#4 - Glen Thompson

Im joined by G1 winning trainer Glen Thompson to talk about his star stayer Whisky on the hill

IG - jacobtyson__

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Everyone, welcome back to tie in with Jacob Tyson. I'm joined today by another special guest, Group One winning trainer, based in Flemington with a Sydney and potentially a Melbourne Cup, hopefully in the spring as well. Whiskey on the Hill. Uh it is Glenn Thompson. Glenn, how are you today, mate?

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Yeah, cool. Thanks, Jacob. Thanks for having me on.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Uh no, thanks for your time today. I I just wanted to ask firstly, you come from a very prominent racing family. It was your grandfather, father, um, you know, uh pretty much everyone's sort of in and around the sport. What was the inf influence of of that on your early career and and growing up amongst it?

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Oh, obviously a lot. You know, when you grow up, I grew up in the stables. I was around horses from pretty much the time I was born, so it's all that I can remember, remember, and it's all that I really ever wanted to do. Um, so it's uh it's definitely in the blood.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yeah, yeah, and it's um, you know, obviously growing up around it, it's just yeah, everything you sort of do. I I read an article about how like you had to finish year 12, like it one of your dad's conditions was that you had to finish year 12 before you could start working in the stables, but then you were working in the stables before that anyway, and sort of you know, before and after school got coming in, and you know, what was that sort of like as a you know late teenager going through high school? But you know, your your main focus was sort of on that on that horse racing.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Yeah, it was um frustrating because I hated school. Um but yeah, no, he definitely made me finish year 12. But um, you know, whether or not that was the right thing to do or not, I guess it was good at the time. But um, yeah, definitely my focus was on the horses. I was working in the stables from the time I was about 13, I think, working working weekends, and um yeah, it was something that I was never gonna shy away from.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Yeah, yeah. I'll just before we start talking about your runner this weekend, I wanted to ask you as well. Um, you know, you you sort of cut your teeth under um the late Michael Moroney, and and he was obviously a champion trainer in his own right, trained plenty of of really good horses. What was the experience with him and how has he shaped the way you've sort of um you know your training model?

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Um a lot to a certain extent, but it like I've I've worked for a lot of good trainers. Mike's definitely one of them. He's one of the um of one of my favourite bosses that are best bosses that I work for. Um he's you know, just I learned how like his methods and systems, but it's also something once you start training that you've got to be your own person. You can't go out there and do everything now the same as what the people you've worked for have done. You've got to sort of make decisions based off your gut and and what you think's right at the time. So um, he was a very good boss, but I've worked for a lot of you know a few other very good trainers that I've I've definitely taken a lot of things from as well.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Yeah, all right. We'll get it to um uh you know, your runner on the weekend and the Sydney Cup Whiskey on the Hill was a very good winner of the uh Roy Higgins last start. He he's only just narrowly missed out on running in the cup over the last two years as well. Uh was it good to sort of you know get that um uh exempt from ballot win and just to get him in early?

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yeah, definitely it's a relief because uh it's very frustrating, especially last year, um being like on my own that that we missed out. Um but I do also know that you know the cup's eight months away, so it's uh there's a lot of water to go on the bridge between now and then, and a lot can happen in racing. So I don't want to get sort of too far ahead of myself. And and but um yeah, if if everything goes smoothly the next eight months, it'll be very exciting to be able to have him there in the race uh if if the timing's right.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Yeah, and I imagine like this weekend's obviously a big sort of um building block towards going to that race. I imagine the decision must have been pretty easy to go to a Sydney Cup. I thought you know, straight away after that, Roy Higgins, you got a horse that's going to a Melbourne Cup, you might as well try him over the two mile while you got him, got him in form.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

It was yeah, it was definitely an easy decision for me. As long as he came through that last run well. Um if he didn't come through that well, then he definitely wouldn't have been up here um you know running on Saturday. But um, as I said, there's a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and uh November. So if you know and keeping him right for another two weeks, I think uh group one, 3200. Um I spoke to Damien Lane after the race uh in Melbourne, and he was adamant we got to run and he was keen to ride him. So I think if you know you've got someone like him that wants to stick with the horse, that's definitely a big push and and uh good reason to come up.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Yeah, it's a great sign, and it's probably you know the right jockey to navigate what looks like a pretty tricky barrier at first. You know, you probably would have wanted a little bit better, but enough time to get across. What do you make of sort of um how the horse is going to map tomorrow and that tricky barrier?

