How trainers promote best welfare practice across Europe

"Mens sana in corpore sano" - is a well known Italian phrase which translates to “a healthy mind in a healthy body" is a fundamental principle for every athlete, and racehorses are true athletes of the sporting arena. Just like their human counterparts, the performance of a racehorse depends not only on their physical condition but also on their mental well-being. The issue of animal welfare in horse racing is not just a matter of ethics or sensitivity, but the foundation upon which the integrity of the entire sport rests.

The concept of equine welfare extends beyond the mere absence of disease or injury. It concerns the quality of life of the horses, including their daily treatment, living conditions, access to open spaces, appropriate nutrition, and the ability to express natural behaviours. Moreover, it includes ethical training practices that respect the animal's physical limits, avoiding bad training and stress.

In the context of racing, equine welfare is scrutinised not only by industry insiders but also by the public and animal rights activists. Our focus in this section of the article is on the evolution of welfare practices in the leading countries of European horse racing: Great Britain, France, Ireland and Germany. 

The goal is to understand not only the current state in terms of equine welfare but also to identify trends and areas for improvement, reflecting on the importance of an ethical and responsible approach to these extraordinary athletes.

GREAT BRITAIN - HORSE WELFARE BOARD (BHA)

The Horse Welfare Board, inclusive of representatives from the BHA, racecourses, and horsemen, unveiled a five-year welfare plan in 2020 to elevate horse welfare in British racing. This plan is dedicated to ensuring a "life well-lived" for racehorses, with a focus on traceability, safety, well-being, alongside initiating the industry's most extensive data project. It targets enhancing health care practices, ensuring lifelong responsibility, reducing injuries, and fostering public trust through transparency and ethical practices. Additionally, the strategy commits to developing a Code of Ethics and advancing veterinary care and injury prevention. Importantly, the implementation team is collaborating with the industry on 26 strategic projects, backed by funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) since 2019 and a recent £3 million grant from the Racing Foundation, to realise these goals.

In the array of projects undertaken by the Welfare Board to bolster safety and uphold equine welfare standards, there are a few that stand out as being exceptionally cutting-edge, such as the: Thoroughbred Census, Equine Vision Project, Data Partnership.

Thoroughbred Census

The project aims to enhance the traceability of retired thoroughbreds, enabling better support for owners and the adaptation of welfare initiatives by British Racing and Retraining of Racehorses (RoR). It involves a six-month census, in partnership with RoR, collecting detailed information on retired racehorses to improve aftercare and respond quickly to equine disease outbreaks.

Equine Vision Project:

“We try to look through the horses’ eyes” - Mike Etherington-Simth

In 2017, the BHA and Racing Foundation funded research into equine vision to enhance hurdle and fence safety. Horses, seeing fewer colours than humans, struggle to distinguish between hues like red, orange, and green. The study assessed the visibility of orange markers on racecourse obstacles against alternative colours, considering how weather conditions affect perception.

Data Partnership

This project seeks to enhance racehorse safety and welfare by analysing risks and factors leading to injuries and fatalities on racecourses and during training in Great Britain. It utilises extensive data on races and training practices, employing advanced statistical models to identify risk factors. The initiative, in collaboration with industry stakeholders, aims to provide evidence that informs decisions and measures to minimise risks, directly contributing to the betterment of racehorse welfare.

FRANCE - FRANCE GALOP

France Galop is deeply committed to promoting high standards of horse welfare, aligning with the 8 principles outlined in the "Charte Pour le Bien-Être Équin". This commitment is evidenced through various initiatives, including the inspection of facilities by France Galop veterinarians for new trainers who have acquired their flat racing licences. These checks, part of the certification process, aim to ensure that the infrastructure is suitable for housing horses. In 2021, a total of 410 training centres were inspected by the veterinarians of the Fédération Nationale des Courses Hippiques. The vets also check for prescribed medications and substances on site, adhering to a “zero tolerance” policy.

