“Because they were basically mining it off the map,” he recalls. “It was made of iron ore. So they had these massive Euclid trucks, wheels high as a building. And all these men on shift work, living in long huts. Not quite a prison environment, but it was all-male, tropical heat, nothing to do but drink beer and play cards. A lot of these guys would have a cooler beside them while driving these huge trucks on night shift. So there were accidents. Some that drove over cliffs. Most of them, if they weren't already, were on the way to becoming alcoholics. Either running away from bad marriages, or from the law. They all had a story.”

This young Englishman was still in the early chapters of his own tale, one that would eventually bring him into our community as one of the most respected horsemen in Ocala. Back then, however, the Australian toughs working Koolan Island (next stop Indonesia) must have found him an object of some curiosity.

How did he get here? Well, horses had already long captured his imagination. Back in England, he'd shown ponies as a boy, moved onto eventing and steeplechasing, worked in racing yards. He'd passed up a university place to read English and Philosophy to make a first trip to Australia, working on a cattle ranch; went home to dabble in journalism; then a stint in agricultural college. At one point he exercised horses over the ancient gallops of Salisbury Plain for one of the great throwbacks of the English Turf. As somewhat of “a rebel and a wanderer,” however, de Meric was soon resuming his travels, returning Down Under to work a couple of years under Tommy Smith.

“A great trainer,” de Meric recalls. “Very much in the Woody Stephens, Jack Van Berg school. He would chew a few of them up, but when he found a good one, nothing was too good for them. And there were some great horses in the stable at the time. So that was a really good education.”

But the routine was numbing: up at 3 a.m., all the usual chores but also hours at the walk, riding and leading, round city blocks, in the mornings and then bareback in the afternoons. Or vanning over to Mascot Bay to swim them–behind a rowing boat.

“So picture this,” de Meric says. “Your legs are over the back of the boat and you've a shank in your hand, and there's a guy behind you rowing. A lot of horses, the first time they swim, they say, 'I'm not going in there. I'm not going there. Okay, I'm going.' And they practically get in the boat with you.

“One time a filly got loose and disappeared into the mangrove swamps. They found her two weeks later, standing there with her head down, covered in crab bites and sores. Dehydrated, but alive. And actually I think she was able to race again.”

Next de Meric bought an old car and drove up the coast with a pal. “We followed this little road through the rainforest, and it opened up onto a massive beach, just miles and miles of sand,” he recalls. “And we were like, 'Yee-hah!' And we're doing 'donuts' over the sand. Well, guess what? The car gets slower and slower, until eventually it sinks up to the hubcaps. And then suddenly that huge beach starts to get smaller and smaller, as the tide came in. I remember standing on the roof of the car, saying, 'We need to get our s*** out of here.' So we threw what we could into a backpack, waded ashore, and hitchhiked the rest of the way to Cairns.”

After staying there for a few months, de Meric traveled down to Perth where he was hired to work on Koolan Island, climbing giddy poles with a line-belt and handing kit to the electricians working on the power cables. But none of these hard-drinking men around him seemed to notice that they were surrounded by a dazzling marine environment. The one exception was a chef from New Zealand.

Courtesy Nick de Meric

“So we found this old catamaran, and spent three months fixing it up,” de Meric explains. “What was cool is that everybody on the island got a bit interested in what we were doing. So on night shift, the welders would make us a little bracket for the motor, the mechanics overhauled the motor, the carpenters helped fabricate new rudders. And then we took off, up the coast. Our grand plan was to cross the Timor Sea and island hop up the Indonesian chain to Thailand.”

At the time, it wasn't even charted: just countless little islands and reefs, with 35-foot tides rushing in between and 20-knot currents. They put in at a tiny settlement on stilts, where Japanese merchants hired Thursday Islanders to dive for pearls. Three days out from this last outpost of civilization, they anchored off one of these tiny islands.

“And in the middle of the night we got hit by what they call a cockeyed bob, like a mini-hurricane,” de Meric says. “We fought this thing for three hours and finally drove the boat onto the reef. And when the tide went out, here we are high and dry. It's the right way up, but it's got holes all through the bottom.”

At least they had plenty to salvage: rice, flour, firearms, fishing tackle, not to mention plenty of wine and whiskey. They dragged it all up the beach, made a tent fly of the sail, and made camp. His buddy, remember, was a chef. So that was something, and they fished every night. When sharks started hauling off fish and fishing tackle combined, they switched to a meat hook and caught shark instead.

De Meric's island 'home' | Courtesy Nick de Meric

“Just barely edible, but Graham was good,” de Meric recalls. “The problem we did have was water. There was no fresh water, and our supply was diminishing. We made a bunch of solar distilleries: you make a little depression in the ground, fill it with leaves and brush, put a garbage bag over the top with a pebble in it and a cup underneath. And you get condensation and it drips. But that was nothing like enough.”

