Sara Ryan leaves Domeland: ‘It’s time to have a go on my own’

Cover image courtesy of Domeland Racing

It’s always a little bittersweet when a trainer parts ways with an organisation they’ve invested years into, and that’s certainly the case for Sara Ryan, who will officially step away from her role at Domeland to launch her public training career on August 7.

Speaking with The Thoroughbred Report, Ryan acknowledged the challenges that come with stepping into the world of public training, but made it clear she’s ready to embrace the next chapter with a touch of cautious confidence and determination.

Going out on her own

After nearly a decade rising through the ranks at Domeland, Ryan is about to take the next step in her career, becoming a public trainer. It’s a decision that she admits is both “terrifying” and exciting, but one she feels more than ready for.

“It’s time to have a go on my own. It’s been about nine years, although it really doesn’t feel like that,” Ryan said.

“It is a bit bittersweet. These horses and this property are like my kids, I’ve always described these horses as my kids.

“It’s sad to be leaving them, but it’s time to have a go on my own.”

Ryan’s new chapter won’t be a complete overhaul, far from it. She’ll remain based at Wyong, where she’s deeply familiar with the facilities, and will continue operating from her own well-equipped property nearby.

“I am very blessed to have my own property. I am keeping the same 28 boxes on course at Wyong that I have used with Domeland, and Domeland are moving to a new barn a couple of blocks down, so that works out really well,” she said.

“I have a 30-acre property with a treadmill, arena and plenty of good paddocks, and that setup really suits my style of training where I like to change the horses' mindsets.”

She continued, “The exciting thing is I know the system, and I know how to make it work. I don’t have to move or change anything on the horse side. I’ll just be doing it with my own horses. I am confident in my methods and training.”

While the transition is now in full swing, Ryan explained that early planning was difficult without a confirmed exit date from Domeland.

“It’s starting to ramp up a bit now. It has been a bit of a teething period as I have been a bit cautious really targeting new owners without knowing exactly when I was finishing at Domeland,” she said.

“But now it is full steam ahead, and my last day working for Domeland will be on the 6th of August.

“As of the 7th of August I will be an official public trainer,” she confirmed.

When asked how that feels, Ryan didn’t hesitate:

“It’s terrifying, but now with clarity of finish dates and starting dates, I am feeling much better about it, and it is all full steam ahead now. The business side of things is not as fun as the horse side of things, that’s for sure.”

How it all began

Ryan’s journey with Domeland started in a low-key way, just a few days a week riding work, before growing and developing into something far bigger.

“It actually started when the vet there approached me about nine years ago. They needed someone to ride a couple of days a week,” she recalled.

“It started that way, then the person managing the property didn’t last long, and I was asked to start managing the horses and being in charge of them when they were spelling, and then pre-training them to get them back up to speed.”

At the time, Domeland’s horses were being trained externally, using leading names such as Gai Waterhouse, Peter Moody, John O’Shea, Bjorn Baker and Mark Newnham.

As Ryan’s involvement deepened, the operation underwent several structural changes, including an ambitious program to race horses in Vietnam.

“They started with the idea of sending a lot of 2-year-olds over to Vietnam, and I think at one stage we had about 50 of them go to Vietnam, so that was a really big logistical job managing that,” she said.

“I was basically the racing manager, semi property manager, plus everything under the sun.”

Things took a turn when Ryan was asked to step up as trainer.

“It all changed a bit when I got my owner-trainer licence, as I had access to my property and could start mucking around with them a bit. And Mr Cheng, about three years ago, asked me if I wanted to take over training the team,” she said.

“I initially asked him if he was joking, as I had never worked as a full-time trainer. But he assured me he wasn’t, and then that chapter began.

“I had lots of experience with the barn and had built systems, but while not fully exposed to the training caper, with my background, I knew how to get a horse fit.”

Highlights from her time at Domeland

Ryan leaves behind a strong record as Domeland’s head trainer. She notched more than 50 winners and nearly $6.5 million in prizemoney, including big money wins with horses like Attractable (I Am Invincible) and Matcha Latte (Maurice {Jpn}).

Her highlights include winning the $3 million The Big Dance and the $1 million Provincial-Midway Championships Final with that pair.

Gallery: Domeland Racing's big winners trained by Sara Ryan, images courtesy of Domeland Racing

“For me, the big moments were fantastic, obviously winning The Big Dance and Matcha Latte going so well, but some of the smaller wins fill me with pride, or the story behind some of these horses,” Ryan said.

“Matcha Latte has broken my heart so many times, but to get him to win the Championship Final was a huge, huge effort.

“I’ve got just as much from the small wins at Port Macquarie, and to give all the horses their best opportunity to be at their best at whatever level was very important to me. To give them every chance of winning a race is the most you can do for a racehorse, and sometimes there’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears behind that process.”

Looking ahead: Public training career

As she steps into the public training ranks, Ryan is energised by the chance to fully focus on what she loves most, training horses.

“I love Domeland, and I have done everything here during my time, but I am really excited to be able to focus just on training,” she said.

“I think one of my main assets is that I am not racing-based, so I look at things a bit differently. But I love the game, and even more so I love horses.”

When asked what her specific aims are as a public trainer, Ryan said, “I would love to replicate the success I have been getting recently, maybe hitting around that $3 million target would be a nice mark to strive for.

“As long as I can get the horse numbers up I am confident, as I have the setup and already have been training here, so hopefully it’s a real smooth transition.

“I really want to win a black-type race, even though I have won The Big Dance, it wasn’t a black-type race. And I’ve run placings in The Ingham, The Cameron, The Carbine etc, but I haven’t won a black-type race yet, so that is a big aim.”

And while long-term goals matter, Ryan knows the immediate priority is to re-establish herself under a new banner.

“I need to find horses, and I have room available, but I really want to establish myself again,” she said.

“It’s exciting and daunting, but it really is about re-establishing myself on my own now. I really am looking forward to it.”