23 minute read
They Are Women THEY ARE INVINCIBLE
Australasian racing has some seriously high achieving women in its ranks, and, no doubt inspired by the trailblazers before them, there are some rising female stars making their presence felt.
Never before has it been a better time for women to strive and thrive in the racing and breeding industry.
Jo McKinnon caught up with New Zealand owner and breeder Jo Lindsay, Lime Country Thoroughbreds’ Jo Griffin, newly licensed Sydney trainer Annabel Neasham and TV broadcaster Brittany Taylor who all shared some invaluable insights into their journeys so far.
BRITTANY TAYLOR
Brittany Taylor has been a welcome addition to the Sky Racing presenting team for its coverage of all the thoroughbred action in Western Australia and in the Spring of 2019 she made her debut on Channel Ten’s Melbourne Cup week broadcasts performing interviews from horse back.
Brittany is a horsewoman through and through and comes from a strong racing pedigree. Her grandmother Lois Taylor was a trail blazer for women in the West becoming the first licensed trainer there.
Brittany you come from a really hands on racing background don’t you?
“My dad, Jim, is currently a trainer and my grandmother was a trainer so I was born into the industry. I have been working for dad since I was 12. He said to me if I wanted to earn some pocket money I had to work every Sunday. Then I went and rode track work for him and I loved it so much I never left and am still riding work for him.
Every morning I ride. It can be a tight turnaround sometimes when I am jumping off the last horse to run inside and have a shower and make myself presentable for the races. They can be long days when you are finishing up at Ascot. I usually ride 8-10 horse each morning.”
How did your media opportunities come about?
“I went to Uni and did a Bachelor of Commerce and majored in PR and journalism. As a kid I always wanted to be on camera and always wanted to do documentaries and did voice overs pretending I was on the news. I always wanted to do that sort of thing, I was that sort of annoying child.
I was first offered an opportunity with TAB Radio to do an hour on a Monday doing a segment as a contributor and on TAB Touch doing interviews behind the scenes. My motto is to always say yes to every opportunity because you never know how that will lead to the next one. The harder you work the luckier you get. So, from there everything snowballed. I was so nervous on radio and I thought I can’t do this. It got easier and easier and became second nature and from there I got offered to do Sky Racing Thoroughbred Central at Kalgoorlie.
Being on Sky led to the Channel Ten Melbourne Cup coverage and various other ambassador roles including WA Magic Millions Racing Women. It’s come a long way.”
How are you enjoying the Channel Ten Role ?
“It’s really good. It’s a lot of pressure and hard work especially with the horse back role. There’s so much research beforehand you are essentially preparing for 40 races in one week. You can’t have any notes out there on the horse and it has to be all locked up in the brain and you have to listen to the call only. It was an overwhelming experience but a lot of fun.”
What’s been the most satisfying moment for you so far in the broadcasting space?
“I think completing that first Melbourne Cup Carnival. It was a really big challenge. I had been doing the role in Perth for a long time but they are people you have grown up with and I know the Perth landscape and jockeys and horses like the back of my hand. But when you go to the big pond it’s a challenge and a massive week where there are a lot of eyeballs and you are new. I was lucky Damien Oliver who is originally from WA helped and introduced me and told them to be nice to me.”
How do you think women are positioned these days in the racing industry and how much did your grandmother positively influence your journey ?
“I think we have come a long long way. When my grandmother was first trying to forge her path they told her a woman would never get a trainer’s license. They said never, never, never and they were the three words they told her and she kept fighting until she could and she became the first female trainer in WA.
She had a nice team of horses and plenty of winners and my dad was apprenticed to her at the age of 14. She still works in the stables making feeds. She’s 86 this year and still got her finger on the pulse of everything happening in the stable.
I am so aware of the fact if it wasn’t for women like her I would not have the job I have today and it’s something I have always been really grateful for. To be honest, I haven’t felt that sort of prejudice. I consider myself lucky not to have. I have never felt that I can’t do something because I am a woman. I’m lucky I grew up in this era. The generation before me would have felt that stigma.”
What are your long term aspirations?
“My biggest thing I think is that I want to make an impact. I have been to a few funerals this year of people in racing and it’s amazing when you listen to the eulogies and the impact they have had on people. That’s what I want to be, someone that’s made a mark.
I want to be able to be the best broadcaster I can and play a part in telling people’s stories. Every connection has a story to tell. I am also really passionate about bringing people into the industry. I have a few roles in the ambassador space including showing new owners behind the scenes from the moment of purchase. I do school tours and take horses out to schools and let them touch the horses and ask questions.
In all of those different areas I would like to keep being as diverse as I can and continue to make an impact on others and keep owning and breeding horses and have a few little missions like that to try and get myself a champion.”
Do you own many horses at the moment?
