Tippuana Moon – Lead In with Michael Robinson
I was looking for a snappy intro for this piece, when it occurred to me that people who are good at what they do, seldom do any selling and usually let their work do the talking for them. One such person is Michael Robinson, the quiet, unassuming dark-haired gentleman who has been charged with conditioning the Drakenstein Stud Farm string for the past few years.
I have bumped into Michael at the track from time to time and always found him to be incredibly friendly and approachable as well as frequently finishing in the money. I was intrigued to learn that he was going out on his own and thought I’d catch up with him for coffee to find out more.
Michael Robinson is a Cape Town boy through and through. He was born in Simons Town and learnt to ride at the military stables in Glencairn. He did all the usual competitive riding things growing up – jumping, eventing, etc. His first racing job was as a groom with Mike Stewart and Michael chuckles and says it really was a groom job. “Mike taught me from the ground up. I had to travel in the float with the horses, wear the number bib and walk the horses around the parade ring. It raised some eyebrows, I can tell you! But the experience was invaluable.”
Thorough Grounding
He spent 5 years in the army, including serving as a military riding instructor at the Glencairn and Saldanha military bases. He completed veterinary assistant and farriery courses at Potchefstroom and knows horses, quite literally inside out and from the ground up. In the days when the army was still expected to do ridden patrols, it was important to have a basic veterinary grounding and be able to treat a variety of emergencies when they were away from home and Mike says that part of the training included autopsies, which while a bit grisly, allowed him to build valuable anatomical and physiological expertise. He also has an in depth appreciation of the importance of good farriery and while content to leave the work to the professionals these days, is very discerning about how his horses are shod. After his national service, he joined Mike Stewart full time and worked at The Dunes for 2 and a half years as an assistant trainer.
From Mike Stewart’s yard, Michael then worked with Chris Snaith for 3 and a half years, which included the move to Mrs Plattner’s Rondeberg training facility on the West Coast. Chris bought and produced some brilliant fillies during this period including Laisserfaire and Joie de Grise and Mike rates Laisserfaire as one of the best horses he’s ever worked with. He cites Sue Snaith as a huge influence and says that the knowledge and expertise she imparted were phenomenal.
When Brett Crawford joined the Plattner establishment, Michael did a swap and joined Dennis Drier as his assistant in KZN where he stayed for 6 years. It was during his tenure at Summerveld that he met his future wife Luella. They were married in 2005 and have a lovely daughter named Caitlin who has inherited the family passion for horses and has a pony called Moneypenny!
The family moved back to the Cape in 2007 and Mike joined the Drakenstein team as their spelling and pre-training manager. They encouraged him to take out his trainers’ license the following year and he sent out his first runner, Baynesfield, on 6 September 2008. Although narrowly headed into 2nd by Mike Bass’s Desert Raider, the colt made good, subsequently posting 2 back to back wins. Mike saddled his second runner and first winner 2 weeks later, with Pivotal Night on 21 September.
The best horse he has conditioned under his name is Tick Tock who ran second in the Fillies Guineas and he is proud to have produced 3 consecutive victories with Tippuana Moon as well as Tara’s Gem.
Trade Secrets
What’s his secret? “No secret,” says Mike. “We don’t try to get too clever and we just stick to the basics. Unless we have a really precocious 2 year old, we don’t like to push horses early and feel this pays dividends in the long run as you end up with sound horses that can race for longer. We listen to the horses and trust them to tell us when they’re ready to take the next step. We keep our feeding pretty straightforward. Terrance Millard was amazing and really helped us with our training and feeding regimes. He’s wonderful to have as a source of advice and information as well as just a huge help and inspiration in general. We’ve been very lucky.”
A quick overview of Mike’s stats shows that he places horses carefully and thoughtfully and his runners to winners ratio places him amongst the top in the country (although I should add that I drag most of this out of Luella, as Mike is terribly modest about his accomplishments and far happier talking about his horses!)
Mike used to work ride, but is a little heavy for the young horses these days, so leaves the riding work to Luella and the work riders. Besides her skills in the saddle, Luella brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team. The daughter of breeder-owner-trainer Doug Campbell, she has horses and racing in her blood. She was the youngest lady rider ever to compete in a ladies race at the age of 13 (“I wanted to ride at 12, but they wouldn’t let me!”). She has also show-jumped to the top level, spent 3 years in the US working the polo circuit, worked for Doug and Di Campbell for 3 years as well as spending 3 years with Wendy Whitehead. Luella has registered as Mike’s assistant and will continue to play an important role at their new base. It is very much a family business with Caitlin as the unofficial stable employee, tasked with the important role of dishing out carrots and ensuring all the horses get that extra little bit of TLC.
“My years as an assistant have given me a solid grounding. Drakenstein Stud both purchase and produce a variety of top quality horses and I’ve been privileged to work with and get to know a vast cross section of local and imported bloodstock. The last 5 years of training have not only given me valuable knowledge of the local tracks and conditions, but the industry as a whole and of course, they’ve got to know me. I’ve had wonderful opportunities to network and get to know the trainers, jockeys (Grant Behr, MJ Byleveld and Karl Neisius in particular) and operational staff. I’ve also built up an amazing team including our equine physiotherapist Shannon Petiteaud, farrier Glenn Zimmerman and vet, Dave Timpson. It’s been a wonderful stepping stone in every respect and I am indebted to Mrs Rupert and the Drakenstein team for their incredible support. It is a big step to go out on your own, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m 41 – I can’t wait too much longer!” Mike is contracted to pre-train the Drakenstein horses for another year, allowing for a gradual transition while he builds up his own yard.
Clients are Key
Mike admits that he likes to be very hands on, preferring to do as much of the daily checking of legs, leavings, etc himself, but his time with Dennis Drier in particular taught him the importance of client liaison. “Dennis is brilliant at it and it’s something I’ve always admired about him. It takes up an incredible amount of your day, but it is so important. I’ve been lucky to have apprenticed with some of racing’s real horsemen and gentlemen and I am confident that the knowledge and old school values of honesty and integrity they have passed down will stand me in good stead. Racing is a tough and long-term game and we hope to build up a good client base and do our best to keep everyone informed and involved, but most of all to keep racing fun. We’ve already had a number of people express an interest in supporting us. I know it’s a big step, but now that we’ve made the decision, we’re very excited to get going.” As I’ve come to expect from Mike, I’m sure his results will continue to do the talking.
The Robinson team can be contacted by phone on 074 102 1736 (Mike), 074 102 0596 (Luella) or by email at [email protected]. Mike will be attending the forthcoming National Sales and any interested buyers can contact him on the details above.