They had a radio, but the distances were hopeless. In certain conditions they could get onto the “Skip” frequency but only managed to raise a taxi driver somewhere in Japan. There was nothing else for it: de Meric would try to row the catamaran's dinghy back through the three days' sail to the pearl-diving hamlet. He'd go from island to island, riding each tide, resting in between. But if he could get there, then he could organize Graham's rescue as well.

The initial leg went to plan: de Meric made it to the first island, rested, then took off with the tide for the next one. But half a mile or so out, the tide turned and started rushing him back the way he came. “A depressing moment,” he says wryly.

So he must have thought he was more or less done for?

“We were kind of thinking that before I left, actually,” de Meric admits. “Leaving Graham behind was a very hard thing to do. But he was a chef and I was the seaman, son of a naval officer. Anyway there I am, scanning the horizon, and suddenly I glimpse this little bow wave just caught by the sunset. We hadn't seen a vessel of any description in 13 days out there. So I'm standing up in the dinghy, waving my arms, yelling, but it just keep going. And then, miraculously, it turns round and this boat is coming towards me.”

It turned out to be Australian coastguards, exceptionally patrolling that remote stretch because “Boat People,” as Vietnamese refugees of the time were known, had been washing up along there. They hadn't seen him, of course, but picked up a ping on the radar–and only because the dinghy was aluminum. Otherwise, well, maybe two piles of bones on two different islets might yet remain undiscovered. And nor would dozens of stakes and graded stakes winners (including a Horse of the Year) have benefited from de Meric's eventual discovery, after all these peregrinations, of a vocation that could keep him settled in one place.

And how did that happen? Usual story: Cherchez la femme! Next time he went traveling, de Meric tried the States, got a job with Lee Eaton. Met a girl on Eaton's fall yearling crew of 1981; independently they both got hired by the same Louisiana farm to prep yearlings for the 2-year-old sales; and wound up in the same staff house. “Rancho Malaria, we called it affectionately,” de Meric says. “It was right by the bayou.”

Here, they yielded to two lasting enchantments: one professional, one personal. The first yearling they pinhooked together, a filly by Nearly on Time, cost $15,000: de Meric himself had scraped together five grand, and his parents and then his uncle put in the same. Nick and Jaqui would come home from their work as freelance gallopers, and tend their filly with manic attention. They cooked bran mash on the kitchen stove and rushed it over to her hot. She made $30,000 at OBS March in 1983, and that summer they married.

“Although that may seem a paltry profit, today, at the time it felt like we'd won the lottery,” de Meric recalls. “If that filly had sold for $3,500, or gone lame, my life could have been very different. But the fact that we were able to show even a modest profit inspired us to keep going, to see whether we could make a career of this.”

So they leased a plot outside Ocala, found a couple of believers to send them a horse or two: Moreton Binn, Gerry Nielsen. Then they bought a first, 40-acre parcel, and expanded in gradual accretions until acquiring the 230 acres in 1997 that became the Eclipse Training Center.

“It had been let go, was a bit run down, but basically a really nice piece of land, with a really good track,” de Meric recalls. “So we spent time fixing it up, built two more barns, leased out some stalls. That allowed us enough cashflow to pay the mortgage, until I got rid of that about eight or nine years later, by selling some adjacent tracts with track rights.”

With Tristan at OBS | Photos By Z

They had started their own program even as the 2-year-old game was itself still in its infancy. In fact, de Meric reckons that Ocala Stud must be the only outfit then selling juveniles that's still doing so today. The changes in this sector, after all, have been wild.

“And I think that's why there's been quite a high attrition rate, among those of us playing that game,” de Meric says. “Because if you don't adapt to the changing mores of buyers, and the changing dynamics of the market, you're left behind. Yes, some aspects of the business have maybe evolved in a slightly unhealthy direction. But you either quit playing, or you play by the new rules in order to survive.

“We used to 'two-minute lick' them in pairs, on the bridle. Bow neck, nice strong gallop down the lane, eyeball-to-eyeball, make them look good. And we'd average somewhere between 30 and 70 percent on our money. Never hit one out of the park, but made a decent living. And then Luke McKathan started breezing his horses singly. He was a pioneer in his own way, and very good at what he did. He had this little quarter horse rider that could make them go fast, would whip them all the way down the lane. And then one could hear Luke in the barn saying, 'Yeah, did it real easy.' That was before videos, electronic timers, any of that!”

Nowadays, of course, time is money with these bullet breezers. But surely the old ways sufficed for the better horsemen, who didn't need the crutch of the stopwatch?