“I would not be able to count how many I have owned. I think I own a part of eight at the moment. I had the best introduction to it when I got a share in a horse for my 18th birthday and in his first 13 starts he never ran out of money and I thought how easy is this. Every year I try and buy a share in three yearlings.”
You obviously really love horses?
“They are the best, it’s so hard to put into words exactly why. It’s impossible to be sad on the back of a horse. They all have their own personalities. It’s my favourite time of year when yearlings come into the stable and learning about them and each of their quirks and their likes and dislikes. They are like humans really and all have little personalities.
BRITTANY TAYLOR
ANNABEL NEASHAM
Annabel Neasham is taking the Australian training ranks by storm and looks destined for plenty of success on the racetrack in 2021.
We caught up with her to learn more about her background and love of the horse.
What was your background before you came to Australia?
“Both my parents were horsey but had given up horses once they got married and had us kids.
I was begging them to buy me a pony when I was six so for my seventh birthday, I got my first pony (Buttons) which was lent to us from someone in the village and it was an absolute sh*t of a thing. I think they thought I would give up quite quickly but if anything, it made me more determined.
From thereon I was mad about it. I didn’t get into racing until I was about 20 and until then did show jumping, hunting and evented fulltime for a year.
Doing all that is a pretty good basis in terms of horsemanship. Knowing horses brings a slightly different angle to training.”
How did the Australian leg of the journey in your life come about?
“I went to Uni with a guy called Tom Ward who is one of my great mates. As soon as he finished, he came straight out here (to Australia) and was assistant to John O’Shea when he first moved to Godolphin.
He was here for three years and he said you really should give it a go over there. He said John will make you cry so go to Gai. She’s probably tougher than John and so he got me a job with Gai.
I came for a year to get an assistant trainer job back home but 4 1/2 years later I’m still here.”
The opportunity with Ciaron Maher really took you to another level with your Australian experience would it be fair to say?
“Definitely. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time with Ciaron. He had about 80 in work when I first started with him but was growing in size rapidly. I was fortunate to be involved in every aspect.
I started out selling shares in the horses that he had bought. He was going pretty hard at the sales specking horses and I was riding out track work every day and clocking horses. The real turning point was when Dave Eustace went back home for a month’s holiday so I ended up filling in for him doing what he did each day with the work lists. That month getting stuck in and being in the tower every morning was when I said to Ciaron this is what I want to do.
When we were at the sales his travelling foreman Lucy got kicked and broke her leg. I ended up staying in that role for three months and then I went to Queensland. When he opened Sydney, I begged him to send me up there.”
Being exposed to that type of responsibility would have given you a serious taste of what it would be like to run your own show?
“Yes, we started the stable up from scratch. I was on the phone to Ciaron the whole time but essentially you are left to your own devices a little bit and he said make it your own. I found the boxes at Warwick Farm and then it was a case of building the stable and finding staff and that’s the hardest part, finding them and keeping them, so I learned a bit about that. I was also doing the communications and still doing a bit of selling and the work lists and working with Ciaron in terms of nominations and acceptances.
I think it was really good to start from scratch because it gave me the ins and outs of the business side of it.”
How soon into that journey did you think this is what I want to do on my own?
“I think that gave me a lot of confidence. I don’t think it’s ever an easy time to make that decision. I hadn’t been thinking about it long but the opportunity of getting boxes came about and it’s so hard to get boxes in Sydney at a metro track and I was keen. I wanted to train in the city to attract the right owners and there was an opportunity for fresh blood. There are quite a few young trainers but there’s always room for another one so I ended up making the leap of faith.”
How have you enjoyed the journey so far? Having a winner from the get go would be a good tonic but how it is now that being the new kid on bock is wearing off and you have to fill those boxes and look to the future and achieving your goals?
“You can’t rest on your laurels. You have to keep moving forward in this game. I think I am going to be fairly aggressive at the sales. You have got to be bold without being silly. I think really having a good bloodstock team is nearly as important as anything else because it allows you to buy horses and get them sold and you need to have the product there for people to buy into it with you.
It’s not much different to what I was doing with Ciaron. My life hasn’t really changed other than it’s my own name on the door.”
Who are you going to be working with bloodstock wise?
“I want to find someone that can be a racing and bloodstock manager. They are not easy to find. Lizzie Jelfs from Sky has been a great help and always messaging me to say look up this horse or that horse. She has sent a few people my way to buy shares. She’s been a great support.”
What is your ultimate aim or ambition with training? Is the plan to stay in Australia long term, and if so, what would be some of the short, and long term, goals you have?
“I think definitely Australia is home now. It’s tricky at the moment (with COVID-19) not being able to see my family. I haven’t seen my family for a year and who knows it may be another year. It’s tough but my parents saw it’s a better lifestyle here in racing than back home.
