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Ballymore's New Zealand plans

In line with plans formulated last season, Ballymore Stables proprietor Mike Moroney has announced personnel changes at the Matamata stable that will become effective immediately and will see a new training partnership formed from August 1.
 
Mike’s current training manager, brother Paul, will be joined on Monday by a new assistant trainer, Andrew Clarken, a former integral staff member for the stable’s Australian arm. The 36-year-old was Ballymore Australian’s original foreman when Mike set up stables across the Tasman, firstly in Adelaide, and became assistant trainer when Ballymore relocated to Melbourne in 1997.
 
Andrew was Mike’s right hand man during the halcyon years when the stable won the Victoria Derby (Second Coming), VATC One Thousand Guineas (Shizu), Blue Diamond Stakes (True Jewels) and produced a memorable first-third result with Brew and Second Coming in the 2000 Melbourne Cup.
 
The former successful jockey, who rode 92 winnersduring an apprenticeship and after attached to former Melbourne Cup winning jockey John Letts, was head-hunted for a private training position and left Ballymore after almost eight years at the end of 2002. For the past five years, Andrew has been senior assistant trainer for successful Victorian trainer David Brideoake.
 
Andrew arrives in New Zealand tomorrow and will take over daily stable management on Monday. Paul will remain as managing trainer for the remainder of this season to give Andrew a thorough grounding of current training schedules and pass on his knowledge of the 90 horses of racing age on the Matamata stable’s books. Paul will revert to the racing manager role he formerly held since Mike shifted full time to Melbourne in 1998.
 
“We have been searching for the right person to take over from Paul as my training partner in New Zealand since before the current season,” Mike says. “Paul and I decided between us that with a couple of key staff members having left towards the end of last season, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Paul to handle the workload of running a large stable and his own successful bloodstock consultancy business which includes communication and marketing for Ballymore Stables.”
 
Paul is acknowledged as one of the leading racehorse selectors anywhere and his ability to continue to source yearlings and other racing prospects both within Australasia and globally is seen as a vital ingredient to the stable’s continuing success. He will also have additional time to upgrade information systems to local clients and link it to the Australian stable’s recent innovative website reporting model.
 
Mike says he was thrilled that Andrew had decided in the New Year to take up the position after an approach late spring with the offer of an immediate senior management role and eventual training partnership.
 
“Andrew knows Ballymore’s stablecraft protocols and training systems inside out so he will be able to step straight into those roles. Paul has indepth knowledge of our racing team here and their past working relationship will allow an easy transfer of information on each horse,” Mike adds.
 
Along with Andrew’s appointment, Ballymore has also bolstered its Matamata staffing with a number of other key recruitments. Steve O’Neill has already joined the stable as general foreman, having come across from the Melbourne stable early January. The 27-year-old Irishman joined Ballymore Australia last July after two years as foreman for Perth-based racing entity G&G Bloodstock Ltd while he had earlier spent five years as foreman for Phillip O’Connor Racing Stables in his homeland.
 
Another valuable recent addition is Richie Fallon, a vastly experienced horseman who started with Ballymore in November as manager of the stable’s racecourse barn which houses 20 two and three-year-old fillies. Richie was long time foreman for Alan Jones in Cambridge and recently returned to New Zealand after an Asian working stint where, among others he worked for was John Sargent in Malaysia.
 
Accomplished equestrian Will Ford, who has worked under Lance Noble and more recently Danica Guy’s Upstage Bloodstock training farm, has also joined the team. Will has ridden training for Ballymore for two seasons and took Monaco Consul to Sydney for his Spring Champion Stakes victory. Will accepted a full time position when Monaco Consul returned from Melbourne early December.
 
Former jockey Marie Gregory has joined the training rider ranks, joining long time stable mainstay John Moody. Senior jockey Reese Jones is a permanent training rider and Craig Grylls travels with Marie from Te Awamutu two or three times a week as well. Lyall Clements has rejoined the riding roster on a freelance basis and former jockey Michael Wildey has been with the stable since August.
 