“Well, people were quite good at covering up a mediocre horse!” de Meric cautions with a smile. “But yes, the better horsemen could certainly identify the better horses, and plenty of good ones came out of those sales. But it gradually became apparent that you were putting a cap on your upside, doing it the way we were. So, little by little, I started out breezing in pairs and then singly.”

In the process Darrin Miller, who now operates a public stable, proved a real asset. “Riding a horse, he was a master at making it look like he had three more gears, when in fact he was all out,” de Meric says. “One isn't completely comfortable with every facet of the way it has evolved, with speed becoming more and more the thing. But my feeling is that there's a lot you can do to make it easier on your horses.”

And apart from anything else, that starts with selecting the right stock. “We're quite conservative, by comparison to some of our peers,” de Meric says. “But our horses usually show up when it's time to push the button. We aren't famous for bullet works. We don't complain if we get one, but we never demand them. We focus on good movers, and if they're a tick slower than some, that hasn't really hurt us that badly. We just shop carefully and, when we get them home, treat them the best we possibly can.”

A cornerstone of which philosophy is a “resistance-free” education. In fact, de Meric dislikes the very word “breaking,” with its connotations of confrontation. The celebrated Idaho horseman Martin Black worked with their program for three seasons, teaching his methods, and Jaqui has become especially adept at tutoring the young horses.

But while they duly prioritize mentality, physique remains central to their shortlisting.

“I think that's what we start with because, to be honest, everything else follows,” de Meric reasons. “We're looking for horses with a little more to come, but also for that element of precocity. And we like to see that in the pedigree also. But, yes: athletic, balanced, good-moving individuals. If they're athletes, first and foremost, then we'll handicap pedigree and value.”

And how hard is it to gauge competence for such a specific role, if you only get a fleeting glimpse of these yearlings glossed for the sale ring?

“Well, there's an element of guesswork, and also an element of judgment based on experience,” de Meric says. “You're watching for little clues. I got past the point where I look for what you might call 'projects,' or 'fixer-uppers.' Some people make a good living doing that. But I'm looking for horses that will appeal to higher-end buyers, if possible.”

Which is another reason why a horse needs to do more than merely flash precocity. It was this program, remember, that honed Knicks Go. In fact, de Meric says that it was at his urging that the KRA, who had five in the sale, changed their minds and retained the future Horse of the Year to race. He wasn't fashionably bred, of course, nor very big–but he had shown de Meric unusual grit.

Knicks Go at Taylor Made | Sarah Andrew

“We're asking them to do a lot,” de Meric remarks. “These days, as we've said, people want to see these horses work fast. But they also want horses that will possibly have Classic potential, train on as 3- and 4-year-olds. So they need to have it all, and to vet well at the end of it. When you actually stop and add it all up, you think, 'What the heck are we doing? This is madness.' Because the odds are stacked against you from the minute you set foot on the sales ground. But it's what we do. It's the bed we've made. And it's been good to us over the years.”

As you can read in tomorrow's TDN, in de Meric's contribution to our “Succession” series, he's as proud of the parallel program developed by his son Tristan (and daughter-in-law Valerie) as he is concerned by the kind of future that may await the next generation. The way things are going for our sport's reputation in Main Street, it must almost feel like watching that bow wave diminishing into the sunset, all those years ago. But maybe this boat can also turn round.

“There's a lot of momentum in the wrong direction right now,” de Meric acknowledges. “We keep running into these unexpected headwinds, into challenge after challenge. As a generation, I don't think we've done a spectacular job as stewards of our sport. At the same time, I feel we have to stay positive.

“There's enough of us, collectively, that are passionate about this game, that would almost die rather than see it go under. People talk about greyhounds, about harness racing. Ours is a different world. When it gets under your skin, there's no fighting it. That's why billionaires become millionaires playing this game. Because there's no feeling like it.

“It's all those lows that make the highs even more exciting. It doesn't matter if you're racing, pinhooking, breeding, selling: those highs, it's a euphoric feeling. I think all of us, by definition, tend not to be the kind who like the middle ground. Because this is not that kind of business. It's a rollercoaster. And it's not for the faint of heart. When it's good, it's great; and when it sucks, it really sucks. But at the end of the day, we're working with the animals we love. And in that we are truly blessed.”

The post De Meric’s Odyssey Brings Him ‘Home’ To Horses appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The other additions to the schedule include the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas and G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, both run at the Curragh on Sunday, May 26, plus five new fixtures from Australia–starting with G1 Blue Diamond Stakes Day at Caulfield on Saturday, February 24–and two from South Africa.

The World Pool, the largest globally commingled horse racing pools, was created and is powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC). In total, there will be 21 World Pool fixtures in the first half of 2024, with bettors from 28 countries able to bet into the same pools on those given days.