SPEAKER_01 4:49

We'll definitely be leaving it up to Damien. He knows the horse really well, but he does race better sort of in the first four or five, six um once he gets out over this trip. So I dare say he'll be rolling forward and and just hopefully he can slot in somewhere with cover so he relaxes. He the other day at um Flemington, Damien did say that he got a little bit keen because he was going from the 1800 up to the 2600. Um, but hopefully with that run-on's ability, he relaxes a bit better. And if he does, then he'll he'll give it a good shake.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Yeah. Uh the other thing that a lot of uh you know form analysts and that are making a big deal of is you know, they're sort of just riding him off with the dry track. I don't know that his form on a dry track's all that bad. Like he, you know, he got beat seven lengths in a pretty handy race behind the likes of Birdman and whatnot, but you know, had a couple of good runs before that. He's won on a good three at Mornington as well. Uh do you make as much of that in terms of his you know less lesser chances on a dry track, or or do you think he needs it wet, or do you just think he'll get through anything?

SPEAKER_01 5:50

No, I don't think he gets through anything. I think he's just as effective on top of the ground as he is on the wet. Um, like you said, he won the won the Harry White at Mornington on a good three, should have won the um Herbert Power on a good four. Um, he's he's very good on top of the ground. The only issue with the wet track was I was praying for a bit of rain at Flemington because we had had a few problems with his feet, which um you know soft the track was going to be very uh forgiving of them. But um I think his feet are the best they've been for a very long time, and I'm really not concerned about the track on Saturday.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Yeah, it's good to hear Might Um looking looking at him at that uh sort of double figure quote. But um, yeah, I wanted to ask as well, the ownership group of this horse looked like they uh they were a little bit of fun after the Roy Higgins. What was that celebration like after that race?

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Yeah, there's a few old ones there. They definitely enjoy themselves, but it's good, it's good for racing. Um, you know, they get really good into get into it and and um yeah, they uh had a good time after the race, and hopefully they can do it again on Saturday.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Yeah, 100%. Um I just wanted to ask you about another, probably another one of your uh premiere horses in Benad Jill. Wanted to ask you about that experience of winning that first group one, like uh as you know, the solo trainer with her and and you know the this um Australasian Oaks in in um South Australia. What was that experience like?

SPEAKER_01 7:13

To be fair, it was um I probably didn't get as much enjoyment out of it as as I should have because it was a um pretty ordinary sort of time we'd just been through. It was right at the end of sort of Ballymore finishing up. Um there was a lot of pressure there on the day um to sort of get the result, and I went there very uh very, very confident that she would win the race, but it was um yeah, it wasn't sort of a day that I could really enjoy. Um so it was a relief, but uh yeah, I'll I think I'll enjoy the next one a lot more.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, hopefully it comes uh tomorrow for you. Um I just wanted to ask as well on Benadill. Probably hasn't quite come up in a as a four-year-old. But did how what sort of strategy, how do you think you can go about sort of getting her back to that top form? And and where where do you think she'll go to next?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

She's had a very frustrating preparation. Um I don't think she's going as bad as what her form reads. I think um I probably got it wrong with the first two runs back. Um probably a little bit underdone her first first up run. And I took the blinkers off her early in the prep, which I think probably affected her performance first end, second up. Um I thought her third up run was great. Just just I don't know, he just fell asleep on her and was she was in her own race out the back. Her sectionals were the unbelievable like she ran home in 33 and a half, second fastest of the race. So if he had have shown a bit of initiative and put her into the race a little bit earlier or not let her sort of lose contact, she would have run a much better race. Yeah. Um, and the other day she just caught three wide, no cut no cover. Um, you know, she's not a top ball, she can dig to get into a spot either, and he just tried tried a bit too hard on her to put her into the race and and give her every chance, but it just backfired. And um look, she was she was disappointing the other day. It's probably the only time I went home a little bit disappointed, but she still had excuses, and I I don't think she'd go on as bad as it looks, but um yeah, next run she'll she'll head to Flemington in two weeks. There's just a benchmark, 2,000 metre race, benchmark 100. And um, yeah, hopefully she can show show something there.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

Yeah, well, best of luck with getting her back into top form because she is a quality horse on her day, and um best of luck tomorrow as well in the Sydney Cup with you on the hill.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Thanks, mate. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Thanks for time today, mate. Cheers.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

No worries at all.