Training partnerships and dynasty dynamism was again emphasised by the Hayes brothers, of Euroa.
Sure, Mr Brightside put them onto the turf map but they made added significant impact last Saturday.
Perhaps the headliner was War Machine, at $3.20.the shortest priced favourite for at least the last 20 years, according the Ratings Bureau, to take the Stradbroke at Eagle Farm, a demanding Group one assignment for Ben, J.D. and Will Hayes, that had escaped the famous family, littered by major triumphs, previously.
Obviously War Machine still carried the influence of the late Mike Moroney, a master horseman, who previously tuned the gelding, but down south their Sandown treble at the corresponding Melbourne meeting included Aztec State, a result that would have delighted grandfather, Colin, and father David, both Hall Of Famers.
Aztec State hadn’t raced for nearly a year and the Lindsay Park at Euroa training operation was able to get him fit, well and thriving for the 1600 metre assignment.
Recently, delving into training greats, Colin, C.S. to some, Hayes qualified, and so, too, David, still going strong in Hong Kong. Now the Hayes brothers, who look freshly out of kindergarten, to geriatric eyes anyway, appear well on the way to emulating them.
Like his father, David Hayes didn’t venture north much for the Brisbane winter carnival probably because it was too close to the Adelaide majors but now stables, with the benefit of partners, seemingly spread far and wide effectively.
Partnerships were tolerated when Colin Hayes was on the rise. Back then many trainers, well aware of the difficulties, financial and skullduggery, didn’t encourage sons to follow a racing career.
Officialdom shunned partnerships because of the responsibility of breaking the racing law. For instance a positive sample hits the testing apparatus and one partner takes the fall and goes on holidays (suspension or disqualification) while the business proceeds as normal with the remaining one or two.
Apart from Hayes, others with great turf pedigrees including the Freedmans and Cummings brothers and sons linked to make major contributions while others like Waterhouse, have gone into successful alliance with outsiders.
The Hayes brothers continue more of an empire than a family business which carries the moniker of “Lindsay Park Racing, Euroa” which began as Surefoot Lodge at Semaphore Park near the ocean in Adelaide in the 1950’s.
Colin Hayes later went bush to Lindsay Park in the Barossa Valley where he satisfied his catchcry: “The future belongs to those who plan for it.”.
It took 10 years but was in full swing in 1970. Hayes developed Lindsay Park into a mammoth training and breeding operation with an annual wages bill of more than $2 million for a staff of 136, including three fulltime vets, three blacksmiths, a saddler, 30 track riders for more than 500 racehorses in 52 paddocks accompanied by “50 fallow deer”.
Maybe not sensation figures on the present scale with the Ciaron Maher conglomerate, and a few years back Godolphin, but Colin Hayes had 263 winners in 1984-85, a Commonwealth record, his eighth Melbourne trainer’s premiership, and 23rd in Adelaide.
This season the Hayes brothers, currently chasing Maher and Chris Waller in the National Trainer’s premiership will top that mark. Early in June they were only around 20 behind Waller with far less starters.
Alas Lindsay Park in the Barossa Valley had to go. David Hayes went for richer pickings in Hong Kong so Euroa could be developed.
David Hayes plans to be back for The Everest at Royal Randwick with boom sprinter Kha Ying Rising and his sons have a possible rival in War Machine.
“War Machine’s rating at this weight of 53kg sits right on the average for Stradbroke winner over the past five years,” Dan O’Sullivan, of The Rating’s Bureau, reported.
“To position himself as a likely Group one weight-for-age winner over 1200 metres to 1400 metres he’ll need to improve by a length to 1.5 lengths and rate in the 102.5 range.”
Being a four-year-old with only 13 starts, under the development of the Hayes brothers, that’s not out of the question, considering the improvement of Mr Brightside, like War Machine, a New Zealander, as he got older.
Which is all Good unlike the form of James McDonald, who continued disappointing Sydney efforts with a Stradbroke day to forget.
Even champions can lapse. J-Mac handled three beaten favourites Quietly Arrogant ($3.70 to $2.80), and Chris Waller’s Hidden Achievement ($4.60) and Firestorm ($4.80).
Quietly Arrogant was beaten over seven lengths. The jockey felt from the 600 metres something was amiss with his action. Stewards later reported “no abnormalities”.
Hidden Achievement went down a length and quarter in the worst part of the track to Max Whitby’s consistent Cool Archie, prepared by Chris and son Corey, another partnership currently on the boil.
