Michael Costa not asleep behind wheel as upcoming trainer as he plans to expand operation in north

YOUNG Sydney trainer Michael Costa spent a year sleeping rough in his Holden Barina but now luxuriates in the simple pleasure of having a roof over his head.

Former steward and now racehorse trainer Michael Costa is expanding his operation in the north and plans to become a more regular fixture on Queensland tracks.

YOUNG Sydney trainer Michael Costa spent a year sleeping rough in his Holden Barina but now luxuriates in the simple pleasure of having a roof over his head.

Costa, who has Va Va Veni running at Doomben on Saturday, couldn’t scrape together enough money for house rent when he was trying to make it as a trainer in 2012/13.

His parents’ home was an option, but being an hour or so away in Hawkesbury he often couldn’t afford the petrol to make the drive there.

‘’One night I went to the Racing NSW Night Of Champions and all the racing people were getting picked up in flash limousines,’’ Costa, 28, recalls.

‘’At the end of the night, my missus and I realised we didn’t have enough petrol in the car and we didn’t have any cash. So we slept in the car in the carpark and watched all the racing people in their suits.

‘’I spent most of that year sleeping in the car because I couldn’t afford to pay both the stable rent and house rent.

‘’I was just a battler and I often didn’t even have enough money for petrol so I had to rely on people to help me out.’’

Costa was always determined to be a trainer and was happy to take the road less travelled, even if it was behind the wheel of his beat-up Barina.

Racing NSW could see his passion and offered him a position as a steward, a role he used to make ends meet and to grow his knowledge.

Michael Costa at his Warwick Farm stables where he has 25 horses.

His former bread-and-drippings lifestyle has now morphed into a successful training business, having 25 horses at his Warwick Farm stable and five in a satellite stable on the Gold Coast.

The recent breakthrough win of Viaductress at city level in Sydney was a nice moment in his career and he is hoping Va Va Veni can make it three wins in a row when he runs in a 1630m Handicap at Doomben.

Va Va Veni is a story almost as remarkable as his trainer, with not a single bid on the tiny horse at the 2013 Inglis Classic Sale.

Michael Costa beds down in his Holden Barina a few years back.

Costa eventually leased Va Va Veni but it looked like a terrible move when the horse showed little ability on the training track and often stood like a statue refusing to move.

‘’I was thinking it was a disaster. But then I put blinkers on him and he went terrific at a trial and then brained them at his first race start,’’ Costa says.

‘’He is a horse who has had a lot of problems but there are so many things wrong with him that it just makes it right, in a weird sort of way.’’

Costa admits he isn’t sure if Va Va Veni is up to the class rise at Doomben on Saturday but says the gelding has always surprised him. The trainer plans to become a more regular fixture on Queensland tracks with the support of more clients north of the border.

@dorries_cmail

Michael Costa has Va Va Veni running at Doomben on Saturday. Picture: Lea Tracee

Originally published as Michael Costa not asleep behind wheel as upcoming trainer as he plans to expand operation in north