After the Whistle

BY JIM TUCKER

After the whistle, some of our sports stars enjoy a zealous connection with the thoroughbred industry and the Magic Millions. Jim Tucker traces one fascinating tale…

HAYDEN BALLANTYNE

Former Fremantle Docker turned trainer

Playing 171 AFL games for the Fremantle Dockers taught rising trainer Hayden Ballantyne plenty of lessons that relate to getting the best from his horses.

You can absorb every pointer on bloodlines from a Magic Millions catalogue but never underestimate what you see and feel with your own eyes at a parade of yearlings.

Western Australia’s up-and-coming trainer uses the analogy of playing for a decade beside two-time Brownlow Medal-winner Nat Fyfe. “Nat is an absolute superstar player but his brother can’t kick a footy. Just because they’ve got good pedigree doesn’t mean you get a superstar horse,” Ballantyne said.

“The breeding side is a good starting point but you need to see a horse in the flesh. The eye that an experienced trainer has from being in the game for 100 years is invaluable.”

Ballantyne, 35, is grateful that veteran trainer David Harrison is so unselfish in sharing astute insights from decades around Perth tracks and sales. “David is a bit of an uncle to me. He’s helping me learn the trade when it comes to picking horses and I’m developing an eye for the horses I like. We love getting around to all the studs before a Magic Millions sale to pick out some good horses I’ll bid hard for,” Ballantyne said.

“I’ve learnt from him and others to build my own training process.”

The high-energy forward was in his final season of AFL when he trained his first winner, Mankind, in 2019. The transition

to the racing industry full-time with Hayden Ballantyne Racing has kept his busy equilibrium and avoided the postfooty void experienced by so many.

“You can get consumed by the day-to-day life of being a footy player. For me, getting to the stables was my outlet, a real gift. My little mate, Mankind, got me through the last few years of my footy career,” Ballantyne said.

“Having stepped out of playing senior footy for 15 years, I needed something to step into or I would have gone crazy.”

He’s a hands-on trainer as you’d expect and happy to ride the harder to handle thoroughbreds for the first week or two at his Karnup base, south of Perth. He has around 25 horses on the books, including multiple race-winner Vogue’s Choice, a mare sired by Patronize that was his first MM purchase. It’s named for his five-year-old daughter, Vogue.

Good nutrition and recovery translate directly from his elite footy know-how as does his focus on preparation and keeping his horses happy. “I get my satisfaction even before a horse jumps when I know I’ve ticked every box in getting them as fit and ready to race as I can. I really like the process. When they do win, it’s a huge reward,” Ballantyne explained.

He bought seven horses at the 2022 Magic Millions sales in Perth, three for individual owners and four to syndicate. He’s hoping to repeat the formula that put so many smiles on faces after She’s Greysful ran second in the Magic Millions WA 2YO Classic at Pinjarra in February.

“We were the first all-ladies horse home for the Magic Millions WA Racing Women’s bonus. There were more than

50 ladies who had a share in the horse as individuals or through syndicates. You could have heard them on the east coast when She’s Greysful was coming down the straight,” Ballantyne said with a smile.

“It was a great day and a really good way to be involved. You can own one per cent of the horse but share 100 per cent of the fun.”

Ballantyne’s own love of horses started early. Father Graeme, a long-time trainer himself, had his son in the saddle as a 12-year-old and provided the sort of racing fairytale we all love. The Ballantyne-trained Talent Show was first emergency for the 2013 Perth Cup, earned a late start and the daughter of Melbourne Cup-winner Jeune raced home as a roughie at $31. “My old Dockers teammate Nick Saban and I owned a quarter-share in Talent Show and we got on at $68,” Ballantyne said.

“For me, getting to the stables was my outlet, a real gift. My little mate, Mankind, got me through the last few years of my footy career,”