“We believe we have a top team of people to go forward with,” Mike says. “Andrew is without doubt the best young horseman I have had through the stable on both sides of the Tasman and he will have a highly experienced and capable unit we have specifically put around him.”
 
Ballymore Stables has trained more Group 1 winners within Australasia than any other New Zealand training entity in the past decade, saddling 24 winners at the elite level, nine in Australia and 15 in New Zealand. This season’s Spring Champion Stakes-Victoria Derby double
by Monaco Consul, planned and prepared from the Matamata stable, created history for a New Zealand-trained three-year-old.
 
During this period, the combined stables have earned in excess of $30million prizemoney and, halfway through the current season, has just under $3million in earnings to date.
 
“Paul and his team did a wonderful job preparing Monaco Consul for the first leg in Sydney,” says Mike, “all the right information came across for us to put the finishing touches on him in Melbourne for the Victoria Derby. It was a true team effort from both Trans-Tasman stables.”
 
Mike stresses that today’s announcement was not influenced by Friday’s outcome a charge he and Paul faced over a recent positive swab by a Matamata-based horse. The training partnership was fined $17,500 and had costs of $7,500 imposed by a Judicial Control Authority panel after pleading guilty to a charge brought by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing stemming from a urine test irregularity for an anti-inflammatory substance in a sample taken from Mae Jinx following her win at Matamata on December 23.
 
“The positive swab result was unintentional and regretful,” says Mike. “The stable has received some disappointing, ill conceived, unnecessary adverse publicity stemming from disinformation not linked to the charge.”
 
Mike says Ballymore will put the incident behind it and looks forward to continuing in the same professional manner in which the stable has operated over the past 27 years which provides clients a proven formula to race for the best prizemoney on both sides of the Tasman.

 
 
 
 

Career Record

  • Earnings: $21,200.00
    Starts: 14
    Wins: 1
    Seconds: 4
    Thirds: 3

Recent Racing Record

  • 7-10 Flem Dead May 8, 2010
    2800 (Open)
    Jockey: Chris Symons
    Weight Carried: 53.5
    Race Time: 3:01.55
    Placing: 1-Persian Star 53.0
  • 3-6 G'long Dead Apr 23, 2010
    2433 (RB78)
    Jockey: S Baster
    Weight Carried: 54.0
    Race Time: 2:32.09
    Placing: 1-Sky Journey 55.0
  • 2-10 Ball't Heavy Apr 7, 2010
    2200 (Cls 1)
    Jockey: M Zahra
    Weight Carried: 57.0
    Race Time: 2:25.85
    Placing: 1-Upon 56.5
  • 2-12 Y.Vall Good Mar 21, 2010
    1950 (RB68)
    Jockey: B Melham
    Weight Carried: 55.5
    Race Time: 2:02.69
    Placing: 1-Burlington 57.0
  • 3-10 P'ham Dead Feb 28, 2010
    1770 (RB72)
    Jockey: J Mallyon
    Weight Carried: 51.5
    Race Time: 1:49.20
    Placing: 1-Oronero 56.5
  • 3-10 Colac Good Feb 7, 2010
    1600 (RB62)
    Jockey: J Mallyon
    Weight Carried: 56.5
    Race Time: 1:38.01
    Placing: 1-Will's Power 59.0
  • 2-12 Terang Good Jan 25, 2010
    1400 (Cls 1)
    Jockey: J Mallyon
    Weight Carried: 57.0
    Race Time: 1:22.97
    Placing: 1-Macsplash 57.0
  • 9-10 Wodong Dead Sep 6, 2009
    2050 (RB62)
    Jockey: F Alesci
    Weight Carried: 59.0
    Race Time: 2:08.74
    Placing: 1-Amenophis 56.0
  • 2-11 Echuca Dead Aug 24, 2009
    2100 (RB62)
    Jockey: R Maloney
    Weight Carried: 59.0
    Race Time: 2:14.10
    Placing: 1-The Ruckman 59.0
  • 5-13 Sale Dead Aug 6, 2009
    1713 (RB62)
    Jockey: R McLeod
    Weight Carried: 59.0
    Race Time: 1:44.93
    Placing: 1-Bel Estar 58.5