by Helen Thomas
‘I’m a lucky man,’ he told me. ‘My wife is incredibly supportive, she believes in what I’m doing here and we’re in this business together. I just hope I haven’t gone too far today because I never want to betray her and the trust she has in me.’
Chapter 10
Relocating
With Melbourne’s major yearling sale behind us, and having seen Robbie Griffiths in action, it is pretty clear that Rosie will be in very good hands. That decision made, I force myself to focus on the future of News Just In, the fourteenth foal of the grand old girl Express. Not for the first time in the last few weeks, I wonder what I should be doing with this still relatively young gelding—Newsboy, as we’ve always called him.
Now almost a five year old, it’s safe to say he hasn’t exactly set the provincial tracks around New South Wales on fire in the past 12 months. Despite that early setback he had as a yearling, nothing physical seems to be the problem. He is certainly not sore in any part of his body, and he hasn’t been especially unlucky in his races. Yet the only thing he is doing fast is going nowhere.
Given his lineage, this shouldn’t be the case. His two brothers won quite a lot of money between them, and could get over more than sprinting distance; one actually ran seventh in the Victoria Derby, a classic race over 2400 metres for three year olds. But all his younger brother seems to do, in the handful of races he has run in his career so far, is look promising at some point in the run for the winning post and then fail to finish the job.
But News Just In has run well in a couple of his barrier trials. These are unofficial gallops that most major tracks host once or twice a month, to allow young horses to learn how to jump out of the barriers and race to the finishing line and older horses to build on their fitness. Trainers also use barrier trials as a way of getting an indication of a horse’s ability. In News Just In’s most recent trial, he actually led for most of the way before running out of puff, battling on for third place.
So there could be a spark there. And given what it took to actually bring him into the world back in 2004, I am loath to throw in the towel, just yet.
Express, by then 21 years of age, didn’t stand up for an hour after giving birth, wise and experienced enough to know she had to gather her strength before she started nursing her final newborn. The stud master, overseeing the arrival of her light bay son, told me he was initially worried that Express was too exhausted to get back up at all, before realising she knew exactly what she was doing. And so he waited, respectfully, for her to do it.
‘She’s a wonderful mother,’ he would say more than once as he watched her nurture her son. ‘She really looks after him and puts everything good she has into him. I wish all the mares we had on the farm were as good a mother as she is.’
This continued until the colt was weaned and the farm started working him towards the sale ring. My thinking, at the time, was he could do well, at least at the middle range of the market, at one of the country sales, given his brothers were both proven gallopers, exactly what astute buyers looked for. He might also have appealed to Asian buyers, as the most successful of his siblings raced in Hong Kong and amassed $540,000 in prize money. Surely he would attract a decent bid or two in the $30,000–$50,000 range?
It was a humble business plan, yet one based on a degree of logic and commonsense. Then I started worrying about what would become of him if he was sold to a Hong Kong-based buyer; where do those horses go, when they finish racing? Plan B kicked in—race him myself. The youngster certainly took his early education easily in stride, a nicely balanced yearling who quickly learnt to wear a halter and walk on a lead rope and have his feet picked up and put down by the farrier. But as soon as the saddle was introduced and the breaker got on his back, he went lame. Badly lame.
Eventually he came home to the farm and frolicked for the next 18 months, until—at three years of age—he took to racing the two donkeys he shared a paddock with, not to mention the old dog and the four-wheel drive if they happened to be in there too—actually bumping the car with his right shoulder one afternoon, in sheer exuberance.
‘He needs to be in training,’ the farrier instructed on the day even he couldn’t get the three year old to stop leaning all over him while he trimmed his hooves. And that was when the last son of this good old mare’s world changed forever.
‘I’ll tell you what will sort him out,’ the wizened horseman said, pushing back the baseball cap on his head, a slightly wicked grin on his face.
‘Put him in the paddock with his mum and the other mares.’
