Thrill of Racing - John Galvin
There is something unique about the thrill of owning a successful thoroughbred. That thrill can be hard to define, maybe it is partly the majesty of how a thoroughbred can gallop at such speed with so much power and grace, partly the fact that it can be extremely difficult to achieve victory on the race track and partly the glamour and dash associated with the big racing events. Not for nothing is thoroughbred racing called "the Sport of Kings."
But there is also the fact that an ordinary "battler" can take on the best and win and in racing folklore there are dozens of such tales.
For me personally, racing has been part of my life ever since I was a young lad and my maternal grandfather would fill my head with stories of his racing exploits, particularly when he worked to support his family during the great depression as an illegal bookmaker.
Every horse I have ever raced has been in a partnership or syndicate with others and that is a great way to be involved as it means that risk can be spread and believe you me, if you win a million dollar race with a hore in which you may only own 5%, the thrill is just as great as owning 100%.
The first horse I had a share in was called Templequay and he only cost myself and four friends $3k to buy. He was no champion, but he won five races from about twenty starts including one at Trentham where he won by five lengths and paid $27 on the tote. My partners and I won a lot more money that day with our betting than we did from our prizemoney. Eventually, we sold Templequay to some Australian owners for a very nice profit.
The next horse I owned was an absolute beauty. She was the first horse selected for me by David Ellis of Te Akau Racing; she raced under the name of Kapsdan and was owned by myself and four friends. We paid $40k for her at the Karaka sales. She was a really natural two year old and raced ten times at that age for four wins and a host of minor placings. Her best win was in the Group Two Wakefield Challenge Stakes at Trentham over 1200 metres, she totally demolished a very good field of two year olds that day and all of us were in the stands cheering ourselves hoarse as she sprinted away in a race time that broke a race record held by the Champion 2yo Our Maiscay. The partners celebrated long and hard that night at the (now closed) Il Casino restaurant in Wellington and that is the other great thing about racing, sharing the sucess with others and enjoying the excitement and camaradie. Kapsdan won over $150k for us that season and we sold her as a 3yo to an Australian breeder for a very healthy six figure sum.
My success with Kapsdan led me to "up the ante" and I then bought a 5% share in an outstanding Danehill colt that David Ellis had bought at the 2004 Karaka sales for $1.1m. He was to be named Darci Brahma and he had a stallion's pedigree. It is probably the dream of every owner to buy a Colt that can one day be a top stallion as if that can be achieved, it is a licence to print money. Darci Brahma proved to be a sensation on the racetrack winning four times as a 2yo, including a Group One race in Australia at Eagle Farm, the first time in eighteen years that a NZ owned and trained 2yo had won a Group One race in Australia. I was there on the day and I can tell you the atmosphere was electric. Darci had drawn the outside barrier and was carrying the topweight, he was last into the straight and had to be hooked to the outside to make his run, he passed every horse in the field to win the race in dramatic style and as well as winning a lovely pile of prizemoney (it was an A$500k race), he paid $13 to win with the bookies, another nice collect for the team.
Darci Brahma went on to win more Group One races as a 3yo and then as a 4yo, my biggest thrill was when he won the Group One Telegraph Handicap at Trentham over 1200 metres, humbling a very good field of sprinters, including the mighty Seachange, in the process. His turn of foot and acceleration that day left an indelible stamp in my mind and I was speechless for a few minutes after the race.
Darci Brahma was retired to the Stallion barn not long after that, having fashioned a race record of 19 raceday starts for 10 wins including 5 Group One wins and the remarkable record of never finishing further back than 2nd in any of his raceday starts in NZ. His oldest crop of progeny are now three year olds and he is really establishing himself as a fine up and coming young stallion.
From the perspective of pride of ownership, it does not get much better than that.