The majority of trainers in Ireland bar the top elite, don’t have the privileges of having immense cash to spend at the sales, they must use their own inventiveness to spot a bargain, that can be considered finding a needle in amidst a hay stack.

Being a small trainer, can be an unappreciated place, the meagre winning statistics don’t tell the full story to their day-to-day struggles however when a success is attained, the sleepless nights and strenuous long days, all seem worthwhile, but they are currently a scarcity.

When your winning, you don’t question anything, but on the other hand when things don’t go right for you the system looks flawed. The elite owners and trainers in Ireland have almost acquired 75% of the prize money before the season has begun, there is just no contending with their superiority realistically.

Chasing the crumbs is the only possibility the middle-of-the-road trainer have of staying involved in the game however when the bigger trainers are charging the same training fees as you the lure of getting new owners to your modest yard is getting tougher by the day.

Pledging success to an owner, isn’t advised.

The smaller Irish trainers are reliant on on those tedious over-sea’s forays paying off. The prize money in Britain is appalling however what other opportunity do they have of getting amid the winners? The lesser rated handicaps in Ireland are now over colonised, even winning them isn’t plausible. Winning five races in Britain, doesn’t mean your stable is going to win one in the future in Ireland, it’s a different game all together, almost excruciating for anyone outside the top 10 spots in the trainers’ title. The future looks bleak.

What can the regulatory bodies do? Nothing really, they don’t appear to be actively seeking alternatives to keep small trainers a float, suppose if their bank is above exceptions, what do they care? How many small trainers will hand in their licence with the next ten years? I’d say that figure will be well into the double figures at this shocking rate.