Gai Waterhouse Relives Visit to the Bluegrass

Legendary Australian trainer Gai Waterhouse recently spent five days touring Kentucky's horse country. Upon returning to her headquarters at Tulloch Lodge in Sydney this week, the Hall of Fame trainer of 149 Group 1 wins, including a record seven G1 Golden Slippers, is looking forward to taking her findings and putting them to use at her own exceedingly-successful stable.

“You know the old expression–you can't see the forest for the trees if you're there all day,” Waterhouse explained. “You have to go away to freshen up. I felt like I had to renew my connections and refresh my mind on everything about American breeding. We loved Kentucky, absolutely loved it.”

Bloodstock agent Marette Farrell, formerly Waterhouse's racing manager, served as the acclaimed trainer's tour guide during her time in the Bluegrass. Waterhouse took advantage of every second of her visit as the travelers maintained a jam-packed itinerary during their brief stay.

“We did not sit down for a second,” the effervescent horsewoman said with a laugh. “We kept dozing off in the car.”

One of the chief objectives of Waterhouse's trip was to have her first in-person meeting with Greg Goodman, owner of Mt. Brilliant Farm. In the past decade, Mt. Brilliant has increased their involvement in the Australian breeding and racing market. They currently have several horses in training with Waterhouse and her co-trainer Adrian Bott, including their  juvenile colt Mount Brilliant (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), who broke his maiden just last week at Goulburn.

“Their farm was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the foals, mares and yearlings,” Waterhouse said of her tour of Mt. Brilliant Farm. “They also have a mare that Adrian and I trained for them, Social Distancing (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}). She came over here from Australia and has let down into a beautiful mare with the lush Kentucky grass.”

The group stopped in at several other Thoroughbred nurseries including the farm of breeder and owner Charles Fipke, who also sends horses to Waterhouse in Australia, and Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm, where they met Littleprincessemma (Yankee Gentleman) and the month-old Tapit half-sister to American Pharoah.

Waterhouse admitted that any time she visits breeding farms in Kentucky, she is always amazed by the attention to detail each outfit puts into their facility.

Gai Waterhouse and Wesley Ward visit Uncle Mo at Ashford Stud Coolmore America

“The farms are all so pristine,” she said. “It's a lot more hands-on. [Husband] Rob asked me as we were driving in, why are all the paddocks mowed? We didn't realize that they have to do that here because the grass is so rich that the horses will get too much and might founder. We don't see that in Australia, so we found it really interesting. The farms are so incredibly manicured. You wouldn't see that in Australia either.”

The caravan also dropped in at several major stud farms. They got a look at WinStar Farm's new stakes-winning sire Nashville (Speightstown), as well as future stallions and MGISWs Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Country Grammer (Tonalist).

Waterhouse was especially enamored with the picturesque Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa and its cornerstone sire Curlin.

“What a monument John Sikura has there–beautiful barns and an incredible property,” she said. “Not only is the farm impressive, but the stallions are impressive too. He has a beautiful sire roster.”

At Ashford Stud, Waterhouse was pleased to get a look at red hot sire Uncle Mo and first-crop stallion Justify. Waterhouse and her team have already purchased a number of Justify's progeny in Australia, including a filly out of the Waterhouse/Bott-trained dual Group I winner Global Glamour (Aus) {Star Witness {Aus}). The youngster was purchased for $900,000 at this year's Magic Millions Sale.

While Waterhouse was fascinated by her tours of the breeding farms, she couldn't resist dropping by the track for a few training sessions.

“Of course we had a morning with Wesley at Keeneland,” she recounted. “Wesley has become a really good friend. We chew the cud over training, different methods and keeping horses sound.”

At Churchill Downs, she met reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.

“He is very capable,” she noted. “It was interesting to see how he does his nominations and how he sets up his work sets. He is exceedingly meticulous and it's paying dividends because he's winning plenty of graded races.”

Before heading back home to Sydney, Waterhouse spent a few days in New York City to enjoy Broadway. She pointed out that seeing Hugh Jackman in The Music Man and Daniel Craig in Macbeth were notable highlights.

While it might not have been possible for Waterhouse to spend over a week away from her stable a few years ago, she is enjoying a bit more flexibility these days since she began co-training with Adrian Bott in 2016.

“Adrian and I work very much hand in hand,” Waterhouse said. “We're doing a very good job since we've been in partnership and winning plenty of graded races, but it's nice to have a fresh outlook, especially since everyone has been locked up for over two years. After seeing things overseas, hopefully I can bring back some new ideas with some fresh training methods that we can put in place.”