This, I had been warned, was a recipe for equine drama. Mares and geldings don’t always mix well, and this was a young gelding, unsophisticated in the wily ways of such seasoned sorts. Surely all hell would break out?
‘Not with the old girl in there. Express will sort them all out.’
He was right. As we watched the gelding canter towards the group, head high and full of himself, his mother expertly chased him to the gate on one side of the paddock, pushed the mares away towards the other and then, maybe 5 minutes later, led them all over to the dam for a drink, the little band in single file, her son bringing up the rear. Newfound respect seemed to have replaced his earlier disposition. It had taken the old girl less than 10 minutes to work out the herd’s new order.
‘Now you’ve got to get him going,’ the farrier advised. ‘It’s no good for him just hanging around here any longer. He’s way too full of himself and he’s standing all over you. And let’s face it, he’s no more lame than I am.’
All this was true. News Just In was a bundle of unfocused energy; a teenager with nothing to do, a powder keg keen to ignite. The recuperation seemed to have worked, providing his young frame with the time to balance and strengthen. But another set of X-rays was required before he could resume any kind of training.
‘If he was my horse I’d put him in work straight away,’ the equine specialist at Canberra counselled. ‘The main OCD hasn’t completely disappeared and I doubt it ever will. But it’s no longer the problem it was, nature has done her thing. Let’s see how he goes on the track now.’
And so it came to pass that, at three, the gelding everyone feared might never be able to race was broken in and moved to Rod Craig’s stable at Warwick Farm. Best known for having trained the outstanding galloper Intergaze—part of a golden era of Australian racehorses, including Saintly, Might and Power, Octagonal and Sunline—Rod had also trained News Just In’s half-sister, One Love, or Mouse as she is known at home. As soon as he arrived at his stable, the trainer told me to stop worrying about anything that had been wrong with the horse.
‘The track work riders say there’s nothing wrong with his action whatsoever, so put it out of your mind now. How much ability he’s got is what we should be worrying about.’
The stable also dubbed him Harry. ‘He just looks like … Harry,’ the foreman told me later. Harry it was, then, and his racing career got underway at the training precinct that was also home to high-profile trainers like Peter Snowden, Guy Walter and John Hawkes and his sons.
This was about seven months after Rosie was born.
Yet, hard as Rod Craig has tried to place Harry in races around Sydney’s urban sprawl, he often can’t find one to suit the gelding bred to run a mile or more. Unless you are a sprinter in New South Wales, it seems racing officials really aren’t interested in bolstering your career. In Victoria, home of the Melbourne Cup and all the races that lead into it, this isn’t the case.
Good senior jockeys have also been hard to book to ride Harry at out of town races, especially as Rod—though widely respected as a trainer—doesn’t run a large stable, and so often has trouble securing riders to stick with a horse. This means it has been hard to get a proper reading on how Harry is actually progressing in his races, a frustrating affair for all concerned, because his track work indicates a degree of talent.
‘He’s better than his (half ) sister was at this stage, that’s for sure,’ Rod said, duri
ng the first campaign.
This was genuine praise, as Rod had always liked the highly strung One Love. The foreman who rode Harry at track work liked him too, yet the horse never lived up to their opinion on race day.
As I followed Robbie Griffiths around at the sale, an idea started to form, a plan that involved relocating Harry. It was a big decision to make, and a big move for the horse, but maybe Melbourne was the answer for him too? Maybe Victorian racing catered better for a horse like Harry?
Since coming home from the yearling sale, I’ve been researching the number of appropriate races coming up in both states that suit him—an enlightening and irritating exercise. My suspicions were right: there are twice as many suitable races scheduled through the next month at provincial tracks around Melbourne than there are in his home state.
The only problem is that he is not down there to run in them. And even if he heads south straightaway, it will take at least a month to adjust to the routine of a new stable and get ready to run in one of the many events on the racing calendar. Yet the longer this current scenario continues, the more disappointing the whole thing becomes. And not just for me.
