hit it off with the enthusiastic young equestrienne from Sydney’s North Shore. The couple live together on a 30 acre property at Jilliby where Will develops the talents of jumpers, and where Sara still enjoys popping a horse over a few obstacles when time permits. Those occasions are becoming less frequent.
The thought of training racehorses in her own right was the furthest thing from Sara’s mind when she took over the pre-training responsibility in 2019. She simply got on with the job, utilising the many elements of horse management she’d learned over a decade of equine involvement. When Sara thought the horses were ready for a serious preparation Domeland’s racing manager King Cheng would dispatch them to one of their four trainers, Clare Cunningham, Bjorn Baker, Mark Newnham or Peter Moody. At first Sara didn’t even realise she was falling under the spell of the thoroughbred racehorse. It wasn’t long before the urge to hobby train a handful of horses in her own right got the better of her. With Domeland’s blessing she acquired an owner/trainer’s licence and embarked on a new chapter in her life. Her magical first winner came up on a wet day at Wyong just over a year ago, when Prefect Match stormed home to win a BM 64 with Jason Collett in the saddle. “Domeland actually leased me Prefect Match and he carried my colours on the day,” said Sara. “My first winner to carry the Domeland colours was Da Nang Star at Port Macquarie last November with the talented Anna Roper on board.”
Winners are grinners! After a Rosehill win with Attractable 17/06/2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Domeland’s decision to put all their eggs in one basket was triggered by the news that one of their key Sydney trainers Mark Newnham had accepted an offer to train in Hong Kong. “I was absolutely gobsmacked when King Cheng called me into his office at Kulnura and offered me the role as Domeland’s chief Australian trainer,” recalled Sara. “There was no way I was going to decline the offer, but I was scared stiff from the outset. I still get a little nervous when an important race comes along, or if there’s a horse I’m concerned about for some reason. It’s full on these days but I love every minute of it.”
The Domeland training establishment at Kulnura was established in the 1980’s by the late Larry Pickering - multi award winning political cartoonist, caricaturist and illustrator of books and calendars. Drifting into horse training relatively late in life, Pickering surprised many with an impressive success rate which included a second placing with Rising Fear in the 1986 Melbourne Cup. He designed and created a unique training centre which features a huge grass training circuit. The track embraces a circumference of 3 km all up, with a gradual rise over the last 400m or so. A natural spring and a bore provide unlimited water. “In the dry times the paddocks are brown but the track is a vivid green,” said the trainer.
A pretty grainy old photo but one for the archives! This photo was snapped in the early 90s at the Kulnura property now owned by Domeland. Iconic jockey Lester Piggott is on the outside horse, Peter Losh rode the track companion.
A typical day in Sara’s life sees her arrive in the dawn light at the Wyong racecourse where Domeland has a thirteen box barn capably supervised by Samantha Harris. Sara tends to keep the younger members of the team at Wyong to fully accustom them to stable life and the hustle and bustle of a busy training centre. She usually rides some of the Wyong horses before making the 25 minute drive to Kulnura where another dozen or so horses await their daily routine. Sara rides many of those horses herself, something she hopes to do well into the future. “I’ll continue to ride work as long as I’m capable,” said the twenty nine year old. “It’s something I enjoy and it obviously gives me a tremendous insight into their progress and well-being. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’d want to train if I couldn’t ride them work.”
Perhaps the ace card in the Sara Ryan training technique is the afternoon change of routine she provides for most of the older horses - a short jumping session which takes their minds off the grind of training and the tedium of stable life. “Depending on how they adapt to it, some will go over a cavaletti or maybe something a little higher,” said Sara. “You can see them enjoying it,” said Sara. “They prick their ears and concentrate on what they’re doing. It takes their minds completely off racing and everything associated with it. I’m sure we’ll identify the odd potential top grade showjumper along the way.”
Sara looks back with satisfaction on her first full season as a professional trainer. Apart from the deeds of Attractable and Much Much Better she had a whale of a time with So Good So Cool, a son of Capitalist previously trained by Bjorn Baker. Sara won four races in quick time with the gelding including a BM 72 at Canterbury and an impressive Midway success at Randwick. Fashionably bred Chief Conductor won consecutive races at Wyong and Hawkesbury before being spelled with minor issues. The son of I Am Invincible and Gr 1 winning mare Snitzerland, will be back in work shortly and should add to his winning record this time in.
Here's one who responded to the change of routine. So Good So Cool (Dylan Gibbons) wins a Randwick Midway 10/06/2023, one of four wins for his new trainer - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
With Mark Newnham’s relocation to Hong Kong, Sara has taken over the training of two very promising horses in Matcha Latte and Roma Avenue. The former has won only a Kensington maiden to date, but has been placed four times at Gr 3 level and once in Gr 2 company. “He was injured in winning a barrier trial for me at Randwick on May 15th, and had to be spelled immediately,” said Sara. “We decided to geld him during that spell and I’m confident he’ll be a better horse as a result. He’s still in the paddock as we speak. Roma Avenue hasn’t had a start for me yet, but he showed good ability for Mark with a win and five placings from six starts. He’s about a month off a trial.”
Attractable and Much Much Better will both have a short break before continuing with their spring campaigns. The Coffs Harbour Cup winner will have one run into the Big Dance on Melbourne Cup day, while Much Much Better will have a preparatory run leading into The Hunter at Newcastle on November 18th. It’s been a roller coaster twelve months for the young lady who found herself with a very big job when Domeland decided to restructure its training schedule a year ago. She does things a little differently, but the results suggest her methods are working just fine. Sara Ryan believes getting horses fit is the hard part. She says once they’re fit it’s really a matter of keeping them in the right head space. To use one of her own quotes from a recent interview “happy horse, happy me.”
(Banner image - Attractable attacks the line to beat King Of The Castle before a big crowd at Coffs Harbour - courtesy Trackside Photography.)