Trainer Open Morning

Thomas Gibney will be the latest trainer to open up his yard on the morning of August 6, with local punters and horse racing fans encouraged to get a behind the scenes look at the daily life of a racehorse, writes Tom Masters. 

Gibney follows on from fellow trainers Noel Kelly and John Hanlon in welcoming the local community, in collaboration with Horse Racing Ireland, to enable a rare and privileged look at horse racing from a totally different viewpoint. 

Based in Capranny, Co Meath, Gibney will open his doors between 10am and 2pm and is looking forward to providing a glimpse in to day-to-day life at the yard.

“We just want to get some people in and show them what we do and how we do it,” he said. 

“We’ll probably have one lot on the gallops for sure, we’ll ride one lot out and we’ll parade a few of our better horses, from both the past and the present. 

“We’ll have refreshments onsite, and my wife will talk everyone through it.

“It’s not showing how to be a trainer, just what we do with the horses, and the daily life of a racehorse, for people that are here and the way we care for them and look after them and the facilities we have to make sure they’re looked after. 

“Probably the way we do it more than anything is what we’d like to portray. We usually do things a certain quiet, relaxed way.” 

During the open morning, there will be plenty of Gibney’s biggest horses past and present for the public to see, including 2012 Irish Grand National winner Lion Na Bearnai. 

 

And Gibney is proud to show off his horses to the lucky few who get to see them all on the gallops up close. 

He said: “The original flagbearer was Lion Na Bearnai, who will be here - he seems to come back anytime we put up a show! 

“He is our biggest winner to date in the Irish Grand National. 

“Then we have a horse called Velvet Elvis, who’s an exciting young horse for us, a young chaser, and we have a horse called Regina Dracones. 

“Then we have a few two-year-olds, so overall, we’ve got a few. There are no superstars – but we hope they might be in future.” 

With the horses on the gallops and Gibney’s gates open to the public, he is expecting a grand day out for the local community and does not have a specific focus on attracting potential owners or syndicates.

He added: “It’s just about opening it up for local people to come and see what we do.

“If we got an owner out of it, it would be great, but there are no big plans to try and secure a new big owner. 

“I’m guessing there will be around 150 people there, so I really hope that the weather is kind.”