Taylah Mackinnon forging her own path

By Jordan Gerrans

While on the surface it appears as though up-and-coming horsewoman Taylah Mackinnon is training solo these days, she admits it is actually the opposite. 

The Sunshine Coast-based Taylah initially trained in a partnership with her father Stewart before going out on her own and training on her own ticket.

Stewart, who is a veteran of training at Caloundra and around the state, eased into what the family call ‘retirement’.

Stewart’s name has come off the official training partnership, but his young daughter concedes that she shouldn’t be able to do it all without her old man and her mother Suzy.

The 25-year-old takes one from her team to provincial racing on her home track this Sunday as she continues to forge her own path in racing.

“Dad’s sort of retired, but not really retired,” Taylah said with a laugh.

“He’s probably working harder now than what he was when he was training by himself. To have Dad and Mum, who both come from such a horse family, they’ve been great.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without them. That sounds a little bit cliché, but it’s very true. You have to start somewhere.

“To have Dad, who’s trained for 30 years, worked with some really good trainers and to have a few loyal owners to start off with, it is obviously important.”

Taylah took Laydownlily to the races last Saturday at the Sunshine Coast’s metropolitan meeting, which was headlined by a Listed race.

Laydownlily competed in a Benchmark 78 Handicap and acquitted herself well to finish fourth in her first-up assignment for her campaign.

After starting her career with fellow Caloundra conditioner Natalie McCall, Laydownlily won two races in a row after transferring to Mackinnon’s yard in the middle stages of last year.

The youthful trainer is on the hunt for a suitable second-up event for Laydownlily following Saturday’s promising effort where she made ground from back in the field to hit the line well.

“She's probably a horse that's better three to four weeks between a run,” she said.

“So, I’ll have a little look around and see what's there.”

Taylah heads back to her home track on Sunday with Fly Fifer while stablemate Bossiri is accepted to head to Ipswich on Saturday. 

While officially “retired”, father Stewart is still very much part of the daily grind and by Taylah’s own admission, he is possibly working harder than ever.

The family have long had their stables at their own property, which is just down the road from the Caloundra track, but they have also recently picked up boxes at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club itself.

“Mum and Dad are such a huge support,” she said.

“To have the stables here at home and in the last six months, we've stepped onto having horses on course, as well.

“I think we have the right mix between the two, having the older horses here at home, they get to go out in the paddock during the day and it is a little bit more relaxed maybe than the track. 

“Dad drives the truck between home and the track every morning.”

On top of being mentored by her father, Taylah has also spent time working for fellow Caloundra trainers Stuart Kendrick and Darryl Hansen.

While Stewart is no longer officially listed as a training partner, she says he is there every day as a sounding board.

Stewart kicked off his training career in New Zealand before relocating to Australia in 1987.

He worked alongside the late great Bruce McLachlan before moving to Caloundra in 1995.

“It’s probably more my ideas now,” Taylah said.

“But, just to bounce things off him and get his opinion is fantastic. When things go bad, you don’t feel as bad when there’s someone else there with you.”

As a young person aiming to make her own mark in the industry, Taylah admits training solo can be challenging at times.

She enjoyed a purple patch of form through July and August of last year where she prepared three winners in the space of four weeks.

While training against the bigger stables can be a battle at times, Taylah says she is always on the lookout for horses online who she believes can add to her team.

“You’ve got the big stables, who are so accomplished, they get the good horses and the well-bred horses,” she said.

“You can buy something that’s well-bred for half the price and they’ve got a little bit of ability.

“Sometimes all they need is a tweak, a change of environment — a smaller stable can always help. So, it’s more about making do with what you have and trying to place them as well as you can.

“We like to keep 12 to 15 in work and we have a fair few young horses in the paddock at the moment. Just cycle them through and try and find some fast ones.

“I think sometimes with a smaller team when you're not going to the races as much you can get a little bit disappointed, because you're waiting a while between runners. 

“It's one of those things and everyone’s in the same boat and everyone's working hard.”

Taylah’s brother Scott is also the Racecourse Manager at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club.