Meet the Trainees - Sean Carey

Hi, my name is Sean Carey. I am 17 years old and I’m from Meath. I grew up loving horse racing. Before coming to RACE, I didn’t have a lot of riding experience, just experience around horses. I worked in a yard with mares and foals along with injured horses owned by John Breslin. But my preferred hobby at the time was GAA.

I took part in the trial at the end of June and enjoyed every minute of it. The trial lasted a week, a week of fitness tests and painting fences! When I got accepted to RACE I was over the moon and couldn’t wait to start. I started RACE at the end of August.

When I started RACE I was nervous but very excited. I’ve learnt so much from the lads in the barn and couldn’t have asked for better help.  My fitness has increased due to the training with Wayne, which takes place on a Monday and a Wednesday, while on a Tuesday and Thursday we would usually go to the gym or simulators on our own.  Some Tuesday evenings we would be lucky enough to get simulator lessons off Paddy Flood, he always gives us great advice and tips. My diet is much better from eating great food cooked by john.

I am now working in Alan Flemings and loving every bit of it.  I am up at 6 o’clock every morning to get the RACE bus for 6:45. We start work at 7:20, tack up our first lot straight away and put our second lot on the walker. Every day is different, but we usually have 4/5 lots a day. Every morning we use different gallops. Alan himself has a new gallop which we usually use on a Monday, he also uses Maddenstown straight, the big sand and the grass gallop. All the staff in Alans are very helpful and have helped me out since the start. Alan himself has been very good to me and hasn’t treated me any different to anybody else in the yard.

Some other RACE students and I were lucky enough to get a schooling lesson from Sean Flannagan.  He was extremely helpful and told us how we can improve. He then answered questions asked by the RACE students, which was great to listen to as he gave us plenty of ways to improve. Sean was extremely nice and for a top jockey like him to visit us we were very grateful. We also got the opportunity to listen to David Egan speak, it was nice to get more advice from a top jockey.  We were also very fortunate to have a Cheltenham preview night here at RACE. Sean Flannagan, David Mullins and Niall Madden were the guest speakers along with MC Niall Cronin.  

We are getting close to the end of the course and we have more guest speakers coming in soon. I have enjoyed every bit of the course and the time has gone so quick. I hope I get kept on in Flemings and someday maybe take my licence out.

Sean was placed with Alan Fleming on the 18^th of February 2019

Maddenstown Gallops