Riddell ready for new partners at old Cambridge stomping ground
CHAMPION trainer Trina Riddell is set to re-join the Cambridge racing fraternity after the Awapuni-based trainer accepted an opportunity to work alongside leading trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman.
Riddell will work alongside Baker and Forsman in a pre-training operation, while also continuing to train a small team of her own. She will be based at the property of former Cambridge trainer Mark Brooks, who recently moved to Ballarat.
For Riddell it is an opportunity that proved too hard to turn down despite her, her husband Jonathan and their two daughters having to leave a well-established home base at Awapuni.
“It all started when I brought Speechcraft up to Ellerslie back in December,” Riddell said.
“I originally worked for Murray when he was based in Woodville and did about eight years with him before he shifted up to Cambridge. He was really good to me and I thoroughly enjoyed the job.”
The trainer said that her and Baker had discussed an association going forward, but a discussion during the Christmas Racing Carnival became the catalyst for the new partnership.
“Every time he saw me he’d ask me when I was going to come and work for him again and we used to have a good laugh about the old days. He caught up with me at Ellerslie during the Christmas carnival and mentioned there might be an opportunity available later in the year and things sort of snowballed from there.”
Once Brooks had finalised his move to Australia, Baker formalised an offer to Riddell who made a trip north to inspect the potential set-up before sitting down with her husband to make a decision.
Riddell believes the move is in the best interests of furthering her training career.
“It wasn’t easy giving up all we had worked for here at home but when we really thought about it the advantages clearly outweighed the potential negatives,” the trainer explained.
“We definitely had to think about our kids and how it would affect them but we have a plan in place now that will see us head north in early July and we should be settled in around the 10th of that month. Our youngest daughter will be coming with us immediately, but our eldest will be staying back in Palmerston North to complete her first year of NCEA, as the move would be too big a disruption for her.
“I think she’s looking forward to joining us after that as she is mad keen on show-jumping and knows just what an environment Cambridge offers for that side of things.
“The other big opportunity is for Jonathan as it has been a real struggle of late with the lack of suitable horses and meetings down in the Central Districts. Even just having the chance to ride regularly at the trials will be a big assist, as they struggle to get a trials day together once a month here, and even then it can be only a handful of heats.
“He will continue to freelance and is hoping the bigger pool of horses, meetings and venues available will get some momentum going for him.”
Aside from packing up an entire household one of the more difficult tasks for Riddell was informing a loyal group of owners about the move.
Riddell said the hardest part of her decision from a professional standpoint was re-locating all the horses that had become part of her family.
“We’re only taking a handful of horses that I pretty much own so we had to go about the sad task of rehoming the rest of the stable. We’ve been really lucky and I’m delighted with how that has all gone.
“As an example Wiggle will be heading to Kevin Myers and I think that will be a great move for him.
“I’ve had a really great bunch of owners who have supported me so I can’t thank them enough, however they all understood where we were coming from and have been really supportive of the move.”