Trainer Seamus Durack believes a change of yards can help his success rate improve in the next few years.
Durack, who was previously based at The Croft in Lambourn, has moved to Delamere Cottage on Folly Road.
Although they have moved just under a mile away, he believes it suits the horses better and will result in better performances.
Durack said: “The Croft was causing respiratory problems for the horses, so I was keen to find somewhere else.
“It was also about downsizing for the time being in order to consolidate with what I have at the minute in order to build up on quality.
“I have recently got rid of a few horses that weren’t capable of winning and for other reasons too.”
Durack became a trainer in 2011, shortly after suffering an injury which included him breaking his femur in three places and dislocating his hip.
And over the past eight years, he has enjoyed success with a number of different horses.
“They started off quite well,” said Durack. “I had Qaraaba, who was my first winner. I bought her for £10,000 and she won five races for us.
“She was favourite for us at Royal Ascot, but got beaten by a length and then was eventually sold in America for £250,000.
“We bought Litigant for £18,000, who won four races, including the first running of the All Weather Marathon at Lingfield, which got me £200,000 in prize money.
“We got The Rectifier, who joined the yard rated 85 and reached a career-high mark of 106 after winning four races, including some big handicaps.”
When reflecting on his many years in the saddle, Durack discussed some of the horses he was lucky enough to ride.
“I had plenty of injuries, but I rode plenty of nice horses, including Rooster Booster, Looks Like Trouble, Exotic Dancer, The Last Fling and Snoopy Loopy.
“I had more than 500 winners and it was a good experience. It was nice to do something you enjoy, but it was a tough life in terms of travelling and the schedule.
“I think that for anyone who is young, competing in the sport they love for a living is fantastic.”
In between riding and training, Durack was unsure about what to do with his career as he wanted to keep his options open.
He said: “I didn’t want to work for anyone else and I wasn’t quite sure about what to do, so I started training because I had a few horses that I had invested in.
“I have learned a lot just by doing it on my own as I have been able to try different things compared to having someone to follow.
“I was pretty well-known, but I think once you start training it’s different because if you want to attract people you have to have a prolonged run of success or plenty of contacts straight away.”
Durack recorded just under 500 career winners as a rider and across the many successes, a number of horses stood out.
He said: “I had a Cheltenham Festival winner during my second year of being in England on In Truth [1998] in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup.
“Also winning the John Bull Chase on Looks Like Trouble [2002] at Wincanton and winning on Rooster Booster in the same year at Cheltenham because they were exceptional horses.
“I’ve always had an ambition to train a Royal Ascot or Cheltenham Festival winner, and I came close with both Qaraaba and Cayirli, who started at 50/1 in the Queen Alexandra and finished second.”
Durack has been making regular visits back to Ireland to try and find another strong selection of two-year-olds for the future.
He said: “I went to Ireland in the summer and bought a two-year-old who is full sister to two horses with a run rate of 150 and 147 over hurdles and fences.
“I have another two-year-old that is a half-sister to Tiger Roll, so she’ll be a really nice horse next year.
“I just want to be careful with what I buy so I can try to focus on quality rather than quantity.”
Durack has some strong horses in training, including Pipes of Peace, who was acquired from Aidan O’Brien, along with The Swagman.
Pipes of Piece won the Kempton Middle Distance in November, and has won £46,600, going from a rating of 77 to 92.
Credits:
Photos by Phil Cannings