it's the same for the few of us round here
fortunate to be doing this."
Which begs the question: how can any
of these operations absorb such numbers
when each individual project is so depen-
dent on nuance, on attention to detail? "By
hiring an awful lot of good people," Woods
says. "We have 72 people working here,
and every barn has its own foreman. Every-
one can see 'broken'—but you need people
who can see things coming along. Each day,
really, you're looking for nothing different.
Is this horse moving the same? It's any little
negative change you're looking for."
All being well, however, the system ev-
idently functions so efficiently that per-
haps the most important challenge is to in-
troduce the right raw materials in the first
place. As Brennan observes, even some top-
class trainers "can't buy a frog to hop" at
the yearling sales. But he has been working
the circuit in partnership with another cel-
ebrated judge, Mike Ryan, for over 20 years.
Brennan says he tries not to be too pre-
scriptive, believing that good horses come
in all shapes and sizes. "You probably
wouldn't buy a June foal that looks like a
June foal," he admits. "Because it's not go-
ing to be fair on him, to try and have him
peak in March or April. Having said that, I'm
