Raise YOUR BAT! by Glen Latham
When John Andrew next walks through the gates of the Magic Millions Sale complex at Middle Swan he could be forgiven for raising a non-existent bat given it will be fifty years since he sold his first yearling in Perth.
A
half century in any profession is an outstanding achievement, but fifty years riding the rollercoaster that is thoroughbred breeding is a feat very few have the patience and acumen to survive.
Western Australia’s wife.” All were educated and prepared by John so this was a strong start. The following year John would offer his first yearling at auction, a Hotroy filly, and the sequence remains unbroken to this day.
The market John stepped into in 1974 bears little resemblance to today. In that time three different entities have run the sales in Perth – Coles Brothers, then Goodwood Bloodstock and now Magic Millions. Over the years advances in transport have made the West Australian market more accessible and a host of WA breds, Northerly, Scenic Blast, Placid Ark and Miss Andretti to name but a few, have reminded buyers champions can be found out west. In that time we saw the rise of the shuttle stallions and through their impact the strengthening of our bloodlines. And most importantly, prizemoney hikes through innovations like the Westspeed Bonus Scheme, the Magic Millions Perth Classic and The Quokka, meaning racing in the west is both vibrant and carries tremendous commercial appeal.
John spent seven years at Karnup before hanging the shingle out on his own property. “I left Jeremy’s place in 1979, buying 83 acres and calling it Alwyn Park after our daughters Alison and Bronwyn. When we bought the property it had absolutely nothing on it, no trees, nothing. But my mother and father-inlaw were very helpful and while I was breaking in horses they and my wife were putting up sheds and fences.”
But looking back to 1974 and John is managing Karnup Thoroughbreds for Jeremy Hayes. The Karnup draft that heads to Belmont Racecourse is three strong and they give a solid account of themselves both in the ring and on the track. “The three yearlings were an impressive Swiftly Morgan colt that won eight races as Good Morgan, a Prince Of Orange filly that raced as Daffodil which, I think, won over twenty races, and a Vibrant colt that won a race in the ownership of the Governor of
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\ RAISE YOUR BAT! \ GLEN LATHAM
“We started from scratch and I was fortunate I had two yearlings that first year, a Beau Sovereign and a Jungle Boy. I was worried when the auction house told me they would average about $8000, but then they made $19,000 and $20,000, respectively. Those two horses and the 6500 bales of oaten hay I cropped that year got us started. Also, I had a very good association with Barry Farmer at Heytesbury Stud and through that I broke in some of the best horses that raced in WA at the time, Carry A Smile, Chanteclair and Hold That Smile to name a few. The cash flow from that helped greatly in those early years.” John continued to breed horses in tandem with his breaking business. “During the 1980’s I didn’t have a lot of mares but I had some success. Businessman Dallas Dempster bought horses off me and every one of them
