14 minute read
Good Will Hunting
GLEN LATHAM
For Will Johnson, four years tutelage from two of Europe’s leaders in their respective crafts in Roger Varian and Hubie de Burgh has set the platform for the success of his fledgling agenc , William Johnson Bloodstock. He’s only been back in Australia for a tick over a year, but already the results are fl wing and the excitement he exudes at the prospect of returning to the Gold Coast this January is the right kind of infectious.
The image of a set of racing colours is the feature of the home page of the William Johnson Bloodstock website. Simple in design the sky blue, red sleeves and royal blue cap are instantly recognisable by us of a certain vintage as those carried to an effortless Golden Slipper victory by a true champion, the mighty Vain. The image is both a respectful nod to his forebears and also serves as an aspirational reminder to Will of where the bar has been set and what the latest in the Johnson family line is striving to achieve.
He certainly doesn’t underplay the significance of those silks. “I am very lucky to have inherited them. From what I can gather my greatgrandfather Walter Johnson and his brothers would have been using them since the 1920s, if not before. I grew up surrounded by photos and paintings of Pat Hyland winning the Slipper and the Caulfield Guineas on Vain so I thought it would be a nice touch to incorporate them into my business moving forward. While I don’t plan to have many horses racing it would be nice to think that some time through the journey of my career some horses could race in those colours and hopefully one is half as good as Vain.”
There’s nothing like a challenge - finding one half as good as Vain! Blessed with blistering speed Vain was a rarity in that he could stretch that out to the mile of the Caulfield Guineas. And tough; he won three times in eight days over the 1969 Melbourne Cup Carnival, the last, what is now the Cantala Stakes, carrying 4.5 kilos over weight-for-age.
Like many Victorian children with racing in their veins, pardon the pun, it was a link to the Melbourne Cup that sparked a young Will’s interest in bloodlines. “I grew up on Ealing Park just north of Euroa in north-eastern Victoria. School holidays were spent helping out on the
farm, around the vet-crush, working with the stock and doing a few yearling preparations. My father Tim stood stallions like Kingston Rule, Rustic Amber and Clear Choice and it was Kingston Rule that sparked my interest in pedigrees. It was novel having the fastest ever Melbourne Cup winner in the back yard and learning about his pedigree as a son of Secretariat out of a lovely family developed by David Hains. That Mr Hains could send a mare to America and breed a Melbourne Cup winner gave me a sense of how small the racing world was, and that intrigued me. That, along with my uncle Murray having trained in Kentucky, probably sowed the seed for one day down the line wanting to work overseas.”
It wasn’t long before Will had progressed to getting his hands dirty at a trainer’s yard. “At boarding school in Melbourne Henry Dwyer would pick me up on Saturday and Sunday mornings and we would go and work at various stables which I found captivating. I then took on a marketing degree at Monash University while still working for trainers in the morning before Uni, the proceeds from which paid for the inevitable costs of socialising après-study! I had to balance working in the stables and riding trackwork in the mornings with the study, but both aspects have proven invaluable in the years that followed. The degree gave me an understanding of accounting, marketing and, importantly, how a self-promoting business should work. The process of creating goals and having a timeline as to how you would like the business to develop, key elements of my current business model, along with getting to work with nice horses would prove invaluable when working overseas. Watching the Melbourne trainers work with treadmills was fascinating while I learned a lot about interval training and
the effects of lactic acids. It also opened up my thought processes about how training will look in the future and how reliant trainers will be on treadmills as it becomes more and more difficult to secure riding staff. Then on Uni holidays I got to spend time working at Lindsay Park and John Foote kindly allowed me to follow him around at the yearling sales, both great experiences for which I am grateful.”
The circumstances around Will packing up and moving to England might best be compared to a player trade in football. “David Eustace came out to Melbourne in 2014 with Faraaj and My Ambivalent for the Melbourne Cup when assistant to Roger Varian and a mutual friend from England asked if I’d look after David while he was out here. On the back of that I had the opportunity to dine with Roger and his wife Hanako. David chose to stay and work for Peter Moody and as a consequence about two months later an opportunity arose at Roger’s to work as a Pupil Assistant Trainer which I took up, just learning the ropes. About six months after that Roger’s Assistant Trainer decided to move on and, although it was a little daunting given my lack of background in English racing, I took up that role.”
