Michael Halford and Tracey Collins have announced that they are to take out a joint training licence, under the banner of Conyngham Lodge, from the start of March.

The second official training partnership in Ireland, Conyngham Lodge brings together two of the most familiar names in Irish racing who will operate from one of the most storied yards on the Curragh.

A Group 1-winning trainer who has also enjoyed success from Royal Ascot to Dubai, Michael Halford is part of a select group in Irish racing as he among just a handful of trainers to have saddled over 1000 in his career to date.

He will now train alongside Tracey Collins who has maintained one of the proudest and long standing operations on the Curragh. Conyngham Lodge, which was built in 1855, has already passed through several generations of the Collins family.

Tracey’s grandfather, M.C. Collins, sent out Windsor Slipper to win the Irish Triple Crown in 1942 and trained five classic winners from Conyngham Lodge.

Her father, Con, continued that heritage with a myriad of big race successes headed by the brilliant Sandy Creek, the classic-winning Princess Pati and the Moyglare Stakes heroine Chelsea Rose.

Upon taking over the licence from her late father, Tracey has maintained her family’s proud tradition of notable success having saddled Group race winners in Ireland and England as well as enjoying success in Dubai.

“There is a long and proud tradition here at Conyngham Lodge and I’m greatly looking forward to the next chapter in the yard’s history by teaming up with Michael from the start of March. It’s an exciting venture and one full of potential and I hope we have much to look forward to over the coming months and years,” commented Tracey Collins.

“The association between the Collins family and Irish racing goes back close to a century and is one of the proudest in our sport," Halford added. "I’m grateful, humbled and excited by the chance to train alongside Tracey at one of the most famous yards on the Curragh and look forward to starting this new chapter next month."