ANNABEL NEASHAM
JO GRIFFIN
In a reasonably short period of time, Lime Country Thoroughbreds’ Jo Griffin has made her presence felt in the Australian breeding industry.
Three years ago, the New Zealander and her husband Greg made the move to what was formerly Think Big Stud in the NSW Southern Highlands. Together they set up a business specialising in everything from sales preparation to pre-training, and she says, the biggest punt of her life is paying decent dividends.
Jo, how did your career begin in racing and breeding?
“I didn’t come from a racing background at all. It was sport horses, eventing and showjumping. I worked for two of our Olympic showjumpers in New Zealand straight after I finished school.
I then went back to university in my early 20s and added a marketing degree. I didn’t finish that. My dad was a very good businessman and I went and worked with him for a number of years. I worked my way up through various jobs to a national marketing role with the Disney Warner company in NZ and that led to a role with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.
When we did polo we started buying mares when we were overseas and I was looking for passive income especially when I was pregnant. It’s good to have a broodmare earning money when you are potentially breeding yourself. I bought my first broodmare when Georgia (daughter) was in my belly.”
When did the big move to Australia happen?
“Valentine’s Day 2017. People always think we have been here longer but it was three years in February.”
What prompted you to take the step?
“Greg’s last heart surgery was big and ugly. That was his third lot of open-heart surgery.
The last one was a biggie and there are no more fix-its out of that so I thought about future-proofing and what we would do if something happens to him. The idea was to get bigger and go go go and become big enough so that if anything happened to either of us the other one would still be fine, as morbid as that sounds, within the industry.
We looked everywhere for a place. I have a British passport so we looked at the UK, Australia and the Waikato. NSW was the best, most open and vibrant place we could go and it just so happened that there was a prime property available.
Think Big was not even up for lease so it was very covert trying to pull that deal off and get it done without people in New Zealand sharing the word of it or people over here and potentially approaching Think Big and taking the farm before we could get up and running.
We have been very lucky with Duncan Ramage. He’s been a great ally and has always worked with great integrity for the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam family and a great advocate for us within the industry.”
You certainly seem to have been able to establish a successful business in that time?
“Everything was laid out beautifully with a lot of thought and by horsemen. You could tell Duncan and Bart had a considerable say. Everything works beautifully without being super flashy. It has beautiful trees and hedges and I feel like they have spent money on pasture and fencing and everything important for safe and happy horses.”
Describe where Lime Country is at now and the areas you are specialising in?
“I think we are very good at bringing people together and into partnerships and I really like doing business with those I know, like, and trust. When we have clients like that around us, business is a lot more enjoyable and easier. We have done more and more partnerships. We spent over $600,000 at mare and foal sales in Australia this year with clients on the farm. It spreads our risk and theirs and gives everyone a chance for upside and plenty of fun getting together seeing the stock coming to the farm and going to sales. It allows people to dabble into something without the risk of spending $100,000 or $200,000 on a foal.
We will probably do more of that and next year I see us doing that on a bigger scale with mares and foals again.”
What about sales preparation?
“It’s a big part of our business. Most of our draft is always owned by clients. Very rarely would we have yearlings we own in the draft.
This year we will be selling for more new clients which is exciting. Jamieson Park who are based in New Zealand we get on with really well. They are a really good farm and sent over two I Am Invincibles, a Pierro and a Savabeel. It’s nice to be doing business with them. So far Magic Millions has been our highestpriced horse. In 2019 we sold a mare for $900,000 and this year we got to $950,000 for a yearling for Makybe. 2021 has to be the million dollar year. We are getting ever closer by $50,000 bids.”
What’s been the most satisfying outcome you have had since starting Lime Country Thoroughbreds in Australia?
“It was a huge thrill getting $950,000 for the colt for Makybe last year. We had only sold for two years previously. They breed a lot of good stock and Tony Santic is very easy to deal with. We had some fantastic horses that year and it was nice he had the top priced one.
We are also proud of our sell-through rate. We offered 44 yearlings last year and sold 42. I like when the chat around the grounds is that Lime Country has a good draft or somebody else says to you they heard you had a good draft.”
Your marketing skill has come to the fore with the branding of Lime Country. You have built a good vibe around the brand. Where did the name come from?
“In the Hawkes Bay where we were was the oldest registered stud farm in New Zealand, it’s strong lime country with lots of limestone. The brand was too strong to leave behind at home and start again.
In the logo, there is a four-leafed clover at the top which is a nod to Greg’s Irish heritage and luck and how we first begun by breaking in and pre-training so we added the snaffle bit. There’s also the original driveway lined with oak trees so we added the acorn.”
Have you found there to be any challenges in the Thoroughbred breeding industry as a woman?
“I think you are as good as you are. I don’t even think you have to be better than a man to be half as well respected. I think if you are good enough you get the kudos.
Your daughter Georgia is heavily involved in the business, how’s she going?
