Meet Rebecca

by Jessica Owers

The Magic Millions WA office has a new face in local equestrian Rebecca McGrechan. She is new to racing but, as she tells Jessica Owers, that was part of the appeal.

Deep ends don’t come deeper than the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, which is where Rebecca McGrechan found herself in the first week of her new job McGrechan, 31, is the new administrative officer for Magic Millions WA, replacing the flame-haired Charlotte Geoghegan, who exited the role after six good years.

“I officially started on January 2, flying straight to the Gold Coast,” McGrechan says “They thought it would be a good idea to get me out there, straight into the deep end I guess.”

The Gold Coast sale, with its catalogue of 1400 horses, was a baptism of fire for McGrechan who, up to that point, had never been to a thoroughbred yearling auction She assisted with the polo and showjumping, went to the beachside barrier braw and sale, and she admits that her new job will be a learning curve.

“I didn’t know an awful lot about racing when I applied for the job,” she says “I’d probably say I knew as much about racing as any other horsey person.”

McGrechan is an Aveley local, living just north of the Magic Millions Middle Swan complex.

She has grown up riding in Perth’s equestrian community, which is how she first heard of Magic Millions.

“Naturally, the equestrian community out here in Perth knows a bit about Magic Millions,” she says “A lot of us end up with ex-racehorses, myself included I’ve had exracehorses for about 11 years now, and a lot of us had to evacuate horses to the sales complex during the fires a few years ago So I knew of the company but probably not much more than that.”

McGrechan has moved to Magic Millions from a full-time position in sales at Kingspan Water and Energy Before that, she was with BD Water in licensing and a Mitsubishi dealership in accounts They were positions that demanded an attention to administrative detail, which will serve her well in her new role at Magic Millions WA.

“I’ve never been in anything quite like this before, but horses are something I’m really interested in,” she says “It will be quite fascinating learning about the industry this way, and I’m really looking forward to the sales here in Perth ”

McGrechan’s immediate weeks on the job were spent at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale, meeting Magic Millions’s east coast staff and learning the ropes of a major thoroughbred auction Her first local sale will occur when the two-day Perth Yearling Sale kicks off on February 20.

The Magic Millions WA office is a two-man band, with McGrechan working alongside Perth manager David Houston, who has been in charge since 2012 Houston has enjoyed introducing McGrechan to the industry and says her newness to racing is an advantage.

“It’s one of the things I enjoy when doing interviews, having people come in from different work backgrounds,” Houston says “Rebecca has covered the office administration and finance aspects in her previous jobs, and luckily she has a horse background, which is going to be a good help to her She will be coming into the thoroughbred industry with some fresh ideas and she can learn on the go, hopefully without bringing any bad habits with her like the rest of us have.”

McGrechan has four of her own horses and competes in eventing and showjumping For kicks, she plays ice hockey Houston said her equine background will be useful as the two industries, racing and equestrian, increasingly cross paths in the welfare space Aside from that, she will oversee events like the Perth barrier draw, Magic Millions WA raceday and subsequent Perth sales throughout the year.

“We have a lot happening here in Perth,” Houston says “I’m really looking forward to having Rebecca part of the team because she is very affable and very keen to learn She got hawked around that many different departments at the Gold Coast that her head must have been spinning, but it wasn’t a bad way to kick-off a new job and she handled it really well.”