Tipperary's ambitious redevelopment: 'It could be the way forward for trying to get new trainers started' Fantastic transport links, state-of-the-art facilities and a new turf track alongside its new all-weather track are just a few of the factors the Irish Angle team believe Tipperary’s ambitious redevelopment has the potential to be a big success. Journalist Johnny Ward, presenter Emma Nagle and jockey coach Paddy Flood discussed the grand plans on this week's episode. Transport links key to success Johnny Ward mentioned his opinions have changed on the redevelopment given Tipperary's excellent transport links: “I wasn't a fan, I think there's too much racing there. There's too much racing as it is. “I'm not really sure about the numbers of flat horses. You see some of the entries around Dundalk, and I'm not really sure the numbers are there. “But something that never really came into my head until recently was the scope that they have, because it's one of the few tracks in Ireland that is literally on a railway. “They have massive scope to make this a meeting that could become something. “It came into my head when people are going to the Curragh, which is three hours and 20 minutes by train. “Limerick Junction is just over an hour and a half from Dublin. If they're racing Saturday nights. The last train to Dublin is half nine. There's a later train to Cork. The train to Limerick is only about 20 minutes away. “You have all of these places where Limerick Junction racing on the all-weather at night could be a really good night out. “The one thing I would wonder about, is where Dundalk will be because of Tipperary, because the prize money in Dundalk is not good. “The quality of the racing has probably gone down a little bit in recent years. Maybe that's just a feeling I have, but are those top southern trainers going to be bothered with Dundalk at all now?” Facilities for new trainers Emma Nagle is impressed by the work she's seen at the track and believes it could be a game-changer for rookie trainers: “I actually drove past it myself the other week, and the amount of work going on looks incredible. “It's a new development. It'll be a floodlit Polytrack surface, the normal grass track as well, new stable blocks, upgrading of the pre-parade ring. “One element that I found really interesting is that there are going to be in-course training facilities, like the American-style barns, for new trainers starting off or established trainers who want to base their horses on the gallop. “There's going to be a deep sand gallop on the inside of the track, and then they can obviously use the Polytrack for training as well, which I think could be the way forward for trying to get new trainers started because it takes a lot of the overhead costs out of it. I think that's probably one of the most interesting elements of the racecourse for me." Ireland heading towards new training model due to rising costs Paddy Flood likened it to the Australian way of training, where trainers are based at racecourses in the cities and added: “It's probably the way racing is headed in this country. Who can afford to go and buy a big farm nowadays, or even rent a big farm? You could probably go to Tipperary and just rent whatever amount of boxes you need. “It makes sense if you were starting off or if you were overflowing from a big yard. I'm sure the likes of Joseph O’Brien would be happy to get his hands on more stables. “I think it's a positive thing. We're quick to judge and knock Irish racing, and it is costing a lot of money. But from what I've seen of the plans, the works, and what it's going to look like in the end, I think it's going to be a fantastic facility. Ward added: “One trainer was on to me in Killarney about how good the grass track is going to be there. That's not something I had thought about, but he was basically saying they're going to have a good turf track. “If you look at Leopardstown, how sad really the flat has become there, with an appalling lack of crowds for the midweek stuff in the summer, this really should not be the case at all. “As much as the all-weather is expensive, at least it takes the horrific reality of where the weather is going out of the way, and that'll be a big thing as well. Watch the Irish Angle in Full Race replays are FREE to watch from all Irish tracks and a selection of premier British tracks sponsored by William Hill.