IRELAND - THOROUGHBRED WELFARE COUNCIL (HRI)

“They have horse welfare right at the forefront of everything they do and I would say they are doing a very good job”  Joseph O’Brien

In 2021, the Irish Thoroughbred Welfare Council was assembled to act as an advisor to the Board of HRI and assist in devising policies on welfare matters. HRI gathered 60 industry participants in a co-design project to create a manual called “Our Industry, Our Standards,” aiming to establish a system where welfare standards are verified and measured. These standards include good feeding, good housing, good health and good well-being. Additionally, the Thoroughbred Council is collaborating with IHRB, Weatherby’s, and the Department of Agriculture to create a traceability system that will ensure every horse always has a known link to the responsible person. 

Best-Turned-Out League

To promote and encourage the implementation of good animal care and welfare practices, HRI has introduced the “Best-Turned-Out League,” which aggregates these prizes from across the country into a league table with substantial prizes from six different categories, highlighting the impressive standards maintained across the industry. The primary caregivers, who are often lifelong careerists, are our industry employees. 

GERMANY - DEUTSCHER GALOPP

Deutscher Galopp, has notably advanced equine welfare within racing in recent years. Not only has it raised the quality standards of horse care within stables, monitored through surprise veterinary checks, but it has also started to develop an intriguing project that monitors the physical development of racehorses.

Physical Maturity Check for 2-Year-Olds Before Training

Deutscher Galopp has implemented regulations requiring that every horse must pass specific veterinary checks. These checks are designed to ascertain sufficient physical maturity before a horse enters into training. A second assessment is conducted shortly before the horse can start in a race, to confirm its physical fitness for competition.

For this section of the article, we canvassed opinion from a selection of industry professionals for their perspectives on issues related to equine welfare. 

Q: What role does horse welfare play in your training practices and what specific measures do you implement to safeguard the physical and mental well-being of the horses?

"The welfare of my horses is central to me; it is the most crucial element for the success of my business” asserts Seamus Mullins, a sentiment unanimously echoed by all interviewees who have long regarded animal welfare as a key factor from the outset of their careers in the racing sector. When delving into the practicalities of ensuring each horse's welfare is honoured, Joseph O'Brien highlights the significance of tailoring care to individual needs. "It's crucial not to generalise, as what satisfies one horse might not suit another," he explains. This underlines the necessity of adapting training and rest schedules to cater to their unique preferences and inclinations, guaranteeing their well-being and happiness.

Luca Cumani, who since retiring from training has remained active within the industry, including a term as a director of the BHA and as a pre-eminent breeder emphasises the importance of observation to understand each horse's psychological capabilities and preferences.

Seamus Mullins discusses the regular turnout of horses in individual paddocks while ensuring they are always in association with other horses. The stables are varied to suit different preferences, emphasising the need for regular updates to training methods and facilities to keep the horses in the best condition possible.

Peter Schiergen, Nastasja Volz-Degel, and Alessandro Botti all share this commitment to horse welfare, implementing daily routines, wellness programs, and training methods tailored to the individual needs and physical aptitudes of each horse. They focus on creating a comfortable environment for the horses, using modern facilities such as solariums, water treadmills, and magnetic blankets for massage, highlighting a collective effort to maintain high welfare standards in the racing industry.

Q: How do you educate your staff or team members about the importance of animal welfare?

"I always said to the riders: the relationship with the horse you ride should be viewed as a partnership, akin to that with your wife or daughter, and should be treated with the same respect and care" Cumani explains with a touch of warmth. The stable staff plays a pivotal role in the implementation of animal welfare, which is why, as the interviewees emphasise, it's crucial to focus on their education and enhance their knowledge to the fullest. "We want our staff to become better horsemen," states Schiergen. 

Beyond the training provided internally within their stables, some trainers, like Alessandro Botti, with the support of AFASEC (the Association de Formation et d'Action Sociale des Ecuries de Courses - which roughly translates to Association for Training and Social Action of Racing Stables), have decided to offer courses in equine ethology led by experts brought in from outside. This initiative not only sparked significant interest among their staff but also led to an improved approach to working with horses.

Q: The risk of injuries is an inherent component in all sports, including horse racing. What is your opinion on this statement, and what specific actions do you take to minimise the risks?

