Group 1- and Royal Ascot-winning trainer Mick Halford has announced his joint venture with Tracey Collins will come to an end shortly and that he will retire before the start of the turf season.
Halford, who since 2023 has held a joint license with Collins, has trained for 41 years and handled horses for many of the sport’s most esteemed owners, including his long-serving patron the Aga Khan and Sheikh Mohammed, who owned his sole flat group 1 winner Casamento , winner of the 2010 Racing Post Trophy (G1).
“Unfortunately our numbers aren’t what they once were and I’m not getting any younger so before the 2025 season gets under way it felt like the right time to bow out and give my excellent staff and loyal owners a chance to move elsewhere before the season starts,” he said.
“To everyone who has supported us since the early 1980s I extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude. It’s been a great journey and I wouldn’t have swapped it for anything. We have a great industry in Ireland and one that we can be very proud of and I hope that I can play some part in it over the coming years.”
Halford, 62, previously served as chairman of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association and sat on Horse Racing Ireland’s board on the trainers’ behalf.
When he first took out a license at Pollardstown on the Curragh in 1984 at the age of 21 he was one of the youngest license-holders of his generation, and he went on to saddle around 1,200 winners across both codes, including many on his forays to Dubai.
Halford, who rode over 50 winners as an amateur rider, initially mixed it as a trainer on the flat and over jumps, and his first top-level victory was with Golden Cross in the two-mile grade 1 hurdle at the Leopardstown Christmas festival in 2003.
However, Halford ultimately switched his focus to the flat and made a statement of intent in 2005 when he and his second wife Louise purchased a 57-acre greenfield site at Duneany, just off the Curragh, which they transformed into the state-of-the-art Copper Beech Stables.
Halford’s enterprise was rewarded and he soon established himself as a top 10 trainer, finishing fourth in the championship in 2005 and fifth in 2014 and 2016, all the while capitalizing on the arrival of Dundalk’s all-weather circuit in 2007 to become the leading handler at the track.
Throughout, he consistently produced a raft of classy stalwarts like Platinum Warrior, Invincible Ash, Russian Soul, Certerach, Snaefell, Quinmaster, Surrounding, Toscanini, and Portage, who was his sole winner at Royal Ascot in the 2016 Royal Hunt Cup in the Godolphin colors.
Portage wins the 2016 Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot
He was also consistently supported by the Aga Khan, a relationship that endured for many years through smart performers like Raydara, Rehana, and Hamariyna.
“Over the last 40 years I’ve been lucky enough to train for some of the world’s leading owners and there have been many highlights along the way, with Casamento’s Racing Post Trophy victory and Portage’s Royal Ascot success among them, along with Certerach’s win on Dubai World Cup night, which was a really special day for us all as his owner Paul Rooney has always been such a tremendous supporter of the yard,” he said.
“Being entrusted with horses for the Aga Khan for the best part of 20 years has also been a huge honor and I leave with no regrets. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and I’m hoping to stay involved in racing but for the moment I’ve no plans in terms of what is next.”
After separating from his wife in 2023, Halford moved from Copper Beech and joined forces with Collins at Conygham Lodge. The Aga Khan continued to support that venture, which produced a cumulative 25 winners in 2023 and 2024. It is understood Collins will revert to training exclusively in her own name.