Michael Fitzsimons, executive director, Wagering Products, at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “We're excited to be continuing the expansion of World Pool in 2024 by adding new race days from Australia, South Africa, the UK and Ireland to our growing list of fixtures.

“We want World Pool to be in action for the biggest races throughout the year, so it's fantastic to add two more historic Classics to our roster in 2024, with the English 1,000 Guineas and Irish 1,000 Guineas joining the Epsom Derby, Irish Derby and English 2,000 Guineas as World Pool race days.”

The post Nine Race Days Added to 2024 World Pool Calendar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“We all made it and are safe,” Moynihan texted the TDN.

Nine tourists from Kentucky and the pilot all survived the crash of a light plane which came down on the remote Lizard Island off the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, according to multiple reports. Moynihan is visible in the video below from a local news outlet as he walks onto an ambulance.

According to Yahoo News, the plane experienced a mechanical malfunction shortly after takeoff on its way to Cairns, a city in northern Queensland considered to be the gateway for the Great Barrier Reef. The plane clipped trees on the way down and crash-landed on the island and then flipped, according to Yahoo, while other news outlets said the plane crashed while taking off after clipping the trees. Two emergency helicopters were sent to the site and took four people back to a hospital in Cairns. It was unclear if Moynihan was among that group.

Brina Keating from Queensland Ambulance told Yahoo News that the pilot's efforts in landing the aircraft were “incredible. The pilot's clearly done an incredible job,” she said. “To walk away from something like that is just incredible.”

All 10 people are said to be in stable condition. One passenger was said to have suffered a broken arm. Moynihan indicated trainer Phil Bauer and his wife were also among the survivors.

The post John Moynihan `Safe’ After Australian Plane Crash appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The largest globally commingled horse racing pools created and powered by the HKJC, the World Pool started and finished the year at Flemington Racecourse in Australia. In total, there were 222 races–up from 154 races in 2022–in eight countries. World Pool was active in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Australia for the first time and expanded its imprint with extra races from the UK and Ireland. Cox Plate Day in Australia amassed HK$60 million in bets and was one of the top five World Pool highest single-race turnovers. The G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot, set a new single race turnover record at HK$66.2m. King George Day at Ascot saw the biggest jump in turnover for a UK or Irish raceday, rising from HK$253m to a new record of HK$287m, an increase of over 13%, while 2,000 Guineas Day as well as days one and three of Royal Ascot also posted year-on-year increases. Dubai World Cup night saw the second highest growth, with turnover up from HK$280m to HK$315m this term.

Michael Fitzsimons, executive director, wagering products of the HKJC, said, “World Pool was created to unite the world's best racing events and provide racing fans with a value product that has never been seen before.

“We are absolutely delighted with how World Pool has performed in 2023. We've not only seen records broken and growth in countries where World Pool was already in operation, but a very promising reception in new jurisdictions too.

“We'd like to thank all of our partners around the world for their commitment and passion in helping us to grow World Pool. This is just the beginning.”

The post World Pool Year-On-Year Turnover Increases By 24 Percent To HK$7.4 Billion appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Trained by William Haggas, the son of Desert Breeze (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) won the G3 Gordon S. in August and was third to Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) in the G1 St Leger at Doncaster on Sept. 16.

John Warren, racing adviser to the King and Queen, said, “After giving it plenty of thought we have decided that Desert Hero won't head to the Melbourne Cup this year.

“It is obviously a world-class race and it was very tempting, but he is still a young horse and we will give him more time to mature.

“He will now have a good break and William will work out a plan for next year.”

The post No Royal Runner In The Melbourne Cup, As Desert Hero Ruled Out appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Born and raised in the UK but now based in Tipperary, Ireland, Steele graduated from University of Edinburgh before gaining a place on the Godolphin Flying Start programme in 2013. She then worked as a marketing executive for Tattersalls in Newmarket for five years and has contributed in a freelance capacity to the racing publications Thoroughbred Daily News and the Irish Field.

Regarding her new role at Kick Collective, Steele said, “It's hugely exciting to be joining such a dynamic team at Kick Collective during a pivotal point of international growth. I am delighted to be a part of Kick Collective's global expansion and being able to offer their services to the European market.”

Established by Vicky Leonard in 2018, Kick Collective has developed marketing strategies for international thoroughbred businesses over the last five years.

“I am thrilled to welcome Melissa to the Kick Collective team, as she will play a pivotal role in expanding our presence in Europe,” said Leonard. “Melissa's expertise and passion align perfectly with our values at Kick, enhancing our commitment to excellence in thoroughbred marketing. With Melissa now on board and our team growing, we are excited for the next chapter of our journey.”