"Risks are everywhere, especially in competitive activities, whether involving humans or animals, there's a significant element of risk," are the words of Cumani, which also resonated with others we interviewed. 

The consensus is that, unfortunately, injuries are inevitable despite efforts to minimise them through practices and care that respect the physical state of the horse. "We try to minimise the risks by checking every horse before a race and during training, we never push the limit of a horse if he isn't ready enough” underlines Schiergen, “we have to get the message across that we are doing all our best to minimise the risks at all accounts”, adds Mullins.

Q: What role do you believe transparency plays in communicating to the public the importance placed on the welfare of racing horses in daily activities, and how do you ensure that this information is effectively shared with the general public?

“There are fewer and fewer people growing up with animals and in farming, and as a result, this is why we need to show through platforms what we do because things we take for granted, someone who has never been to a racing yard may not realise what happens,” says O'Brien. He adds, “It is important to give people access to behind the scenes, and this is why we try to be quite active on social media and encourage people to come to our yard, so that they realise the amount of passion that staff puts in their daily work.”

Public involvement, to make them part of the daily practices of stable life, is crucial, as our interviewees from various parts of Europe maintain. Thanks to numerous activities promoted by the racing authorities of the interviewees' respective countries, Open Day events allow the public to participate in stable life. 

Many trainers, like Seamus Mullins, have noticed a significant increase in participation in recent years, “Ten years ago, participation in the UK was about 100, while in 2023 it was more than 500. Moreover, people who participate often express surprise at how well race horses are treated.” However, all the trainers, like Alessandro Botti affirms, it is necessary to increase content on social media, to give the possibility to everyone, every day and in every part of the world, to participate in the daily life of horses in various stables.

Q: What do you think will be the future trends in horse welfare in Racing in the coming years?

All the trainers interviewed are convinced that the standards of equine welfare in racing are already very high. However, they unanimously believe that social pressure from activists will continue to grow, making it necessary to increase transparency and public engagement. Joseph O'Brien emphasised the importance of education: "What I think really has to be put to the forefront is educating people who are not involved in racing; this will be the biggest challenge." 

Given the insights on how Racing Authorities operate in terms of Horse Welfare and the daily interest and commitment of trainers, the trend seems to be very positive and reflects very high standards. It is essential, however, that countries collaborate with each other to inspire one another, further improving equine welfare practices, as Helena Flynn, the British Horse Welfare Board Programme Director emphasises "We love these animals and do our best to ensure they are protected, and thus it would be beneficial if the results of various state projects could contribute to inspiring everyone internationally." Therefore, the issue of equine welfare in racing is a complex mosaic of care, respect, and dedication towards the thoroughbred racehorse. Recognising and acting for their welfare is not just a moral duty but the foundation on which to build a fair, sustainable, and most importantly, animal-respectful racing industry.

The Gerald Leigh Memorial Lectures 2023

The Gerald Leigh Memorial Lectures, is an annual  gathering devoted to the racing industry and the health and wellbeing of the horses involved.  

This year, equine veterinarians, researchers, students and industry professionals from around the world attended the event, held June 8, 2023, at the historic Tattersalls Sales in Newmarket, England.  

There were insightful and informative lectures that educated the attendants but also instigated a healthy, lively debate on the health and welfare of the training and competing of horses. The underlying theme that was present during the whole event was all members of the conference had a deep passion and commitment to continuously progress and improve on managing the welfare and wellbeing of the horses in the industry, both on and off of the track.  

Two very special guest speakers, Sir Mark Prescott and Luca Cumani, wonderfully illustrated these sentiments as they described their reflections on the improvement and enhancement of horse safety.  

Horse racing may be regarded as an elite sport, and all activities involving horses have an element of risk. All stakeholders in the racing industry must continuously work to ensure that the risks are minimised in order to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities that may occur in training and on the racecourse.  There are now well-publicised concerns regarding the acceptability of exposing horses to risk in racing.  These lectures and all of the attendees embraced the values of the public will so that there can be continued acceptance of horse sports.   

