Our representatives from Arioneo in Australia had the opportunity to speak with Dom Sutton at his stables in Ballarat about his experience with and use of Equimetre. As young startup stable, transitioning from Flemington to Ballarat, data has been a strong asset in the team organization.
ESTABLISHING A RACING ORGANIZATION AT A NEW RACECOURSE THANKS TO DATA
What will be your strategy for expanding your numbers in the future?
What specific examples can you provide regarding which tracks yield the best results for different types of work?
Find out all the answers in this interview and watch the video!
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Dominic Sutton, and I am a new trainer in Australia. I obtained my license at the end of last year, and I currently have a small team of horses, but I am looking to expand. We’ve experienced some early success, which is fantastic.
We’ve been using EQUIMETRE as a tool to help us track our horses and achieve the best results.
What will be your strategy for expanding your numbers in the future?
Hopefully, results will speak for themselves, with wins being the ultimate goal. Ultimately, value is what matters most. Horse racing is a results-driven industry. We’ve been fortunate enough to get our horses in early, and it’s all about growing at the right pace. I believe it’s crucial to establish the right systems and have the right staff working with you. Now that we’ve settled in, things are starting to move in the right direction. We’re beginning to engage with new clients and, hopefully, attract new horses to our stable.
How do you handle your data analysis on a daily basis?
We work with Race Day Ready with Romane Borrione, a performance and data analyst from France who has been collaborating with Arioneo for quite some time, to help us decipher our data. She also works with a few other stables, where she goes through the horse’s work and has a comprehensive database of all the pieces of work we’ve done with the horses. She correlates their recoveries, stride length, and stride frequencies for us, simplifying the process.
Having her on board makes it much easier for us to make decisions about the horses, rather than having to analyze the data individually each time. It’s been incredibly helpful to have her expertise. Since she works with all the stables at the facility, she has a good understanding of which tracks work best and how much work needs to be done.
Regarding the EQUIMETRE, they’ve been invaluable for us, especially as a new startup stable. We’ve transitioned from familiar tracks like Flemington to new facilities like Pakenham, and having the devices has been crucial. We’ve been able to use them on all horses at different stages of preparation to gauge their performance on each track and monitor their recovery. This has been particularly useful during gallops, where recovery is key.
When we moved to Ballarat, we used EQUIMETRE to compare distances with previous tracks, establishing a standard workout routine. Overall, they’ve been instrumental in helping us understand our horses’ performance and adjust our training accordingly.
What specific examples can you provide regarding which tracks yield the best resultas for different types of work?
We typically use the standard track for our foundational work, focusing on endurance and building stamina without pushing for high speeds. Here in Ballarat, we’re fortunate to have a hill track, which is a new feature for us. While I’ve had experience with hill tracks in the UK, learning how to utilize it effectively and understand its impact on a horse’s heart rate and exertion level has been enlightening.
We’ve been able to correlate, for example, that going seven furlongs to the top of the hill track is equivalent to a horse performing a light gallop on a flat track. This allows us to maintain a slower speed while still achieving the desired training outcome, thus potentially reducing the risk of lameness associated with excessive speed work.
By comparing recoveries between Flemington and Pakenham, we can determine the appropriate distances for each track. Each track has its own circumference, so what might constitute two laps at Flemington could translate to one and a half laps here. Having this information helps us tailor our training regimen more precisely.
You have had experience with the Equimetre for a few years and witnessed their evolution, could you please share more about your experience with the trackers?
I’ve been using them for quite some time. I first started using them at my previous job at Flemington with the course with Leon & Troy Corstens. Back then, the devices were a bit bulkier. Since then, they’ve evolved into a great tool. Building a comprehensive database for each horse has been invaluable, allowing us to understand their individual characteristics and correlate them with their recoveries.
We’ve utilized both the saddle pads and the girth, and they’ve become excellent pieces of equipment, especially now that they’ve become smaller and more user-friendly. This makes it much easier and streamlined, particularly when instructing staff on how to use them.
Have you noticed and difference in robustness?
Definitely. Since we’ve had them, which has been since December when I first obtained my license, we’ve had only one instance where one device needed a slight repair. And that was simply due to staff error. When the devices are properly attached, there are no worries whatsoever about them breaking or needing fixing.
Keywords: Dom Sutton, data, EQUIMETRE, testimonial, equine technologies, heart rate, training, race, Arioneo.