The post Melissa Steele Joins Kick Collective Amidst Global Expansion appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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13.30 Curragh, Mdn, €20,000, 2yo, c/g, 7fT
HENRY LONGFELLOW (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}) wins the award as the day's best-bred runner, being the second foal out of the high-class and versatile Ballydoyle sensation Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was able to win at the top level at a mile in the 1000 Guineas and QEII and a mile and a half in the Oaks. This is an important maiden for Aidan O'Brien, with last year's TDN Rising Star Hans Andersen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) the latest in a line of winners which includes the luminary Australia (GB) and all eyes will be on this grandson of Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) whose immediate family also boasts Galileo's fellow Classic heroines Tuesday (Ire) and Empress Josephine (Ire).

15.35 Newbury, Cond, £250,000, 2yo, 5f 34yT

RELIEF RALLY (IRE) (Kodiac {GB}) is the star turn in the latest renewal of this valuable Weatherbys Super Sprint S., with William Haggas seeking compensation for the agonisingly narrow defeat of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede's filly in Royal Ascot's G2 Queen Mary S. Denied in the bobber there by Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), the half-sister to the G3 Chipchase S. winner Koropick (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) who was a bargain 58,000gns buy at the Tatts Somerville Sale is a warm order in one of the bigger “sales races” of the calendar but has 20 rivals to overcome.

The post Observations: Son of Minding Steps Out in Storied Curragh Maiden appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The two-year Thoroughbred Industry Management and Leadership Programme features trainees from Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK and the U.S. Their course begins at Kildangan Stud, County Kildare, Ireland, on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The scholarship facilitates trainees to learn and experience practical horsemanship, management operations and leadership in the global Thoroughbred industry with phases in Ireland, the UK, the USA, Australia and Dubai. The course is accredited by University College Dublin Michael Smurfit Business School as a Graduate Certificate in Management. The dozen trainees are as follows:

• Samuel Baker, Ireland
• Anna Cahill, Ireland
• Sean Cooper, Ireland
• Jake Swinburn, UK
• George Connolly, Ireland
• Johnny Marsh, UK
• Harrison Everett, Australia
• Daisy Fenwick, USA
• Mitchell Whelan, New Zealand
• Harper McVey, USA
• Gerard Donworth, Ireland
• Claire Wilson, USA

The post 2023-2025 Godolphin Flying Start Trainees Announced appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Drawn the fence and sent off the lukewarm $4.40 (17-5) favorite on the back of an outstanding third in the G2 Sapphire S. on her Australian debut at The Championships at Randwick two weeks back, the dark bay raced inside throughout beneath Nash Rawiller and traveled strongly from a joint fifth into the final quarter-mile. Opting to go for a run a few paths off the rail in the straight, Rawiller was forced to grab hold of Princess Grace for a stride or two when tight for running room, but she shouldered her way through and shot clear to win comfortably in the end.

“We were 50/50 whether we gave her a second run or waited for the Spring Carnival,” Charlie Duckworth, assistant to and racing manager for trainer Chris Waller, told SKY Racing. “When she drew well, we said, 'let's take our chances', especially when the track came up a 5 [soft side of good] rather than the heavy track. Nash gave her a beautiful ride, obviously it looked a bit dicey, but no better man to have than Nash on when you're stuck in a bit of a tight spot. Exciting horse.”

Racing as a homebred for the Moores, Princess Grace closed her 3-year-old season with a victory in the off-turf GIII Mrs. Revere S. and registered three wins at the graded level on the grass in succession in 2021–the GIII Dr. Penny Memorial S., the GII Yellow Ribbon H. and the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf–before closing the campaign with a sound third to Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) in the GI Matriarch S.

After successfully defending her title in the Penny, Princess Grace was second to Dalika (Ger) (Pastorius {Ger}) in the GI Beverly D. S. and again in the Ladies' Turf ahead of a third to In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Regal Glory in the GI First Lady S. China Horse Club acquired the mare for $1.7 million at last year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale and turned her over to Waller, most notably the trainer of the legendary Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}).

The Moores also race Princess Grace's 4-year-old gelded half-brother Catnip (Kitten's Joy), who broke his maiden at Colonial Downs like his half-sister, and who is entered for a first-level allowance on the turf at Keeneland Apr. 26. Masquerade is also the dam of the 2-year-old filly Mixologist (Frosted), a $175,000 Keeneland September purchase by Solis/Litt and, according to Cobra Farm manager Mike Owens, the Moores intend to race the mare's yearling filly by American Pharoah named Miss U. S. A. Owens said that Masquerade delivered a Gun Runner filly at Cobra Farm Mar. 20. Masquerade will be bred back to the China Horse Club part-owned Life Is Good.

Duckworth indicated that sex-restricted tests in Group 1 company loom as targets come the Australian springtime.

“Great ride from Nash.”

