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County Kildare trainer Michael Grassick is hoping to attract some new syndicates as he becomes the latest trainer to welcome members of the public to his yard, writes Tom Masters.

Grassick, who took over the training licence in 2013, is part of a training dynasty, starting with his grandfather Christy before his father Michael Sr. went on to have Group 1 success. 

Grassick Jr’s first win came when David Casey rode Only Exception to glory at Ballinrobe in 2013 and he has come on leaps and bounds since.

Now he opens up to the public, who will get a chance to see the behind the scenes of his yard as well as stable favourites Texas Rock and Verhoyen on the gallops. 

He said: “Hopefully it will run smoothly and it’ll be nice and relaxed and chilled out. 

“We're going to show a few of the older horses, some of the yard stalwarts, like the retired Texas Rock, who won two listed races.

“We're going to bring him - he's retired at home, so we'll show him off and we have Verhoyen as well. He is probably going to run on the Friday night, so he'll just be having an easy morning anyway. 

“Billy Lee and Robbie Colgan are going to come and they're going to ride out on our home gallop, the three-furlong gallop and show a few of the horses just in exercise. 

“They will get a chance to talk to the jockeys and we’ll have a race simulator. 

“They're bringing that over for the morning, so when the boys come in come in off the lot, the two jockeys are going to talk to people about their thoughts when they're riding in a race and then we will probably hold a Q&A to end it all. 

“It is just a behind the scenes look at what we get up to day to day and people can get right up to touching distance of the horses.

“But we also just want to showcase how well these horses are treated and the facilities we have.”

Grassick is not just opening up his yard for members of the public to have a look around, though, he will also be on the hunt for new syndicates for a trio in his yard - looking to get people interested in ownership to split the horse’s fees into 10. 

He added: “My wife has done a brochure up with a couple of horses, some small shares in horses themselves, and we're going to show them off as well to see if anyone is interested in buying a small share in a horse - small, affordable interest in it. 

“I've got three two purpose type of horses that we're going to sell in shares of ten. 

“So we’re trying to keep it affordable for everyone and having an all-in fee for 12 months, so it is just a one-off payment for the year.”

Members of the Kildare community will get the chance to see all around the yard, based approximately half a kilometre from The Curragh and built by Grassick’s father Michael Sr. 

“I'm lucky enough my father built the place and we are right by the Curragh but have our own gallop as well – they are quite good facilities,” he added.

“They are great for breaking in horses and we will be showing that to the people that come along, they will get to see the gallop, the stables and just a general look at the life of a race trainer with the help of two top jockeys.”