Reducing the incidence of fractures in racing 

Christopher Riggs of The Hong Kong Jockey Club clearly outlined the various strategies to reduce the risk of fractures in racehorses. There are two principal strategies that may used to reduce the incidence of severe fractures in horses while racing and training:

1. Identifying extrinsic factors that increase risk and take action to minimise them. 

An example would be investigating different racing surfaces in order to determine which may provide the safest racing surface. However, studies have provided limited evidence and support for subtle extrinsic factors.

2. Identifying individuals that are at increased risk and prevent them from racing or minimise that risk until the risk has subsided.  

There are many research routes that are being undertaken to identify those horses that may be at a higher risk of fractures. There are investigations involving heritability and molecular studies that may provide evidence of genetic predisposition to fracture. However, Dr. Riggs explained that further understanding of the relationship between genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors is required before genetic screening is likely to be of practical use.  

Pre-race screening of horses by diligent clinical examination is poor at reducing the incidence of fracture. Dr. Riggs described another strategy that may assist with a clinical examination that is the use of biomarkers in blood and urine.  

Unfortunately, the precision to be of practical value has so far remained relatively unrewarding.  Wearable technology that records biometric parameters, including stride characteristics, has shown some promise in identifying horses that are at increased risk of fracture; although Dr. Riggs explained that this work requires further development.  

Finally, Dr. Riggs described both the use and current limitations of  diagnostic imaging in identifying pre-fracture pathology in order to identify a horse at imminent risk of fracture.  He conceded that further knowledge of the significance of the range of abnormalities that can be detected by imaging is incomplete.

Dr. Riggs concluded his lecture by expressing that the implementation of  diagnostic imaging to screen  “high-risk” horses identified through genetic, epidemiology, biomarkers and/or biometrics may be the best hope to reduce the incidence of racing fractures. This field can be advanced with further studies, especially of a longitudinal nature.

Professor Tim Parkin of Bristol Veterinary School discussed the need for further investment in welfare research and education. One avenue of investment that should be seriously considered is the analysis of data related to (fatal) injuries in Thoroughbred racing over the last 25 years.  

It was expressed, with the abundance of data that has been collected, that some risk factors would be relatively simple to identify. An encouraging example in the collection and use of data to develop models in predicting and potentially preventing injury has been conducted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Equine Welfare Research Foundation. This may provide an opportunity to pilot the use of risk profiling to contribute to decision-making about race entries.  In addition, the results of the pilot study combined with other sources of data may encourage race authorities to mandate the collection of veterinary and training data in order to help in risk mitigation.

Horse racing is an international sport, and there are different governing bodies that ensure racing integrity. However, the concept of social licence equestrian sports and Thoroughbred horse racing continues to gain significant public attention.  Therefore, racing governing bodies are increasingly aiming to provide societal assurances on equine welfare. 

Dr. Ramzan of Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons provided an eloquent and clear message during his lecture that race yard veterinarians and trainers are instrumental in ensuring good horse health and welfare and reducing serious injury of the horse both while training or racing, which will provide sufficient trust and legitimacy from the public and society.  This feasible goal can be reached with good awareness of members involved in the care and training of each individual horse and conveying this information and any concerns to their veterinarian.  The veterinarian can also contribute by honing their knowledge and skills and working closely with yard staff in order to make appropriate and better targeted veterinary intervention.   

In the last two decades, there has been an incredible evolution and exciting developments in diagnostic imaging in the veterinary profession. It is believed that these technologies can provide a significant contribution to helping in mitigating fracture risks to racehorses on the course and in training.  

Professor Mathieu Spriet of University of California, Davis, described how these improvements in diagnostic imaging has led to the detection of early lesions as well as allowing the monitoring of the lesions’ evolution.  

He continued by explaining the strengths and limitations of different imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET).  Being one of the leaders in the use of PET in equine veterinary medicine, he presented further insight on how this particular modality provides high-resolution 3-D bone scans while being very sensitive to the identification of bone turn-over prior to the development of structural changes and allowing one to distinguish between active and inactive processes when structural changes are present.  