The step up came at a turning point for the Varian yard. “In David’s last year with Roger the stable had five Gr.1 winners and consequently the number of horses on the books grew from 100 to 200 which brought challenges around staff management and stable procedures which Roger hadn’t encountered before. We had to put in management structures that allowed Roger to efficiently deal with the increased number of horses and staff and one step was, having used Ardex before, we became the first British stable to have it installed as an aid for communications and logistics.”
For those who have witnessed the morning exercise routine on Newmarket Heath and surrounds, the contrast to Australian trackwork couldn’t be greater. “I was on the gallops with Roger each day and he is a wonderful teacher, an outstanding mentor and a great friend to this day. It was a fantastic two years during which Postponed won a Dubai Sheema Classic, the Coronation Cup and a Juddmonte International Stakes and Belardo won a Lockinge Stakes (all Gr.1s). Roger also kindly sent me to Dubai for a winter to oversee Postponed’s training in preparation for the Sheema Classic. It was both fantastic and educational watching a trainer of his calibre prepare a horse through an English Winter to be fit enough to get on a plane just a few weeks before his Grand Final.”
Some of the methods used by Varian and other British trainers wouldn’t be contemplated here. “The use of a lead horse that was potentially rated 100-110 to ensure the stable star was stretched in their track gallop is something rarely seen in Australia.
The idea of sacrificing a horse with ability just to ensure a better horse had every opportunity to shine is an expensive way of doing things. The European trainers also use the feedback from their gallop riders and jockeys differently which I found fascinating. It’s a different lifestyle over there with a 6am start rather than the 4am over here, unless it is during a few weeks in high summer when you have to get up early to beat Sir Michael Stoute or John Gosden to the fresh ground. The trainers and key staff tend to work throughout the day leaving time in the afternoons and evenings for other pursuits which lends itself to a better work/life balance.”
Will’s education as a trainer came to a semi-abrupt end thanks to the bane of every traveller’s life, the expiring visa, but all it did was push him down another exciting path. “While working for Roger I was approached by Hubie de Burgh who said there was always a position for me at his agency. At the time I had to decline as I was really enjoying my time with Roger. However, my visa only allowed me to work in Great Britain for two years and when we couldn’t get that extended I went back to Hubie to ask if the offer still held as he could sponsor me to stay in Ireland. We caught up and discussed the possibilities at which point we agreed I’d come back to him with a plan of how we could structure things so I could get maximum benefit out of it. I did, we agreed, and I packed the car up and drove to County Wicklow. I was with Hubie for 2 ½ years in which time I learned a lot very quickly with regards consulting, purchasing and overseeing bloodstock portfolios and I learned just how many things can go wrong when putting together a bloodstock deal.”
“The market for good horses in Europe is so competitive, particularly for ones in training. I was lucky to be part of securing some nice horses for Australia but buying for America and Japan - that landscape is just so competitive. The pool outside of Coolmore and Godolphin is exceedingly small and that means spreading the net wide and travelling to see potential purchases. Travelling by plane or train throughout Europe to secure those horses was a
great experience and I met a lot of wonderful people along the way. Being in Europe for four years rather than the original two helped me to build contacts, whether it be through Hubie or the people I met, which could lead to opportunities in the future. Hubie instilled in me that 60-80% of the job is communication and relationship building and the rest is letting the horses look after themselves. It’s also vital to be familiar with recent results and to put the hard yards in at the sales complexes.”
When quizzing Will about why he chose to return to Australia in 2019, he offered an insight into his grasp of the global industry. “I was rising 29 and thought that the opportunities that would be available in Australia over the next two decades made it the right time to come home. The thought was that it was the right time to do the hard work to establish a business before looking at having a family.
I believe that the strong business model the Australian industry has will lead to greater opportunities compared to Europe where issues like low prizemoney returns have yet to be properly addressed.
