Sir Mark Todd has wasted no time getting stuck into a second sporting life after shocking the equestrian world by retiring just 12 months out from the Olympics.
As you would expect from a competitor who won back-to-back Olympic gold medals and an addition three bronze medals, Todd had some lofty goals as his new career as a full-time trainer begun.
“What would be ambition is to have a horse run in the Arc de Triomphe, that’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Todd told 1 NEWS from his home in England.
“I’ve always wanted to have a Melbourne Cup runner too so who knows.”
Todd currently had 10 horses in a stable and wanted to keep it manageable in size.
“We’ve got a bunch of two-year-olds and a couple of three-year-olds that we’re working with at the moment
“In fact, next Saturday I have my first runner in the UK, it’s all pretty exciting and starting to build, I’ve only got 10 horses at work at the moment but I hope to gradually build up the numbers.”
“I don’t want to train a large team but if we get up to 20 or 30 then that’ll be enough.”
Although the Kuwaiti-owned runner competing at Chelmsford this weekend didn’t have a Kiwi connection, Todd said half the horses in his stable were owned at least in part by Sir Peter Vella.
“Sir Peter Vella has been absolutely supportive as he always has been, he’s got shares in about five of the horses I’ve got here.”
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