He concluded his impressive lecture by providing evidence with amazing PET images that the role of imaging is not merely for diagnostic purposes to characterise clinical abnormalities, but can also be used as a screening tool in certain horse populations for fracture risk assessment or for the monitoring of lesions to provide clearance for racing. 

Fractures, due to bone overloading rather than direct trauma occur commonly in Thoroughbred racehorses and are the leading cause of euthanasia on the racecourse. Despite many changes to race conditions, the number of catastrophic fractures has remained relatively static, with approximately 60 horses a year having a fatal fracture during a race in the UK.  

Against this backdrop, there have been great developments in the diagnosis and treatment of fractures in the last 40 years. Prevention of racecourse and training fractures would be ideal so the development of efficacious techniques to screen horses at risk may reduce the incidence and preserve social licensing.  

One technique discussed by Dr. Ian Wright of Newmarket Equine Referrals was to help mitigate the impact of racecourse fractures, which would be acute immobilisation of racecourse fractures, thus, reducing associated pain and anxiety while optimising clinical outcome and reducing on course fatality rates. Because of our increased understanding of fracture pathogenesis and their associated biomechanics, effective fracture immobilisation has been made possible. The majority of fractures that occur in flat racing and between obstacles in jump racing, are a result of stress or fatigue failure of the bone and not associated with trauma.  

In addition, fractures seen on the racecourse are often found in the same specific sites (i.e., metacarpal/metatarsal condyles and the proximal sesamoid bones of the fetlock) and have repeatable configurations. With this understanding and knowledge, racecourse veterinarians can optimally immobilise a fracture in a logical and pre-planned manner.  

As Dr. Wright expressed, this allows the fracture patient to have reduced pain and anxiety and enable the horse to be moved from the course comfortably so that it can be further examined. Ultimately, this allows the veterinarian and all stakeholders to make effective and judicious decisions for the sake of the horse’s welfare and wellbeing. As Dr. Wright concluded, this benefits both horses and racing.

Dr. Debbie Guest of the Royal Veterinary College discussed a different approach in mitigating the risk of fractures during training and racing by developing novel tools to reduce catastrophic fractures Thoroughbreds. Because it has been found that some horses are more inherently predisposed to fractures than other horses, Dr. Guest and her team have developed a genome-wide polygenic risk score so that one can potentially calculate an individual horse’s risk of fracturing during training or racing compared to the population as a whole.  

This strategy may contribute in identifying genetically high-risk horses so that additional monitoring of the patients can be exercised during their careers and also leading to fracture risk, which are found to be the cause of approximately half of these incidents.  

The system of using DNA testing to identify biological processes that may or may not be present ultimately leading to fracture risk may be a powerful tool in lowering the risk of catastrophic fracture and requires further research and application.

Cardiac events & sudden cardiac death in training and racing

In racehorses, sudden death that is associated with exercise on the racetrack or during training is a serious risk to jockeys and adversely affects horse welfare and the public perception of the sport. It is believed 75% of race day fatalities result from euthanasia following a catastrophic injury. The other 25% of fatalities is due to sudden deaths and cardiac arrhythmias are found to be the cause of approximately half of these incidents. The lectures focused on this area of concern by providing three interesting lectures on cardiac issues in the racehorse industry.  

Dr. Laura Nath of the University of Adelaide, explained the difficulties in identifying horses that are at risk of sudden cardiac death. It is believed that part of the solution to this difficult issue is the further development and use of wearable devices including ECG and heart rate monitors.  

With the use of these technologies, the goal would be to recognise those horses that are not progressing appropriately through their training and screen these horses for further evaluation. This course of action has been seen in human athletes that develop irregular rhythms that are known to cause sudden cardiac death with the use of computational ECG analysis, even when the ECGs appear normal on initial visual inspection.  

Knowing that ECGs and particularly P-waves are used as a non-invasive electrocardiographic marker for atrial remodelling in humans, Dr. Nath recently completed a study on the analysis variations in the P-wave seen on ECGs in athletic horses and found that increases of P-waves in racehorses are associated with structural and electrical remodelling in the heart and may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (cardiac event).

