Melbourne Cup winning trainer Dermot Weld has joined the roster of trainers supported by the Aga Khan as he diversifies his owning and breeding operation in Ireland.
Both two-year-olds and yearlings will be sent to the highly-accomplished Weld, who will be one of three Irish trainers for the owner alongside John Oxx and Michael Halford.
The Aga Khan also has three French trainers – Alain de Royer Dupre, Mikel Delzangles and Jean-Claude Rouget – and there will be no retained jockey in Ireland for 2014, with riders employed by individual trainers.
“We are really looking forward to having horses in training with Dermot Weld,” the Aga Khan’s spokesman Par Downes said.
“This has been a difficult year for the organisation in Ireland, as John Oxx’s yard has been suffering from a virus.
“This has highlighted the need for us to spread our horses over a greater number of trainers to avoid this situation re-occurring.
“This policy has worked for us in France, so we felt it was worth implementing it in Ireland also.”