Just as with thoroughbred horses, the breeding of people can sometimes predispose them to a certain way of life. This certainly rings true for Henry Spiller, who helps Godolphin’s US assistant trainer Rick Mettee.
Henry’s father Charles has for a long time been an integral part of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed’s breeding operation, Darley, while his mother worked for leading trainer Michael Dickinson and also had a spell as agent for Walter Swinburn, who partnered three Epsom Derby winners including Godolphin’s Lammtarra in 1995.
With a pedigree steeped in racing, it was no surprise that Henry started working with horses from a young age. He began riding out at the Co. Kildare, Ireland, stables of Jeremy Harley when he was 12 before moving onto work full-time for trainer John Oxx two years later, for whom he was a pupil assistant for two and a half years.
After spells with trainers Dhruba Selvaratnam in Dubai and Kiaran McLaughlin in both Dubai and the USA, Henry continued to gain experience in Southern Australia, linking up with Tony McEvoy, the uncle of former Godolphin number two jockey Kerrin, who was responsible for training David Hayes’ Australian horses when the handler was in Hong Kong.
Following the Melbourne Cup in November, 2003, Henry joined Godolphin, initially working with the two-year-olds in Dubai prior to moving to Newmarket.
Henry returned to Dubai the following winter, where he met Rick Mettee. He followed Saeed bin Suroor’s US assistant back to New York in January, 2006.
A typical day for Henry begins when he gets up between 3.15am and 3.30am. He aims to be at Belmont Park, Godolphin’s American base which is a 10-minute drive from his home in Garden City, by 3.45am after picking up a coffee on the way.
He commented: “Among my duties are checking horses’ legs, watching them train when Rick is away, going to the races, travelling with the horses, paperwork, etc.”
Henry’s first job each day is to liaise with the night watchman to see how the horses have been overnight. He then sorts out the rota for the hot-walkers and schedules what time the horses will exercise on the track.
He explained: “We have five or six hot-walkers who walk the horses and afterwards tidy up the stable area. We also have a team of grooms to look after the horses. This means that each horse can be given more individual attention.
“The riders come in at 5am. It is usually pitch black then – though in the summer it is lightish.
“The horses all work in lots, with the first lot pulling out not long after the riders have arrived & tacked up.
The track is very quiet at that time and they get the best training surface. There are about 2,500 horses at Belmont so the track gets pretty cut up fairly quickly and we like to do everything on a fresh track. There are three or four lots. There is a training break (to refurbish the dirt surface) between 8.25am and 8.45am, so the last lot is back in after 9am.”
While Rick watches the horses exercise from the stands, Henry assists Rick by watching the horses work from his pony Bullwinkle, a bay quarter horse who also travels with him when he goes with Godolphin’s runners to the major meetings such as Saratoga or the Breeders’ Cup.
With the morning exercise finished, Rick checks over the horses as they cool out before the pair set the feed.
After completing the daily paperwork in the office, Henry goes home for a bite to eat and for a couple of hours sleep before returning to the stables.
“We do a lot of schooling with the horses in the afternoon - they go to the paddock, joining the horses who are about to race and walk around with a schooling saddle. At around 2.30pm I go back to the barn to set the feed list. Rick decides what to give each horse - obviously horses in light training get less feed and horses doing more get extra.
“It is a pretty delicate balance - you don’t want to be feeding horses too much but not too little either. There are some colts - like Regal Ransom - who will pretty much eat anything you put in front of them - while some of the fillies are a little fussy.
“The grooms come back for evening stables and we go around and check the horses over. The horses are then taken out and walked at 4pm. There is a grazing area by the stable and some of the horses will have a pick of grass for 20 minutes.
“It is a full time job - but I love the work and I wouldn’t change it for anything. Godolphin has the best horses in the world, the best staff in the world and looks after us great.”
The success of Godolphin’s US runners in 2009 is testament to the hard work of Rick, Henry and the rest of the team at Belmont Park which is overseen by the Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor.
A record eight Grade One victories from the American-based horses included four successes at the prestigious Saratoga meeting, as well as impressive wins for Music Note at Belmont Park, Gayego at Santa Anita, Vineyard Haven at Laurel Park and Flashing at Aqueduct.
Having thrived under the tutelage of Saeed and Rick, it is little wonder that Henry harbours thoughts of one day taking out his own licence to train.
“It is what I have always wanted to do - basically I would like to train on my own. It has been my ambition from a very young age.”
But in the meantime, he is happy being part of the successful Godolphin team.