Dr. Celia Marr of Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons continued the discussion of cardiac disease in both the training and racing of horses. Unfortunately, cardiac disease knowledge does lag compared to musculoskeletal and respiratory diseases when considering the causes of poor performance in racehorses. Due to the fact that cardiac rhythm disturbances are fairly common, occurring in around 5–10% of training sessions in healthy horses in Newmarket and over 50% of horses investigated for poor performance, Dr. Marr expressed the need for further research and investigation in this area.  

In addition, this research needs to determine if there is indeed a link between heart rhythm disturbances and repeated episodes of poor performance and sudden cardiac arrest. ECGs and associated technologies are helpful, but there are limitations such as the fact that rhythm disturbances do not always occur every time the horse is exercised.  Therefore, it would be of great value that a robust criterion is established when evaluating ECGs in racehorses. The Horserace Betting Levy Board has provided funding for investigation by initially exploring the natural history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (self-correcting form) to understand risk factors and predict outcomes for affected horses.

Continuing the theme of the lectures on irregular heart rhythms and associated sudden cardiac death (SCD) in training and racing, Professor Kamalan Jeevaratnam described his exciting research in using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify horses at increased risk of developing irregular rhythms that may cause SCD.  

AI is an exciting and rapidly expanding field of computer science that is beginning to be implemented in veterinary medicine. With funding by the Horserace Betting Levy Board and the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation, Professor Jeevaratnam of the University of Surrey, has piloted three novel algorithms that help predict horses with rhythm abnormalities through the analysis of horses’ ECGs.  

It was acknowledged that further research is required to develop this technology by using data collected from multiple sources, but the initial results are promising in the development of an useful AI tool to identify horses at risk of SCD and prevent catastrophic events, thus, ensuring the welfare of the horse in racing.

Conclusion

The Gerald Leigh Memorial Lectures was a thoroughly successful and enjoyable event attended by a variety of different members of the horse racing industry. Not only did the lecturers provide interesting and valuable information but also excitement for the future of racing.  It was very clear that all the lecturers and attendees were passionate and committed to the racehorse welfare and wellbeing as well as retaining the social licence for an exciting sport. 

Amy Murphy – Thinking Outside the Box

Equuis Photography / Jason Bax

Article by Katherine Ford

“I’m a bit choked up; this horse means the absolute world to me…” Amy Murphy was close to tears at Auteuil in March as she welcomed stable stalwart Kalashnikov back into the Winners’ Enclosure with Jack Quinlan aboard. It was a first success in almost four years for the ten-year-old, although the intervening months had seen the popular gelding performing creditably at Graded level in campaigns interrupted by injury. Connections pocketed €26,680 for the winners’ share of the €58,000 conditions hurdle; but the satisfaction far surpassed the prize money. 

“An awful lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into getting him back, but don’t get me wrong: if at any point we thought that he wasn’t still at the top of his game, we’d have stopped because he doesn’t owe us anything.” Runner-up in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the 2018 Festival and a Grade 1 winner at Aintree the following season, Kalashnikov put Amy Murphy—with her refreshing enthusiasm and undeniable horsemanship—on the map from the start of their respective careers. 

“He is very much a people’s horse. He was campaigned from the early days at the highest level, and he had some real good battles as a young horse; and I think that those types of horses that don’t go down without a fight, people lock onto them and follow them.”

From veterans to juveniles

Equuis Photography / Jason Bax

While the achievement of keeping a ten-year-old on form and identifying a winnable race at Auteuil for his French debut is considerable, the success was all the more notable as it came just three days after Myconian had earned connections €15,000 for victory in the Prix du Début at Saint-Cloud—the first juvenile contest of the Parisian season. It is rare to find a trainer with success at both ends of the age spectrum, in two different disciplines, but when you add in the fact that Amy Murphy had crossed the Channel to complete this unusual double, it demonstrates a laudable versatility. 

“We try and work with everything we get sent. We’re in a fortunate position where we’ve got the best of both worlds with lots of lovely young horses; but Kalashnikov, Mercian Prince and some of the old brigade have been with us since we started. I started training six years ago, and they were two of the first horses in my yard so they’ve been a big part of my career and still are.” 