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Letter To The Editor: An Aussie Perspective On Being An American Racing Fan

I was saddened to read the heartfelt Letter to the Editor: Why I Am Leaving The Sport I Loved for 50 Years that appeared on the Paulick Report website on Jan. 20. As an Australian turf fanatic and now small-time owner who has been living in New York for a decade, I have a perspective on this.

Like the author, I relate deeply to that experience of the first time at the track and getting “hooked.” As a sports fanatic kid growing up in Melbourne in the 1980s and 1990s, I was ambiently aware of racing, but it wasn't until I experienced the roar of the crowd at the 1999 Caulfield Guineas and an epic battle between the champion colts Redoute's Choice and Testa Rossa that I was transformed forever. Or as the author puts it, “spiritually fed.”

Sadly, nothing about the author's recent experiences and decision to get out of the game entirely surprised me.

A few observations:

Racetrack Experience – American racetracks, even the bigger ones, are generally decrepit. While there may be little motivation to invest given the sport is played for TV and online wagering, it's a stark contrast to the magnificence of a Flemington or Royal Randwick on a clear day. Not to mention the hundreds of picturesque racecourses that make up Provincial/Country fixtures. Where my father lives in Kyneton, about an hour's drive from Melbourne hosts a brilliant “Country Cup” day each year with entertainment and great food options. In other words, a way to get people who aren't necessarily racing fans to enjoy a day out and perhaps also place a few wagers.

Wagering Experience/Bet Types – The user interfaces for American parimutuel betting are, in my view, very poor and don't reflect what younger generations would regard as a good user experience. While wagering types are mostly common between North America and Australia, the existence of “Flexi” betting options whereby a bettor can invest wagers of their choosing in return for a calculated % of the dividend are far more enticing than the rigid unit options available here. Additionally, many young people don't grasp parimutuel totalizator concepts. The option for “Fixed Odds” betting in Australia attracts a different type of player.

Integrity & National Regulations – I am not suggesting that Australia doesn't have its own issues with integrity, animal welfare, and scandals. To suggest otherwise would be untrue. But as recent examples show, public outrage against exposed corruption and animal cruelty has led to swift and decisive action by regulators. The bad guys do get disqualified for extended periods. While there may be minor state differences, on the whole, there are national rules of racing for medication and horse ratings/classification systems that promote certainty for participants and the wagering public.

Mainstream Interest / Media Platforms – Finally, while racing remains niche in Australia, engagement in some form is much more common there, particularly amongst younger generations. While only a handful of my friends follow racing daily, a large cohort will get together with their mates for the occasional “weekend quaddie” (a Pick 4 equivalent) as a social activity at pubs and sports venues across the country. A lot of this has to do with the prevalence of excellent media and digital platforms like Racing.com.

— David Salter
Owner, fan, and horseplayer

Want to sound off about something you've seen in the Paulick Report? Send us a letter at info at paulickreport.com. Please include your contact info so our editorial staff can reach you if they have questions.

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Australian Thoroughbred Welfare Report Emphasizes Traceability, Need For New Group To Deal With OTTB Challenges

An Australian task force recently released a 141-page report summarizing its investigation into Thoroughbred welfare in that country. The group analyzed data from a number of surveys, collected feedback from more than 180 people inside and outside of the racing industry, and held consultation meetings with more than 50 organizations and individuals since March 2020 – all in an effort to define how Australian racing can improve welfare of its Thoroughbreds.

The impetus for the project was a television feature by ABC's 7.30 program about the gaps in Australia's aftercare system, highlighted by shocking video footage of ex-racehorses being abused prior to being killed in a slaughterhouse. The panel, comprised of veterinarians and government advisors, was supported by an industry working group which included trainers, owners, breeders, and jockey representatives.

The final report laid out 46 recommendations for change, many of which the panel believed could be handled by a new organization it tentatively called Thoroughbred Welfare Australia. Although Australian racing is governed differently than racing in the United States, there were a number of familiar echoes in both the challenges identified by the group and potential solutions.

The report's authors, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Welfare Working Group (TAWWG) tackled head-on the philosophical challenge that divides some in American racing when it comes to off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs). TAWWG acknowledges that “many Thoroughbreds will spend the vast majority of their lives outside the industry” and also that in many cases (including the actions of the slaughterhouse workers featured in the ABC piece), acts of abuse or neglect are perpetrated on ex-racehorses by people who are not licensed by racing authorities. Many of those people may end up with racehorses years and multiple degrees of separation after the horses' retirement from racing or purpose breeding. Nonetheless, TAWWG points out, the public does not seem to recognize a change in the racing industry's responsibility towards these horses simply due to their change in careers.

