Darling Downs conditioner regains love for training after tragic incident

By Jordan Gerrans

From the greatest heartbreak in her life, Michelle Labahn has regained her love and enjoyment for preparing thoroughbred race horses.

Earlier in her career, the 59-year-old won city races in Melbourne and had gallopers contest several black-type races.

That all changed just over a decade ago when Labahn’s son Nick was involved in a near-fatal car crash in Victoria.

“I tried to train when he was still in hospital but I did not have the time or the head space to be training race horses properly, as well as spending time with him,” she recalls.

Nick suffered a major brain injury in the car crash and to this day lives in a supported care facility in Victoria.

So, Labahn stepped away from the gallopers, last having a starter in a race back in the 2009-10 campaign.

Fast forward around a decade or so later.

She was stuck at home like everyone else in the world due to the pandemic, which forced her mind towards returning to her passion of preparing horses.

Labahn and her family purchased a property on the outskirts of Toowoomba without viewing it – only seeing it online – and once the borders were open, they were on the first flight up.

The returning trainer is an accountant by trade and can complete her day job from anywhere with the internet and a mobile phone.

The Labahns settled on the Darling Downs for three reasons: a close-by airport so they could get back to Victoria to see Nick often, a university for their daughter Kaitlin and the Clifford Park track, which races consistently all year round.

“We make it work, as there is an airport here, I go back and forward to Victoria a fair bit to see him,” she said of her son.

The stable had their first runner back early last year and have struck gold with stayer Tea Leaves in recent weeks, winning two on the bounce.

The former Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained gelding scored on the Polytrack at the Gold Coast earlier this month before adding another victory at Clifford Park on Saturday evening.

While the recent form of Tea Leaves has helped, Labahn has regained her happiness when it comes to conditioning horses.

“It has been a very positive move for us, it has been amazing,” she said.

“I wanted to go back to something that I was always very passionate about.”

Labahn exclusively trains stayers – as they are a bigger challenge she reckons – and works her small stable out of the Bahram Stud Training Facility.

“Bahram is the most beautiful environment, it is so friendly,” she said.

It took 10 starts for Tea Leaves to break through after leaving the powerhouse Waterhouse and Bott team.

The son of Sebring was an expensive yearling but never reached the heights his price suggested he would, despite winning at just his third race day experience.

Labahn thinks she has found the secret to his recent two-start winning sequence, galloping him less and changing his daily routine.

“He does not stable well – we have started putting him out in the paddock during the day – which has turned his whole form around,” she explains.

“He needs the great outdoors, the paddock and time outside. It has made him a lot happier. He is now racing a lot better because of his change in lifestyle.

“The horse is just thriving at the moment.”

And, an old mate from Victoria in Noel Callow has played a key role in his form reversal.

The Group 1-winning ‘King’ Callow rode the gelding at the Gold Coast earlier this month after the trainer and jockey combination enjoyed success together many years ago.

Callow rode former stable star Eddy And D'postman for Labahn back in 2003.

The now retired gelding is classed as the best horse Labahn has ever prepared, she says.

Eddy And D'postman won a Benalla Gold Cup in 2005 and contested a Group 3 Geelong Cup just a few weeks later.

“Noel has helped with his racing style and manners,” Labahn said of Callow and Tea Leaves.

“He has given us better insight and we have worked with the horse following from what Noel has said.

“The horse has improved out of sight, Noel has been a great help. He understands the horse.”

Tea Leaves now faces a step up in class and will head towards a Class 3 Plate over 2000 metres next Saturday afternoon at Doomben.

While Tea Leaves still has plenty of racing left in him, the Labahns already have a plan towards making him a show horse once he is ready to retire.

As well as racing, the family are heavily involved in rehoming off the track horses and are set to be prominent at the Ekka next month. 

While they have many former race horses, one who raced under the name Grey Assassin is a star performer.

Grey Assassin won once for Liam Birchley in 10 starts but has found his calling in retirement.

He now goes by ‘Rolex 11’ and at the Ekka last year he was an award winner with Labahn’s daughter Kaitlin.

“He is going to the Ekka in a few weeks’ time, he was reserve champion at Ekka last year,” she said.

“He has been a champion at Sydney and Canberra, as well as being national champion.”