It was only recently when the Sadler family welcomed home John’s racing journalist son Edward to Australian shores to take up residence at racing.com
But it’s not the only movement in the Sadler household as John announced today he will be joined by son Thomas as co-trainer of John’s training operation, John Sadler Racing.
And it’s only a matter of time, with the approval of Racing Victoria, when the union will be made official with John Sadler and Tom Sadler forming a training partnership under the banner of Sadler Racing.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have Tom join me. He has been incredibly fortunate to learn from Australia’s leading stables particularly with his full time roles with both Gai Waterhouse and Danny O’Brien and these experiences, along with his riding accomplishments, will hold him in good stead for a future training career,” Sadler stated. “But I’m not going anywhere! I will be as hands-on as ever as we continue to work diligently in building a consistently successful stable for our clients,“ he quickly added.
And Tom agrees the team has the potential to add to John’s already impressive list of multiple Group successes.
“From being an Apprentice Jockey at the age of 15 to today, John has always been my first point of call for professional advice. This vast knowledge has enabled me to ride winners for Australia’s leading stables in Godolphin, Gai Waterhouse, Chris Waller and Lee Freedman just to name a few,” Tom said today.
“Additionally, my professional experiences in working full time for Gai has also provided me invaluable knowledge in training quality 2YO’s and my time as a jumps jockey allowed me a firsthand understanding of what’s required of staying and endurance horses,” Tom added.
He was particularly grateful to one of Australia’s leading trainers in Danny O’Brien where Tom most recently served two years as Foreman. “The learning opportunities Danny provided me were invaluable, especially his expertise in training young horses and his success with stayers is right up there with the very best.”
And Danny O’Brien lent his support to the new father-son team, stating “Although it will be sad to see Tom go, it’s an exciting opportunity for him and we will take pride in his future accomplishments. His development over the past two years with our stable has been outstanding to watch and we wish him all the best in his partnership with John.”
The timing could not be more perfect for Team Sadler as they head to their brand new stable operations at Pakenham in the next few weeks.