As in American racing, TAWWG and others have found it difficult to come up with micro-level solutions for aftercare challenges because there is not sufficient recordkeeping on current or former racehorses. One of the group's biggest suggestions was that the industry improve traceability of Thoroughbreds, ideally as part of a national system for traceability of all horses. In Australia, as in the States, horses considered by governments to be livestock in some contexts, but not others. For the purposes of traceability, they are not monitored the same way as animals more commonly entering the human food chain like cattle, whose migration between farms and facilities must be traced for food safety purposes. As such, it is difficult to know how many horses retire from racing in need of homes, how many successfully find long-term second careers, how many are slaughtered, how many are ultimately part of neglect cases, etc.

Australian racing authorities, like The Jockey Club, do require check-ins from owners and trainers at different parts of the Thoroughbred's life cycle. TAWWG commissioned a series of surveys to learn more about how accurate this check-in data was, and also to try to gain a sense of how many horses were coming off the track in need of new careers.

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In a 2020 study, Dr. Meredith Flash and the Australian Thoroughbred Wellbeing Project at the University of Melbourne took a look at birth records, race records, and retirement records for Thoroughbreds and found that 28 percent of horses of registered horses had not officially entered training by the age of four. Of those, a survey found 38 percent had died, 29 percent had been diverted to new careers, and 24 percent were in unofficial training by an unlicensed trainer. The survey was only answered by a fraction of potential respondents, but the data could indicate as many as 10 percent of Australia's foal crop dies before the age of four without ever racing.

In somewhat more encouraging news however, a separate study found that by the age of eight, 65 percent of racing Thoroughbreds were retired and rehomed. Fifty-nine percent of retirements were voluntary (not due to injury) while 28 percent were due to injury.

Overall, Flash's research found that the median age for retirement was five. Interestingly, there was also an increase in the percentage of the foal crop that raced at three between 2000 and 2016, suggesting improved health and welfare for the foal crop overall. When pulling together available data on breeding activity, Flash and others estimate that 66 percent of each foal crop would require aftercare options. Based on current Australian foal crops, that results in about 8,535 horses each year that will leave the industry in need of rehoming. That figure does not include horses that retire to breeding careers, nor horses that retire from breeding careers later.

The report also tackled the question of whether slaughter was an acceptable end to a Thoroughbred's life. While some members of the industry were accepting of the concept philosophically, TAWWG pointed out that ethical slaughter of horses has specific requirements for facility set-up and handling to minimize stress on the animals if it is to be done humanely. (Slaughter, both for human consumption abroad and for use in animal products, is legal in Australia.)

The report indicated a need for universal welfare standards for horses, to better enable enforcement action from Thoroughbred regulators and law enforcement for mistreatment of horses, including ex-racehorses.

The new group would be charged with establishing a “national Thoroughbred safety net” for any horse who may need rescue from poor welfare situations, working with local, state, and national authorities to create a national traceability register, create diverse opportunities for Thoroughbreds in new career, build a consensus welfare standard, develop training continuing education for licensees to ease a horse's eventual transition to an off-track career, and more. And where would the money come from for such a system? Mandatory fees for breeders ($300 on foal registration), owners ($300 when a horse is registered as a racing animals), trainers (1% of earnings), jockeys (1% of earnings), the breed registry ($1 million to $1.5 million), donations, and sponsorships. Altogether, the report estimated the new organization would have $9.9 million to $10.8 million in funding, based on current numbers.

“Without the contribution of its horses, everything from the major racing carnivals that attract international attention, the 80,000 jobs the industry supports nationwide, through to the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes raised each year, do not exist,” the report's authors wrote. “It is therefore incumbent on the industry to take all reasonable steps to ensure the welfare of its horses, including those that have retired from the racetrack and the breeding farm. Indeed, the very future of the Australian Thoroughbred industry is at risk if lifelong horse welfare is not addressed.”

Access the full report here.

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Aushorse Releases Investors’ Guide

Edited Press Release

Australia hosts 72 races worth AU$1 million or more and prizemoney across the board has also surged by 82% in the past decade. These statistics and more are included in the latest Aushorse Investors' Guide, which was released Thursday.

Another key statistic out of the guide is that the average prizemoney per race in Australia during the last racing season was over AU$46,000, compared to AU$29,000 in America and Europe, and AU$20,000 in the UK.

“Whichever way you look at it, investing in a racehorse in Australia offers an unparalleled opportunity to get a significant return,” said Aushorse and Thoroughbred Breeders Australia chief executive Tom Reilly.

“When you look at the prizemoney here and in other jurisdictions where anybody can become an owner, there is simply no comparison. The guide has been very popular in recent years and we've received great feedback from people overseas as well as from trainers and syndicators locally who have appreciated having the stats to hand,” added Reilly. Click here for the Aushorse Investors' Guide.

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