'It's My Passion': Jack Morland Joins Training Ranks 

On a morning which only the Scottish word dreich could properly describe, it would be easy to opt for the indoor life, a nine-to-five salaried job in a centrally-heated office. But where's the fun in that, eh?

Instead, as the days tick by until the winter solstice, racehorse trainers around the isles are out in the slate grey mizzle which a lethargic sunrise can't hope to shake off. The veterans among them could be forgiven for dragging their wellington boots a little at this time of year, but that is not something which Jack Morland is even contemplating. The amiable 29-year-old is the newest recruit to the training ranks in Newmarket and is brimming with optimism as he embarks on the career path of which he has dreamed for half his life. 

“I have wanted to train racehorses since I was about 15. It's my passion,” he says simply as we follow two members of his string out to Warren Hill.

“Every year that I've been in racing, and especially since I've been back working in England, I've thought to myself how everyone says it's doom and gloom, but you only need to look at the record year at Tattersalls Book 1 and there are still plenty of people who want to have horses trained in the UK.”

The week before the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale kicked off with its jaw-dropping skirmishes throughout Books 1 and 2, Morland officially launched his training business. On the first day of October he had two horses in the 17 boxes he rents from Charlie McBride at Exeter House Stables in the heart of Newmarket. Now he has 13.

“I've been very lucky and I have been supported by some very nice clients, such as Derek [Lovatt] and Colin [Bacon], as well as Charlie Rosier and Brownsbarn Thoroughbreds and plenty more,” he says. “We have some older horses to run over the winter who will hopefully get a few wins on the board and get my name noticed. I like to think of this first year of training as a period to try to prove myself, and if I can do that, hopefully we will get a few more in.”

He will be going well to get close to the level of support enjoyed by his former bosses in Australia, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace. The latter is a former Newmarket boy himself who is now training independently in Hong Kong. 

“I ran a barn for Ciaron and David in their training base at Caulfield, which no longer exists,” he says. “It was a very good place to learn about how to train horses on a big scale – there were about 700 on the books when I left there.”

Prior to that, Morland, after deciding his previous job in London was not for him, worked his way up at Manton in Brian Meehan's stable as pupil assistant prior to his departure for Australia. He has been back in the UK for five years, during which time he has been employed as assistant trainer to Ed Dunlop.

“Ed let me get involved in all aspects of the business which was a big help to me when I set up training on my own,” he says.

“Ciaron was fantastic at training two-year-olds, and stayers as well, but we never trained up hills as we do in Newmarket, and every horse trialled two or three times before they ran. There it was a lot more steady work and short breezes, whereas here it's more about progressive canters and building up their fitness through conditioning work. Ed is a very classical trainer and is very patient. He always gave the horse time to progress and often his horses' best years are their four- or five-year-old season.”

Having grown up in Oxfordshire, Morland has now made Britain's largest training centre his home. 

“It's competitive but fun at the same time,” he says of life in Newmarket. “I love the camaraderie here. James Ferguson has been phenomenally good to me. Ollie Sangster used to work in town and I've taken a lot of advice from him, the same with George Scott. [Next-door neighbour] Ben Brookhouse lent me his Champagne City as a lead horse and everyone has been so helpful. The facilities are second to none and it's fun talking to all my comrades on Warren Hill in the morning. I especially love it around springtime when everyone is talking about their two-year-olds.”

Angel Of Antrim (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) became the trainer's first runner when finishing fourth at Newcastle on November 8 and he has subsequently run two more horses, with Serenity Rose (Ire) (James Garfield {Ire}) recently finishing second at Lingfield.

“Now we're just waiting for that first winner,” says Morland. “I'm really excited to start running a few more horses now and seeing where it goes. Being a young trainer, people are attracted to you, so hopefully it will go well and we can grow the business from there.”

He does, however, have his feet firmly on the ground.

“I know that you can be today's hero and tomorrow's zero,” says Morland, who was found helping with the mucking out on TDN's arrival in his yard.  “People have been very good to me in offering their advice and help. I don't want to grow too quickly as I think that is when things can get missed.”

In addition to the backing of the aforementioned Brownsbarn Thoroughbreds, run by the Allen brothers Thomas, Charlie and George, Morland has also attracted Nick Bradley Racing to his yard in these initial months, and with his father Giles, a longtime racing fan and owner, has devised the syndicate Maxwell Thoroughbreds.

“I think that really is the way forward,” he says. “And if we can get that right, like the Australians have, then that could be a big seller for our industry. I really want to open it up to as many people as I can.”