Aware of that industry strength based on betting tax revenue being returned as prizemoney, and also the rise of syndications, Hubie understood and so was supportive of the move. Working with Hubie, doing the farm and sale inspections meant I was able to build up connections including Darby Racing. I was then able to set up William Johnson Bloodstock in September 2019 so my first sale where I purchased under that banner was Magic Millions January of 2020. My plan is to grow the business organically without trying to kill too many birds too quickly.”
To continue to trade during COVID times bloodstock agents have had to heavily network and rely on the skills of other agents, and here Will’s connection with de Burgh has been beneficial to both parties. “With Hubie unable to travel because of the COVID restrictions I’ve spent this year working closely with Scott Darby and his fabulous team in conjunction with Hubie. Working with Darby Racing means looking at every horse no matter what level. They have that fantastic history of having purchased two Gr.1 winners in She Will Reign and Yankee Rose for $30,000 combined. The challenge will be to get some nice horses of similar ability for them over the next few years.” And Will’s experience on both sides of the equator should hold him in good stead in a post COVID market. “I did have a small address book of clients when I went to Hubie’s which I have kept, and being on the ground here in Australia is seen as advantageous for Hubie’s international clients. One example is Craig Bernick, President and CEO of Glen Hill Farm in Florida who has taken to exporting a few mares to Australia to breed commercially and I’m sure he will be an active player down here in the years to come. The industry needs foreign investment and it is exciting to see the likes of Craig, Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Farm, Starlight Racing and SF Bloodstock continuing to buy here and I hope to be able to expand that side of my business, although travel plans for 2020 were very much derailed. I will be on the first plane abroad when the opportunity presents itself to foster those international relationships.”
Any new business needs the opportunity to show its wares and in Will’s case he can’t wait to get to the Gold Coast in January to get to work. “The Gold Coast is reminiscent of the fun and excitement of Deauville and it’s great that everyone can escape to Queensland and enjoy the exceptional hospitality Magic Millions put on. Barry (Bowditch) and Clint (Donovan) do a wonderful job and it certainly isn’t a chore getting on the plane to go to the Gold Coast knowing everyone will be there and we get to look at some great horseflesh as well.
As a brand Gerry (Harvey) and Katie (Page- Harvey) have done such an amazing job securing so much involvement both domestically and internationally.
The raceday has grown enormously and the ladies’ bonus is a tremendous concept. And the team go out of their way to make things happen, testament to which was the fly-in, fly-out one day mission before the recent 2yos In Training Sale which, while maintaining strict COVID protocols, agents were able to view horses on the grounds. Scott and I bought an Exceed And Excel colt for $250,000 from the sale which I might not have done if I hadn’t had the opportunity to see him in the flesh.”
And Will has already experienced the thrills of purchasing a Magic Millions yearling that made he and his friends Gr.1 owners. “Sam Freedman and I were looking for a trade horse to potentially sell to Hong Kong and we searched the Adelaide sale which is renowned for producing value. Anthony (Freedman) suggested the Declaration Of War colt that would eventually be Warning so Sam and I assessed the pedigree. I had experience with a son of War Front at Roger’s and was impressed by the stallion and I’d also noticed Coolmore had been crossing Galileo mares with the War Front line with some success. Warning’s dam was the Galileo mare Livia who, coincidentally, was foaled down on my parents’ farm and I remembered her grandam Lemon Spice being on the farm when I was growing up. So when I saw the Galileo/War Front cross I gravitated to that pedigree and he came in under budget at $65,000.”
“I think I got the greatest satisfaction from putting some of my friends from boarding school and their friends into the horse and experiencing the ups and
downs of the sport. He didn’t show enough early promise to be a trade to Hong Kong, but then he won a Listed race at Flemington over 1800 metres and of course went on to win the Victoria Derby. If you could capture, bottle, then sell the excitement of the two minutes after the Derby we would have everyone hooked on racing. The flow on from his success has been that the ownership group have convinced more of their friends to get involved in another, now, twoyear-old Sam and I bought. I like the idea of putting together partnerships with friends and family and having a good time with people that are close to you. It was also pleasing to see the joy the group got out of having a runner in the Melbourne Cup. We couldn’t be there and Warning probably didn’t run the trip, but it was both exciting and rewarding at the same time.”