Former US mare Princess Grace gets a @nashhot special to take out the Group 3 @hawkesburyrc Crown for @cwallerracing, she defeated Expat with Dalchini charging home to snatch third. @tabcomau pic.twitter.com/ANh1naKz1l

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) April 22, 2023

The post Former U.S.-Based Princess Grace Takes Aussie Group 3 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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   Foxwedge got the stallion arm of the operation up and running in 2012 and, since then, the roster has grown exponentially, with Capitalist and Extreme Choice some of the more recent additions to the farm.

   In this week's Q&A, Field explained the key principals that helped him build Newgate into what it is today, discussed the thinking behind partnering up with Rathbarry Stud to buy State Of Rest and much more.

Brian Sheerin: You have achieved a lot at Newgate in a little over a decade. If you could take me back to the beginning; what were your key principals in getting Newgate off the ground?

Henry Field: We didn't specifically set out to try and make Newgate a big stallion operation, it just grew organically. When we started out in 2010, we had a leased farm of about 200 acres, a couple of mares and borrowed a bit of money to get up and running. Thankfully, through my good friend James Harron, who had a good client in the Bateman family, they boarded a few mares on the farm. The Bateman family also gave me the opportunity to syndicate Foxwedge (Aus), a good stallion who shuttled between Australia and Europe, and that's what really got us going on the stallion front. At the same time, I had built up a really good relationship with Gavin Murphy and Tom Ryan of SF Bloodstock and we decided to embark on a joint venture at that time and build Newgate with SF Bloodstock as a major partner. Matthew Sandblom, one of my oldest clients, is an educational entrepreneur in Australia, and he also came on board in the partnership with Newgate. Between us all, we built Newgate into what is something pretty cool.

In many ways, you ripped up the playbook. Do you take time to look back at what you have achieved or are you someone who concentrates only on the future?

Always looking to the future and always trying to get better. The key to our success has been our personnel and the team. Obviously our farm is headed by Jim Carey, who I was lucky enough to work with at Coolmore 20 years ago, and I think he's the best stud manager I've ever worked with. I couldn't believe it when he came on board to work with us and he has been a huge part of our success story. On the bloodstock and sales side of things, we have Bruce Slade and Tony Williams, who are very experienced guys. Between us all, we've got a strong team that allows me to grow the business. I obviously work very closely with my partners in growing the business and, having the likes of Jim, Bruce and Tony managing the day-to-day running of things, that allows me to use my time on growing Newgate. It's grown exponentially since we started out.

You obviously built your brand with speed horses in Australia but now seem to be diversifying the business with more stoutly-bred horses. State Of Rest (Ire) is a good recent example of that. That may have come as a surprise to a few people. Why is it that you felt he'd be a good fit for Newgate?

Australian speed sires have been the bread and butter of the Australian sires' table for decades. Most people would agree that what we do best in Australia is speed horses and we probably have the best speed horses in the world down here. It is a high quality product, the Australian speed stallions, and it has really got our product going in Newgate, with Extreme Choice (Aus), Capitalist (Aus) and Deep Field (Aus), who have been so dominant here and in Hong Kong and broader Asia. Russian Revolution (Aus), the champion first-season sire in Australia last season, is another example, so they are all very fast horses, but we had been talking about diversifying over the past number of years as we felt there was an opportunity to bring in a high-class middle-distance horse into the operation. They are hard to get and obviously Coolmore and Godolphin have a stranglehold on the majority of the high-class horses who are retired to stud in Europe each year. Conceptually, I think that horses who can perform well in Australian conditions, they are often the ones who make the best sires and the fact that State Of Rest was good enough to come down and win the Cox Plate, our premier weight-for-age race where he beat our champion three-year-old Anamoe (Aus) and our horse of the year Verry Elleegant (NZ), it showed that the horse had top-class mile-and-a-quarter talent. Not only that, the fact that he did it after landing a Grade 1 in Saratoga, it showed that he had the tenacity and toughness that comes with travelling all over the world and succeeding at the top level, which is very important for us here in Australia. When State Of Rest became available with Rathbarry Stud, we jumped at the opportunity to partner with them to buy him. He went on and confirmed himself an outstanding racehorse when winning Group 1s in France and at Royal Ascot. But we had taken a view that, if we are going to stand a middle-distance horse, it has to be the right one for Australian conditions, and we are confident that State Of Rest is the right fit.

So this had been on your mind before State Of Rest became available?

Yes, we had discussed it with the team and were actively trying to find a middle-distance horse with the right attributes, but obviously they are hard to find. As soon as State Of Rest won the Cox Plate, it became obvious that he was the play. Also, Nick Williams, who is a big owner in Australia and in Joseph O'Brien's yard, told me the massive opinion that Joseph had of the horse before the Cox Plate so that performance did not come as a major surprise and the wheels had been set in motion. What the horse did after the Cox Plate, in winning Group 1s in France and at Royal Ascot, confirmed that he was a great investment for us and our partners in the China Horse Club.

