The Going: Never Standing Still

In today’s The Going for #GroundsWeek Haydock Park’s Head Groundsman, Stephen Fyles, discusses the never-ending cycle of track preparation and sources of inspiration for him and his team.

The view from the coursewalk: Haydock Park’s home straight (image courtesy of Haydock Park Racecourse)

Q: What is it that makes Haydock Park a unique surface to prepare?

Maintaining Haydock is quite a challenge mainly due to the size of the site and the intensity of the racing program. Balancing a turf maintenance regime while providing suitable ground conditions for racing all year round is our biggest challenge. At the start of 2021 the weather was our biggest challenge– we had 70mm of rain in two days and every weather type possible in the build up to our Peter Marsh fixture.

Q: With that in mind, how much preparation goes into each meeting?

We are always preparing for our next meeting!

After the last race, we immediately turn our focus onto the meeting with the track being repaired, rail movements implemented and the track reset. The pressures and time constraints are very different between Jumps and Flat. Preparations can be ongoing for weeks and even months in advance.

The turf feeding program is very much tailored to target the biggest meetings to allow us to produce the best coverage and colour in the sward, but overall each race meeting is equal in our eyes and we strive to produce the same quality for each fixture.

Wintry conditions couldn’t stop the Haydock Park team providing safe ground for a key fixture (image courtesy of Haydock Park Racecourse)

Q: Aside from your own stable, where else do you look to for inspiration in preparing a surface?

The Belfry for the RCA Turf Management Seminar was an interesting visit to see the scale of their infrastructure. Recently, it’s hard not to be impressed by the team at Liverpool FC’s Anfield. They’ve been doing a mega job with the new hybrid pitches.

Q: Clearly the pandemic has impacted all sectors over the past year. How have you and the grounds team adapted?

A lot of how we have had to adapt is just being sensible with contact times, travelling to jobs on site in separate vehicles, maximising social distancing when carrying out tasks and wearing PPE when social distancing can’t be maintained.

The most difficult task is maintaining social distancing around lunch times, but we are disciplined and make it work.

Q: Has being part of a team helped with the difficulties of the past year? What are you most proud of despite the challenges?

I think working outdoors has most definitely allowed for some normality and sanity in these unsettled times. It has most definitely raised morale within in the team, especially when the full team came back from furlough and we could go racing again.

I’d say our proudest moment was producing safe ground for our 2021 Peter Marsh fixture despite the significant weather challengers. The team pulled together fantastically to sheet all 6 hectares of racing surface and then worked admirably to get the course clear in time for racing despite the weather being against us.

It was definitely the toughest fixture we have produced in the last 12 months but also the most satisfying.

Q: Jockey Club West Region is renowned for its fantastic community links. Have the grounds teams been able to contribute?

We have recently taken on an intern team member in association with St Helens College.

This is hugely rewarding and has allowed us to give a little back to community by providing the opportunity for a student to gain some invaluable work experience and hopefully his path way for a future career in the industry.

Q: What do you consider to be the best parts of your role and what is your advice for anyone looking to become a groundsperson?

Definitely how variable the role is, the challenge is never the same from one day to the next. It never gets boring!

My advice is to work hard, pay attention and learn what you can from the team members around you.

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the top Head Groundsmen in our industry and I’d like to think I’ve learnt a little something from each of them along the way.

A special mention must go to my predecessor, Maurice Crooks, who was instrumental in helping me take my career path.

Whilst at school I used to spend the majority of my summer holidays working on the course learning the basics and when a full time role came up at Aintree he helped steer me in that direction.

Maurice retiring after 49 years’ service has left some big boot’s to fill! He has left us in good shape for the future with the site and a core team with a wealth of experience.

Stephen’s predecessor Maurice Crooks spent over 49 years as groundsman at Haydock Park and is pictured here receiving the lifetime achievement award at the RCA’s Showcase & Awards in 2017 (image courtesy of RCA)

Tomorrow’s The Going features Ascot Racecourse. The full set of racecourse interviews will be available to view at the end of the week.