'This isn't a job you should stand still in' - Donald McCain on why he's had to spend big to get back on track

This is a free sample of The Front Runner, our award-winning newsletter normally available exclusively for Racing Post+ subscribers and written here by Andrew Dietz.

Subscribers can get more great insight, tips and racing chat from The Front Runner every Monday to Friday. Those who aren't yet signed up for The Front Runner should click here to sign up and start receiving emails immediately!

Not a Racing Post+ subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.

You might think the summer downtime allows even the biggest of jumps trainers the chance to kick back, relax and recharge the batteries. In the case of Donald McCain, you'd be dead wrong.

His Bankhouse stable in the heart of the Cheshire countryside has been a hive of activity, surpassing the average toil and strife of the deep winter months. A major upgrade of facilities, principally the unscheduled resurfacing of the main gallop has been undertaken – at a considerable cost.

"We've done a lot of work," McCain tells the Front Runner. "We only put down a new gallop five years ago, but in the last 18 months it has let us down quite badly with the weather. We've replaced the whole synthetic gallop and gone back to woodchip, which served us very well over the previous 25 years.

"I put everything I had into the last gallop and I've had to do the same again. We've invested quite heavily but we want to keep moving forward."

Donald McCain: 'I put everything I had into the last gallop and I've had to do the same again'Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

The trainer was forced into action after the latest campaign delivered 53 winners, his lowest for nine years and well down on previous totals of 74, 117 and a personal-best 155.

"Last season was frustrating, but it was down to many things, like the ground and the horses as well," McCain says. "I'd like to think it wasn't because of the gallops issues, as we were doing plenty of different things. We've had other facilities to use, so it's not like we've had to stop or anything like that, but I wasn't comfortable carrying on with things as they were. The gallops are the most important thing you have and it had to change.

"We've changed a few things. We've extended our carpet gallop, so I now have a six-and-a-half furlong gallop I've never had before and we've changed our feed. This isn't a job you should stand still in."

McCain sent out a century of winners four seasons in a row during the heady days of regular Cheltenham Festival wins and his 2011 Grand National success with Ballabriggs. Although he has reached three figures again in two of the last four campaigns, he feels the landscape has changed.

"The system doesn't allow for those seasons of 150 winners any more," he says. "It has kind of got me off the wheel of having to train that number of winners and I'm now comfortable changing my approach to try and produce a really nice horse or two."

The trainer is as hungry as ever but that appetite does not extend to summer jumping. His scaling back in that sphere has implications, but his mindset has shifted.

"It's been as quiet as I've ever been, by a long way," he says. "We've not run a huge amount away from Bangor and that goes along with the conversation about trying to train how many winners in a season. I think the summer programme is as weak now as it's been since it started. The product that is being put on is poor."

Bangor: Donald McCain has had six winners at the track so far this seasonCredit: Alex Livesey (Getty Images)

On a much lighter note, McCain is pleased to report there is a new addition to the most famous of racing families, although perhaps not quite so pleased to reveal he's now officially a grandad.

"My daughter Ella, who has done a little bit on the scales for the BHA since stopping riding, has made me a grandad, having had a son with our second jockey, Theo Gillard," he says.

"My other daughter, Abbie, was also riding but had an injury and I don't think she'll go back, but she has got very involved in the yard now. My son, Finlay, is in the yard as well, so everyone's here and we've got quite a positive vibe."  

There is plenty of positivity surrounding the flourishing careers of identical twin jockeys Charlie and Will Maggs, whose rapid ascents have forced the trainer to bring in a conditional with a bigger claim in the shape of Irish rider Dylan White.

Will (left) and Charlie Maggs at Donald McCain's Bankhouse Stables Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Poor Charlie has been brought down to earth a bit after knocking his front teeth out while schooling this month and then missing out on a winner at Newmarket that evening. All in all, it's a strong support team for stable jockey Brian Hughes.

Among the equine talent, McCain is looking forward to Count Of Vendome and Roses All The Way going novice hurdling, having kept them in bumpers longer than he's done with previous promising types.

"Our numbers are strong and I've got some very loyal owners but none of them is going to go to the sales and spend £200,000 to £300,000 on a horse. I don't blame them for that at all, and we've just got to find different ways to do it," he says.

"We've trained loads of winners from here, around 1,800, and it doesn't get you very far. A good horse will do a lot more for you. Our job is to find a nice horse or two and I believe those types are here."

Those who aren't yet signed up for The Front Runner can click here to sign up and start receiving emails immediately.

Read these next . . .

I'm often inclined to defend the Shergar Cup - but it was easy to see why some trainers would have felt exasperated on Saturday 

Unlucky horses at Goodwood are as common as delayed trains - here are seven to follow who could catch a break next time 

Remembering the unsung heroes who helped shape ‘the race of the century’ 

The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Racing Post+ subscribers. Chris Cook provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Racing Post+ subscriber? Join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.