Does State Of Rest represent a new challenge in terms of marketing him in Australia as he is something different for Australian breeders?

I think he will be received extremely well. For a brand like ours, that really specialises in Australian speed, for us to go and buy a Cox Plate winner, I think people take note of that in a very positive way. This is not a decision that was taken lightly. It has been well thought out and I think people notice that and I think they will support the horse heavily. I am sure that State Of Rest will be booked out within weeks of announcing his fee for this year.

You have set the rock-solid foundations with your sprint stallions at Newgate but, along with State Of Rest joining the roster, it seems as though there is plenty to look forward to on the track with the more stoutly-bred Militarize (NZ) (Dundeel {NZ}) shaping up to be a smart runner.

The reality is that the Australian sires' championship is dominated every year by the fastest horses, for the most part.There are some exceptions to the rule and there are some very good shuttle stallions, no more successful than Danehill (Ire) and more recently More Than Ready, so there are examples of very potent shuttle sires. Then there are some very successful middle-distance stallions, the likes of Zabeel (NZ) and So You Think (NZ), along with a horse in Melbourne, Shamus Award (Aus), who started from a low base. We don't want to be long in these types of horses but when there's one we have belief and high conviction in, we're certainly happy to take them on board.

What does the future hold for Militarize? He looks like a smart prospect.

He's more of a seven-furlong to a mile style two-year-old. There are two Group 1 races in the Sydney Autumn Carnival, the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes and the Group 1 Champagne Stakes. We've won both races before and they are the two races we could target with him. Hopefully that will set him up for being an important middle-distance three-year-old for us.

The stallion partnerships are obviously very popular in Australia but what is it that you set out to buy when sourcing a yearling that you hope to stand at stud one day?

For me, first and foremost, they've got to be athletes. I'm far more focussed on buying runners and horses who are built mechanically-muscle tone, athleticism and class-how I like them. I probably work hardest to try and buy the racehorse first and am a big believer that horses can make their own pedigrees. It's a big bonus when these horses have a page behind them, and we'd never underestimate that, but I try to buy the best racehorse we can. The best stallion prospects are almost always the best racehorses.

It's almost becoming a buzz word in Europe, 'we need to be more like Australia,' but in reality, that's one of the few countries where spending a million dollars on a yearling can be justified given the prize-money on offer.

For sure. The reality is, it only makes sense if you are buying stallions and you won't last very long unless you are producing the goods and buying horses who end up on the roster as it's a very expensive game. We don't take for granted that one or two bad years could really put us in a bad spot. We've had a huge amount of success doing it and, alongside China Horse Club and our other partners, we've raced 12 colts who have gone on to be stallions in a seven-year period. We're probably averaging on purchasing 20 colts a year and, at the end of the day, results are what matter so we're lucky to have had success. With success, it gives longevity to the programme.

What would a day in the life of Henry Field look like? You are dealing with a lot of powerful people and there must be a lot of communication involved to keep everything moving in the right direction? If there's a lot of pressure involved, you seem to be dealing with it very well.

Obviously when the horses are winning, and we've been on a massive run with our two-year-olds this year, that makes it feel a lot easier. When they are losing, it can be a bit lonely. The one thing I would say is that we are massively selective when it comes to choosing our partners. Each and every one of them are outstanding and we're all close friends. We've a very strong social group and, even though we have some of the most successful business titans in Australia within the group, we've all got mutual respect for each other. I'll tell you what else is great, whether we have a good or a bad day, we all stay strong. We've been together for long enough that we can ride the ups and downs. We share the ambition to have success, which is imperative to keep the whole thing rolling, but we also have close relationships and friendships with the people who are involved in these partnerships. That's a wonderful thing.

You were in attendance at some of the biggest meetings in Britain last season courtesy of Artorius (Aus) and State Of Rest. What were your key takeouts from that trip?

For Australians, taking  horses to Royal Ascot is probably the ultimate in racing. It was an honour to win the Prince Of Wales's Stakes with State Of Rest and come so close to winning the Platinum Jubilee Stakes with Artorius, who got held up before flashing home and just failing to get there. Bottom line, you need a hell of a good horse to take up there. There's no point in bringing a second-rater. We'll certainly be trying again this year and Artorius will go back for another crack at the Platinum Jubilee. Hopefully with an ounce of luck, he can be winning there this year.

Artorius could be earning a lot more money staying in Australia but international competition is what underpins meetings like Royal Ascot.