Twelve-year-old Mercian Prince has racked up a total of 13 wins for Amy since arriving in her fledgling yard from France in 2016, with three of these coming in the past 12 months and including one in Clairefontaine last summer. As with Kalashnikov, patience has reaped rewards with this veteran. 

“Mercian Prince is very tricky to train at home—he has a mind of his own, and everything’s got to be on his terms. We do lots of different things with him. He will go three or four times during the year to the beach at Holkham, which is about an hour down the road. It keeps him mentally active. I’m a big believer in freshening them up. I like to string a couple of races together and then give them a week or ten days out in the field at the farm—things like that. It’s fine if you’ve got two-year-olds and it’s a short-term game; but with older horses that you know are going to stick around, you’ve got to keep them fresh.”

From pony-mad to the youngest trainer in Newmarket

Ambitious and determined, Amy Murphy spent her childhood on her father’s Wychnor Park Stud in Staffordshire. “My dad bred National Hunt horses as a hobby. I always had ponies and hunted and showjumped until I was about 16; then I started riding out for local trainers and got bitten by the racing bug. I spent all of my weekends and holidays riding out for as many people as would let me in. My dad wouldn’t let me leave school without any qualifications, so I went to Hartpury College and did a diploma in equine science. The day after that finished, I was in a racing yard.” 

After a stint with Nicky Henderson, Amy’s now-characteristic adventurous spirit led her to Australia and an educational season with Gai Waterhouse. “Australia was where I learnt more about spelling horses. Their horses will only have three or four runs together and their seasons are split up so they can campaign them with breaks in between the different carnivals. Gai is obviously brilliant with her two-year-olds and does lots of stalls work with them, and that was another important thing I learnt with her.” 

On returning to the UK, Amy joined Tom Dascombe as pupil assistant at Michael Owen’s Manor House in Cheshire, which opened the doors to France for the first time, overseeing his satellite base in Deauville during a summer. Her racing education was completed with four years at Luca Cumani’s stable in Newmarket before setting out on her own in 2016, at age 24—the youngest trainer in Newmarket. 

“One of the biggest things I learnt from Luca was making sure a horse is ready before you run. As you become a more mature trainer, you relax more into it; you learn that patience pays off. If you think something needs a bit more time or something’s not quite right, then nine times out of ten, you need to be patient.” 

Patience is a virtue

Amy with Pride Of America & Lemos with Miss Cantik.

Amy Murphy may have learnt patience with her horses, but she is impatient with a system that she has had to seek and find alternative campaigns for her horses due to low prize money in the UK. “As William Haggas said to me the other day, I’ve got off my rear end and done something about the situation.” She continues, “It’s very hard to make it pay in England, sadly, so it’s either sit here and struggle or do something outside the box.” 

Amy’s first Stakes success came in France in just her second season training, thanks to £14,000 breeze-up purchase Happy Odyssey, winner of a juvenile Listed contest at Maisons-Laffitte and who quickly added more profit by selling for €300,000 at Arqana’s Arc Sale just days later. “From very early on, we’ve targeted France. To start with, it was just the black-type horses; but once I got to know the programme a bit better, we started to bring a few of the others across too.”

The ”we” referred to includes Amy’s husband, former Brazilian champion apprentice Lemos de Souza, whom she met when working for Luca Cumani and who now plays a vital role at Amy’s Southgate Stables. “He’s a very good rider and a very good judge of a horse, and is a great asset to have with the two-year-olds. It’s nice having someone to work with and bounce ideas off. He has travelled all over the world—Dubai, Japan, Hong Kong—for Luca Cumani with all of his good horses.”

French flair

Tenrai & Jade Joyce.

Last year, the pair widened their horizons further with the decision to take out a provisional licence in France, renting a yard from trainer Myriam Bollack-Badel in Lamorlaye. “We were going into the complete unknown. My travelling head girl Jade Joyce was based out there along with another girl; and we basically sent out twelve horses on the first day and between them, they had a fantastic three months. The two-year-olds were where our forte lay and what we tried to take advantage of, whereas we had never had horses run in handicaps in France. So, we had to get the older horses handicapped, and the system is completely different. 