“She’s doing a bachelor of commerce majoring in international business. I can’t see her doing anything outside of the industry at this stage. She’s mad for it. She’s the biggest punter in the house and she does alright with her multiple accounts and her Saturday sabbath in front of the TV if she’s not working. She’s always on phone to clients getting what’s running and tips.”
What are your plans moving forward? Do you plan to stay in Australia for the long haul?
“There’s nowhere else we would rather be and with COVID that’s hit home even more.
JO GRIFFIN
JO LINDSAY
At the yearling sales and races across the world owner/breeders Jo and Brendan Lindsay are inseparable.
Together they have sixty racehorses in training and are now taking New Zealand’s iconic Cambridge Stud on an exciting journey into the future.
After selling their plastics company (Sistema) for a considerable amount of money they purchased Cambridge Stud three years ago and since taking ownership they have given the farm a huge makeover and are fiercely preserving its history through the development of a heritage centre.
We discovered horses are nothing new for Jo who has been passionate about them since her childhood days when she relied on them to get to school.
Jo, what’s your background and connection wth horses?
“I was brought up in country NSW and my dad had a dairy farm and we rode to school every day.
I have always loved the horses.
I just love the animal. I have always loved the animal. We used to go to the races with dad and sit in the back of the car.
When Brendan and I met that’s when I got heavily involved. We started out in racehorses with two or three and it’s all grown from there over the last 20 years.”
Your journey in the industry has certainly stepped up since then with the facilities you now have and success you have enjoyed on the track?
“We bought our first farm at Karaka which was the first 100 acres. It was a pretty run down farm in those days and we developed it into what it is today. Over time we bought another 100 acres plus another 350 so all up there we have about 500 acres which is now mainly the racing facility with a 1600m uphill grass track and a pre-training track with a shell base. This has now been operational for just over 11 years and there are about 26 horses in training there at the moment.
What’s been the highlight so far ?
“Probabeel (G1 Epsom Hcp winner) is our favourite at the moment, it’s been a great journey with her.
Our first journey began with a mare called J’Adane. She’s what really got us interested in the racing and breeding side. She only won one race but was Group placed seven or eight times and retired to the broodmare paddock. All of her progeny have won races.”
Have your breeding and racing interests been one of those things that’s grown organically or did you always set out to get to this scale?
“We had Sistema plastics up until three years ago and that took Brendan’s energy and there was a lot of travel involved. It wasn’t until we sold that we could do things on this scale.
Cambridge Stud came up on the market. We had looked at it prior but the price was too high. It was just by chance we found out it was on the market again so we went and met Sir Patrick Hogan and eventually we signed the agreement and away we went. In April two years ago we took over.
We have totally redeveloped it and bought another 200 acres adjacent. The foaling unit was the last thing to be completed.
We are now in the process of building the heritage centre which was always our plan from day one.
It’s in the build now and it will be a digital museum in a sense. A design team from Wellington with a lot of international experience is heading it up and we are hoping it will be open July 2021.”
What will the main focus of the heritage centre be?
“It’s based on Sir Tristram and Zabeel, all of their progeny and winners. We have a curator collecting all the material so we can set it up digitally. We are slowly getting trophies and people are lending them to us to exhibit. It will be a pretty amazing centre and then we will have the heroes of Cambridge and feature staff involved over last 40 years. As you walk through the centre you will see what’s coming now and what the future holds. It’s a big timeline of what’s happening at the farm.
It will be open by appointment only. We don’t want it to be a place that people just come and go. We want schools to visit and people that we can engage in the industry.”
Would it be fair to say that the journey at Cambridge Stud has not been without its challenges?
“Yes, when we took this on we didn’t realise what it does actually entail. When Henry Plumptre came on board it changed everything for us, with the people he knows and his many contacts - we are so grateful he has joined us. He and his wife Michelle have been an amazing attribute to the farm. We are there 2-3 days per week and it gives us some time to be at the Karaka farm.
We just love it, we are really passionate about it. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Sadly, three stallions on your roster died in a very short period of time, did that change your outlook and direction at all?
“We had a lot of sadness losing three stallions last year. Roaring Lion was going to be the star. That was such a sad time and losing Tavistock in a paddock accident was tragic.
In the end it gave us more fight to actually carry on. We didn’t for a minute say this is crazy we will give up. We thought let’s dig our toes in and make this happen.”
What’s been the most satisfying part about being involved?
“From my own perspective I love the support people are giving us. We were quite green when we started out but the support people are giving us is tremendous and helps us to enjoy it and not worry. Fortunately our finances allow us to do that as well.”
What are your objectives under the Cambridge Stud banner for the long term?
“I guess when you are doing this you want to be the best. We just want to be up there at the top of the tree on the racing and breeding side. It’s a whole journey getting there but we are really enjoying it. We are lucky both of us have lots of energy.”
