One of the first phone calls Taige Weir took after training her first winner earlier this month was from her Dad.
Darren Weir won thousands of races in his own right. But his CV has always lacked something in the emotion stakes. Even with his daughters, Weir has never been the soppy type.
There were no tears. The conversation went along the lines of ‘well done’ and ‘I’m proud of you’ but Weir had little doubt her Dad was pretty chuffed with the result.
Given her surname, Weir’s entrance in the training ranks was always going to attract plenty of interest.
For reasons right and wrong, Darren Weir has been one of the biggest names in Australian racing over the past two decades.
As she strives to forge her own name in the industry, Weir has had to deal with the legacy of both her father’s incredible success on the track and his infamous exit from the sport.
“I look at it two ways,” Weir said.
“In one sense, it’s bloody annoying and there are times that I wish I didn’t have my last name, not any disrespect to Dad, but everyone just refers to me as Darren Weir’s daughter.”
“So there is a bit of pressure there.”
“Most people are really good about it but there have been a couple that have said ‘she’ll be just like her Dad’ and to those people I would say just give me a chance because I am my own person.”
“Ultimately, I’m trying to make a name for myself.”
“On the other hand, I have a very good mentor in Dad and I know that I can go to him with any questions and because he’s been there and done that, I can rely on him.”
“Dad is probably my first point of call if I’ve got a question about a horse.”
“Obviously he can’t physically help me which is a bit frustrating at times but we understand the circumstances.”
Despite her pedigree, a career as a trainer wasn’t always set in stone for the young horsewoman.
Weir loved horses and wanted to work in racing, having fallen in love with the sport as a kid around her Dad’s stables.
She kept her options open throughout her late teens and early twenties and it wasn’t until a stint working for another champion trainer, Chris Waller, that Weir’s heart became set on chasing her own racing dream.
Another stint for Wimmera trainer Andrew Bobbin and a period of time building her business as a pre-training operation helped to lay the foundations for a successful start as a solo trainer.
Only weeks after being granted her license, Weir took her first two runners to Colac and opened her account almost instantly when No Greater Vue won a 1200m Maiden.
“I wanted to be in the industry but I wasn’t sure of what I actually wanted to do – I definitely wasn’t set on just ending up as a trainer,” she said.
“I did three years at Marcus Oldham (College) where I got my Diploma in Equine Management and my Bachelor of Agribusiness.”
“I went to work for Chris Waller at Flemington for six months.”
“When I got there and saw the show that he ran and how successful he was, that’s when I thought training was probably something I could do.”
“I then did 14 months with Andrew Bobbin and he was amazing too.”
“I learned so much from him, how he used his set-up and the work he did with the jumpers he has because I love jumps racing too.”
“After that, I thought this (training) is definitely for me and that was probably the turning point.”
“I probably could’ve gone straight for my license then but I thought it was a good idea to pre-train for 12 months to get an idea of getting them (horses) ready without the pressure of results on the track.”
“I’m glad I did that and it’s something that I think everyone should do.”
“I was able to communicate with owners without the pressure of being the trainer, I was able to deal with vets and get experience running a business so I feel like it set me up really well.”
From her Ballarat base, Weir oversees a team of 10 racehorses and another 20-odd horses in pre-training for others.
While her Dad can’t be hands on around the stable, it’s still very much a family affair with her partner, jumps jockey Will Gordon, and her sister Bonnie assuming key roles within the team.
Her stable colours of white and maroon are the perfect inverse of her fathers iconic stable colours, carried to victory by the likes of G1 winners Palentino and Trust In A Gust.
While Weir’s stable is largely made up of young unraced stock, lightly-raced maidens and low-grade benchmark horses, there is crossover between many of her owners and those that raced horses with her Dad.
It’s been a huge leg-up for the young horsewoman, although she hopes her stable can grow sustainably and organically off the back of a bit of success on the track.
That success can continue at Swan Hill on Sunday when she saddles up two horses – four-year-old mare Vivid Blooms tackles a 1600m Maiden and No Greater Vue will chase back-to-back wins in a Benchmark 56 handicap.
“I think that it (support) branches from Dad and Dad’s old clients, he had so many loyal owners and most of my owners raced horses with dad at some point,” she said.
“At the start, it was just pre-trainers that they were sending through but when I got my license, a lot of them were willing to give me a go as well.”
“I’m very fortunate because I know how hard it can be to get owners when you’re just starting out.”
“I don’t want to get too big too soon – I quite like the boutique style at the moment and that might be because I’m starting out.”
“In six months, I might be wanting to take on more horses but for now I’m happy to focus on the horses we have in work.”
“There are races that I’d love to win but I’m not putting any pressure on myself in terms of how quickly the wins come.”
“I honestly didn’t think my first winner would happen so soon.”
“When you train a winner, that 4am alarm clock isn’t so bad after all.”