The small group of four owners racing him with me—two with 10 per cent shares, two with 5 per cent—are certainly getting disheartened watching Harry going up and down in one spot when he does go to the races. No one buys into a racehorse, whether it’s an expensive one, or one bred and sold along less costly lines like Harry, to be disappointed. Taking a 5 or 10 per cent share is an investment in fun more than anything else, and so far this experience hasn’t been.
Something had to be done, and my co-owners don’t need much persuading to go with this new option.
Relocation!
Even Rod Craig agrees with the strategy as he believes it is at least a proactive way to test, once and for all, whether the horse has inherited any of his family’s talent.
Then again, who knows if Robbie Griffiths is even interested in taking on a tried horse like this, and a not particularly promising one? He may not want to take a galloper on board who could sully his terrific training strike rate. All I can do is ask. Robbie, ever the gentleman, says he will be happy to have the horse in his yard.
Three days later Harry hits the highway. And in one of those strange twists life often takes, he arrives at the Griffiths Training yard in Cranbourne a month ahead of Rosie. True to form, the trainer doesn’t muck around in his initial assessment of the gelding.
‘To tell you the truth, Helen, I don’t quite know what to make of him,’ he tells me on the phone, early the evening News Just In arrives. It is just after 6.30 pm, and he has been on the road for more than 14 hours.
‘He’s gone the long route to get here, so he might have lost a bit of condition along the way. But when he stepped off the truck, I thought “nice head, nice girth … but where’s the rest of him?” I reckon only three-quarters of him have got here, so we have to build that last bit back up.’
To do this, the young trainer embarks on a two-pronged course, part traditional, part contemporary. He ‘bleeds’ Harry, draining 10 litres of blood from the horse’s system. As horrific and vampire-like as this sounds, it will apparently rejuvenate him as his body produces fresh new blood. To boost the impact of this very old-fashioned technique, the trainer then sends the four year old out for a short spell in the paddock, a break that also involves dressage work a couple of times a week.
This, Robbie hopes, will help Harry build back his muscle tone in his hindquarters and through his shoulders, maybe help him to start using muscles he hasn’t really flexed before. It is certainly an interesting approach, one that is aimed as much at freshening Harry’s mental approach to his work as it is at strengthening him physically.
It also highlights how every trainer’s perspective is so different in terms of how they want a horse to look. Some want their charges lean and tough, others prefer bigger, more rounded physiques. It will be interesting to watch how Harry develops in the next few weeks, and what (if any) impact this new exercise regimen will have when he races again.
Meanwhile, back home at Picayune Farm, Rosie is still out in the paddock with her best mate Roxie and weeks away from following Harry down the Hume Highway. I can only imagine what the trainer will say when she steps out of the truck, a late arrival for the Class of 2009.
Chapter 11
The Class of 2009
Unlike Rosie, most of Robbie’s youngsters are well ensconced at his stable. As promised, a month after buying his final batch of yearlings for the year, Griffiths Racing presents what has become an annual event at the Cranbourne stables.
One by one the nine yearlings Robbie bought at the sales over the past couple of months and has up for syndication walk out of their stalls, into the large exercise ring, where a crowd of at least 70 to 80 people have gathered.
Most have a copy of the stable’s sales package, which contains a page on each horse with their photo and Robbie’s comments written on one side, pedigree and share costing on the other. He and Deane Lester provide a running commentary as the spectators watch the yearling parade.
First into this ring is the Black Hawke/Decima filly who cost just $7500. She is a well put together filly, who is by the successful stallion Black Hawke from the multiple winner Decima. Griffiths Racing has already had quite a deal of success with the family, training both Decima and her full sister Destina.
By the time this pretty little girl leaves the ring, every 10 per cent share in her has been sold. At $1155, she is this year’s genuine bargain buy, who looks like being one of the zippiest.
Next in line is another pocket rocket, the God’s Own/Espiare filly I loved so much out at Oaklands.