Amy with racing secretary, Cat Elliott.

There were plenty of administrative errors early on, as my secretary Cat Elliot was doing everything from in Newmarket; so there were plenty of teething problems and plenty of pens being thrown across the office… For example, I didn’t know you couldn’t run a two-year-old twice in five days, so I tried to declare one twice in five days … little things like that. It was all a learning process, like going back to square one again.”

The operation was declared a resounding success, with eight wins and 15 placed runners during the three-month period, amassing a hefty share of the €276,927 earned by the stable during 2022 in France. Among the success stories, juvenile filly Manhattan Jungle was snapped up by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners after two wins at Chantilly and Lyon Parilly and was later to take Murphy and team to Royal Ascot, the Prix Morny and the Breeders’ Cup. Meanwhile, another juvenile filly, Havana Angel, earned black type in the Gp.3 Prix du Bois, entered Arqana’s Summer Sale as a wild-card and changed hands for €320,000. 

The sole regret is that France Galop only allows trainers one chance with the provisional licence. “We tried to apply again this year but sadly got turned down. Moving over full time is not out of the question in the future.” 

Vive la Difference

During her stint at Lamorlaye, Amy had the chance to observe some of the French professionals; and although she stresses, “I wasn’t up at Chantilly so didn’t get to see the likes of André Fabre…,” she also notes, “The gallops men would be very surprised by how quick our two-year-olds would be going regularly. The French seem to work at a slower pace, whereas we are more short and sharp; and we use the turf as much as we can. We would work our two-year-olds in a last piece of work with older horses to make sure that they know their job.” 

Impressed by the jumps schooling facilities in Lamorlaye, Amy was also complimentary about other aspects of the training centre. “I like the way that you can get the stalls men that work in the afternoon to come and put your two-year-olds through in the morning. That’s all very beneficial to both the horse and to the handlers because they know each other. Another big thing which I love over in France is that when the turf is too quick, they water it so that you can still train on it in the mornings, even at the height of the summer.”

Even without the provisional licence, Amy Murphy’s name is still a familiar sight on French racecards. At the time of writing in late May, her stable has earned €117,446 in prize money and owners’ premiums in 2023, from 18 runners of which four have won and eight placed. 

To reduce travel costs, organisation is key. “I had a filly that ran well in a €50,000 maiden at Chantilly recently, and she travelled over with a filly that ran and won at Saint-Cloud three days later. They were based at Chantilly racecourse for the week and moved across to Saint-Cloud on the morning of the race and then came home together on Friday night. It takes a bit more logistics but financially it makes sense to send two together.” As for the owners, they have made no complaints about seeing their horses race further afield. “Plenty of my owners have been over to France; they love it. I haven’t had one person say they don’t want to go to France yet, anyway!”

Defending an industry

Closer to home, a subject dear to Amy’s heart is horse welfare and the image of racing. On her social media accounts, she promotes the cause and has invited the public to visit her stable to see for themselves the care that racehorses are given. “I’ve had a couple of contacts but nowhere near as many as I’d like. As an industry, we have to show that this image that so many people have of racing is just not true. The only way we can do that is by getting people behind the scenes and letting them see just how well these animals are loved and cared for by all of the girls and guys in the yards. Events like the Newmarket Open Day, when we get thousands of people in to visit the years, are the kind of thing that we need to keep pushing. I want to be in this sport for a long time, so I want to do anything I can to help promote it.” 

With advocates like Amy and a generation of motivated young trainers, the sport of horse racing can count on some highly professional, hard-working and modern ambassadors, in the UK, France and beyond. 

Donald McCain - North Star

CLICK ON IMAGE TO READ ARTICLE

(European Trainer - issue 41 - Spring 2013)

TRM Trainer of the Quarter - Luca Cumani

The TRM Trainer of the Quarter goes to Luca Cumani and has enjoyed success in top races all over the world including the Hong Kong Cup, the Japan Cup and the Breeders' Cup Mile as well as inmuerable wins closer to home, most notably two Epsom Derby victories. 

Sophie Hull (European Trainer - Issue 26 / Summer 2009)