I've got great admiration for the Japanese, who you could make the same argument for. They could keep their best horses on home shores and run them for a lot more prize-money but they like to travel. We have an obligation to travel our horses. The quality of Australian racing at this point, especially up to a mile, has never been better. We have some very powerful genetics. There is a lot of wealth in the Australian bloodstock industry and that has created a situation, a bit like in Japan 20 years ago, where the Australians are going over and buying some of the best northern hemisphere mares in the world. I think we are breeding some great horses and almost have a responsibility to bring them all over the world and showcase how good our product is.

And I understand there is an exciting chapter about to be written with Extreme Choice?

We are breeding northern hemisphere mares to Extreme Choice, who is statistically the best stallion in Australia and running at 17 per cent stakes horses to runners. He's obviously had fertility problems but, from his first crop, he's had a Golden Slipper winner and many more top-class runners. He's a phenomenal stallion so we are breeding some mares on the northern hemisphere time to him and have set an ambitious goal for one of them to win a two-year-old race at Royal Ascot. We've set a long range plan with Extreme Choice and look forward to bringing some of his better two-year-olds to Royal Ascot to take on the best juveniles in Europe in a couple of years. That's certainly one of the biggest ambitions for our partnerships, to take on the best two-year-olds in Europe and show them that ours are the best in the world!

You touched on the sales; Newgate enjoyed a great start to the new year at Magic Millions.

We had 54 offered and sold 54 at Magic Millions. We were the leading vendor, once again, and also the leading buyer as we bought 18 colts for our syndicate. They will race in our partnership and hopefully we'll have a lot of success and one or two of those will end up being stallions at Newgate. It was a very busy sale but certainly one I came away from feeling quite satisfied that we did a lot of good business at.

Who would you say your biggest influence has been?

Doing the Godolphin Flying Start programme provided me with a huge head start. From there, I got a great position with Coolmore, where I was given a lot of responsibility and opportunity. To have gained experience with two of the preeminent global stallion operations set me up well for starting Newgate. But as individuals go, I started out in this industry with Gai Waterhouse and she hammered into me the importance of work ethic and integrity. There was no better school to learn the basics than in Gai's. I only spent a short time working with Tim Hyde in Ireland but I think he left one of the biggest impressions on me. He educated my eye and, a lot of the success we have had in buying horses in Australia down through the years, I would attribute that to Tim. It was such an honour to walk around the sales complex with Tim. There are no finer horsemen than him. He took me under his wing for about six months but it was a time I will never forget. I've learned a lot about horses from a lot of good people but he really taught me more than anyone else in this industry. The basis of every horse I buy now, it stems from what I learned from Tim. The other people who have been extremely important to my career have to be my business partners, Gavin Murphy and Tom Ryan of SF Bloodstock. They are two of the smartest guys in the game and they make me look very intelligent. It wouldn't matter what country a mare or stallion is in, they are the sharpest guys I've met at valuing horses and buying and selling. I would definitely say that the SF team have been a phenomenal help in driving the success of Newgate, along with my other partner Matthew Sandblom, a self-made businessman. It's very easy for me to say we've built this great business at Newgate but I can assure you that, without Gavin, Tom and Matthew, there'd be no Newgate today.

How would you define success at Newgate?

Success for us is a continuing focus on being the best we can be. I think in this business, all the marketing and sales that you do, none of that really matters. All that matters is the winning post. If I had to define success for Newgate in two words it would be the winning post. I must add that another lightbulb moment came about five years ago when I was lucky enough to visit Arthur Hancock's Kentucky Stone Farm. Tom Ryan took me out there and their way of raising horses is very organic and natural. It goes right back to how it was done decades back and, over the past five years at Newgate, there would be very few farms with a better record than ours at raising horses. I would credit that to our methodology of raising horses hard and tough. The value of bloodstock had sky-rocketed in the past decade or two and a lot of horses are being raised a bit soft as a result. Arthur raises his horses as naturally as possible and he gets big, strong and tough horses as a result. Certainly at Newgate, there can't be many farms that raise their horses in bigger paddocks and in bigger mobs than what we do. I am sure that has played a major role in our success. All facets of this business are important but the winning post trumps all. Whether that's for your stallions or the racehorses that you are breeding, winning races and winning good races is really all that matters.

What has been your best day in racing?

Being involved in the ownership of two Golden Slipper winners in Stay Inside and Capitalist. Winning Golden Slippers is the ultimate for us so, being involved in the ownership of two of them, that is something that was very special.

Newgate has exploded into a global brand and you've achieved a lot in 10 years but it seems like there is still a lot more to come. You are clearly quite hungry still.

I feel like we've built a great platform. We started off 10 years ago with a dream and now we've got great foundations built. Naturally, if you look at where we might be in another 10 years' time, we're starting from a far better position than when we set out in this business.

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