A WINNING MINDSET

DANNY O’BRIEN TALKS TO US ABOUT THE TEAM OF PEOPLE AND THE MINDSET THAT KEEPS HIM AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME

EACH HORSE RACING BUSINESSES HAS THEIR OWN CHALLENGES AND ONE OF THE GREATEST IS THE ORGANISATION THAT GOES INTO MAKING A GREAT TEAM. SINCE HE LEFT A POSITION WITH THE LATE, GREAT BART CUMMINGS TO ESTABLISH HIS OWN STABLE, DANNY O’BRIEN HAS GROWN HIS BUSINESS FROM HOUSING ONLY A HANDFUL OF HORSES TO BECOME A MAJOR GLOBAL PLAYER WITH MULTIPLE GROUP ONE VICTORIES, A MELBOURNE CUP, COX PLATE, CAULFIELD CUP AND NUMEROUS AUSTRALIAN CLASSICS AS WELL AS CAMPAIGNING HORSES AT ROYAL ASCOT. WE CATCH UP WITH DANNY TO DISCUSS HOW HE STRUCTURES THIS AND WHO ARE THE KEY PLAYERS IN ALLOWING THE SUCCESSES TO KEEP ON COMING.

You now have an enviable setup incorporating your racetrack barns and also a more tranquil environment at 13th Beach. Could you run us through the communication process between you and your senior staff that really makes the most of what you have? Well we try to maintain as much consistency as possible throughout all of the different sites. We use the same feed, same hay, same vet. Daily trotups are reported and shared via email between myself and all senior staff, this is crucially important as we move horses from one place to the other. Similarly we do a lot of GPS/Heart Rate monitoring and this information is shared throughout the team. I think that in days gone by trainers saw information as something that they would protect and control themselves, we’ve adopted the opposite approach. These are talented guys running my setup and the more data they have the better.

While you strive to maintain consistency for the horses through each of your different sites do you see any differences in the working environment for the team? Well we use the facilities in numerous ways but I think the main thing is that we start all of the young horses out at 13th Beach so the team there needs to have an affinity with animals at that stage of their development. Also, they are not tied in to racetrack training hours so the team there certainly has a better set of working hours as well as a great environment. I think that, as an industry, we are in a great position in that we attract some really talented young people, year in year out, despite the hours that come with the job and we are always able to find a place for the best of them.

Your senior staff all share passion but also bring with them a varied set of experiences from around the globe as well as closer to home. How much are you able to draw on this experience from day to day? Everybody has their part to play and one person can’t make all this happen alone so I rely on my main assistants very heavily. They each in turn have their assistants so the horses are getting the benefit of numerous sets of eyes. I can’t be everywhere at once and my main assistants know the system.

You were lucky to have spent some of your formative years in the industry working for “The Cups King” and emulated him in winning the Melbourne Cup yourself . If you could take just one way in which he has influenced you what would it be? I was fortunate to see how resilient he was on a mental level. This is an incredibly tough game and guys like Bart were just the same whether they had just won the Cup or gone months without a winner. This was a great lesson to take away with me and remember through the highs and lows. He stuck to his guns and continued to do what he knew was right throughout.

When travelling horses on a global campaign your team must become even more crucial, both those who fly with the horse but also those who take up the slack at home. Who are the unsung heroes? Look, everybody plays a crucial part. It’s important when taking on a trip like that to get to grips with the facilities at hand locally so, for example, when we took Sham Express to Newmarket to prepare for Ascot I went myself along with my travelling Head Groom. In future, I may draw upon the experience of (assistant) Ben Gleeson who has worked extensively in Europe before coming to join me as my assistant at Flemington, its useful knowledge to have on the team.

You’ve built this up from humble beginnings. During the growth of the stable what were the key periods of developing the management structure you now have in place? The biggest game changer was getting my Barson/13th Beach facility. The beach exercise is really kind on their legs so we have some horses who just do much better there. A trainer is only as good as his horses, team and, importantly, the sum total of his facilities.