The commentary continues, ‘This filly is from the stakes-winning New Zealand mare Espiare, who has had seven winners from seven foals to race including the stakes winner Spurn and Group-placed Danari.
‘She is similar in build and body shape to (those) three-quarter sisters and I expect that she will perform on the racecourse with similar success.’
Within an hour, this filly has also sold out, the $35,000 Robbie paid for her at auction now being broken into 10 per cent shares of $4642.88, after the extra costs are added on.
Third up in this parade is a $50,000 filly by Not A Single Doubt, one that Robbie has bred himself. ‘Excuse the pun, but there is no doubt that this filly has heaps of potential,’ he says. ‘Firstly, she’s by the multiple stakes-winning son of Redoute’s Choice in Not A Single Doubt, who is off to a great start at stud with half a dozen two year old winners. Secondly, she is from the winning Noalcoholic mare Vaingt Trois who has had six go to the track for five winners. It’s fairly safe to assume that we’ll get the best out of this filly too, as we’ve trained every one of the winning siblings!’
Robbie doesn’t dwell on the fact that this is his own home-bred family, a clan he’s been working with for many years with obvious success. At $5981.25 a 10 per cent share, there’s a murmur of interest as this light bay filly with the striking white blaze walks back to her box.
Next up, a filly by Hold That Tiger—a lovely strong chestnut from Hawaiian Melody, another mare Robbie has trained.
To my eye, this is the first youngster who really looks better than Rosie. She is bigger all round, for a start, and even I can see more defined strength in her shoulders and across her chest. She is not exactly imposing, but the potential is there.
So too the Flying Spur/Raven’s Pal filly the trainer tells us ‘is a real bargain’.
‘She has all the characteristics of the Flying Spur progeny; she is an easy-going and a great walking filly, well grown and with great scope.’ A $50,000 buy, her 10 per cent shares will set anyone interested back $6371.35.
Another yearling Robbie believes is ‘incredibly good value’ is the bay Fusaichi Pegasus filly, from the mare Wishing Star, a $70,000 purchase.
‘With her great physique, balance and temperament, a successful racing career awaits. She has the … looks to
be a superstar.’ A 10 per cent share works out at $8873.75.
The second God’s Own filly that Robbie is syndicating steps in front of the crowd. She is the pick of the group. She has filled out since we inspected her at the sale little over a month ago, when Robbie paid $85,000 for her, and he describes her as ‘a ripping filly’.
‘This is a family of two year olds,’ the trainer says. ‘Startle, her dam, won as a juvenile and her first foal, Astounded, was also successful at two. It’s a real family of runners and given her size and balance, I’m sure this filly will continue the family tradition.’ To buy into this filly, a 10 per cent share is $10,404.13.
It is at this point I realise that Rosie has some serious catching up to do. She does not look like this, in either her stature or her development within her very different frame. Is this a result of nature or nurture, I wonder? Or equal measures of both?
But if Startle’s daughter looks terrific, Luxapal’s has to be crowned belle of this ball. The $70,000 yearling Robbie bought over the phone, she is already a big, strong girl and lives up to his written assessment: ‘This young lady is perfection personified, boasting all the attributes you look for in a racehorse—size, strength and balance with a pedigree to match.’
He tells us her mum is a former city-winning race mare who has already produced two to race for a 100 per cent record. The pick of them is Red For Lou (third to Divine Madonna in the elite Group One Myer Classic), while the other three-quarter sister is a four-time winner, Testalux.
The $8675.75 it costs for a 10 per cent share sounds more than tempting and the low-level discussion from the crowd around the yard intensifies as she leaves centre stage. Even the parade’s co-host Deane appears to be mesmerised by her form.
Finally, the only colt up for grabs saunters in, a big strong chestnut by Golden Slipper-winning (and recently deceased) sire Catbird. His colour alone is a good sign, according to Deane.‘All the good ones in this family have been chestnuts,’ he reminds us. ‘It’s a very tough family and they race on.’