Tamworth based Mel O’Gorman has made a career in training champion gallopers. O’Gorman’s charge Suncraze will be lining up for the tilt at the A$1.3mill Kosciuszko (the world’s richest country race.) while her stable stars Autumn Ridge and Rubble have already won at Tamworth earlier this month. O'Gormon has plenty of international experience (which includes riding 2YOs for Bill Harrigan from Miacomet Farm and preparing forty 2YOs in-training for sales) which stands her in good stead. Today she runs her own breaking, pre-training and racing stable.
O'Gorman chats to The Impact about her 2019 Inglis Ready 2 Race Sale draft and its highlights:
Q: Last year, you had two horses which secured excellent prices in Inglis Ready 2 Race sale. What was it about the physiology, performance or pedigree or these horses which attracted buyers to pay a premium?
A: Both the Shamexpress and the Choisir colt who topped the sale last year, breezed up in very good time. Going into the sale, they were in the top 10 fastest times of the catalogue and this obviously creates a lot of interest and brings buyers to the barn. The next step though is what really makes up their (buyers’) minds. Buyers evaluate whether they like what they see when they parade and the type.
Both colts where strong sprinting types and the Shamexpress was a well-balanced individual with a great walk. I selected both colts as yearlings from the William Inglis Premier sale in Melbourne with the intention of reselling them as breeze-up horses.
Q: You have five excellent horses in your draft this year, include one by Shamexpress again. Could you tell us about each of those horses?
A: This year I have four colts that are shaping up very well.
1. The Written Tycoon x It’s Poets Day is definitely a two-year-old type. He is very true to the breed and looks a lot like some of
Written Tycoon’s best gallopers such as Written By and Golden Slipper Capitalist.
2. The Wandjina x Mina colt is one that just keeps on improving. He breezed up in excellent time and is a half brother to group 3
winner and out of a mare that has had 6 foals to race with 5 winners. He has a wonderful temperament, loves his routine and is a ready‐made racehorse.
3. The Spill The Beans X Big Jet Plane colt is what I call the value horse of my draft, he reminds me a lot of a Zebedee colt I sold last year for $50,000 who is racing and winning in Singapore who is called Gold Coast. He is a strong sprinting type and with a double cross of Danehill in his pedigree, I would expect him to be racing as a 2YO. For someone who wants to buy a well‐educated, easy-going horse that is a pleasure to ride he should be on top of their list for around the $50,000 mark.
4. The Dissident x Demanding Queen colt is another impressive horse that has plenty of sizes, scope and strength. I really feel this horse will develop into a lovey 3YO type and looking at his pedigree it would also suggest that the best is yet to come.
Q: How long have you been involved with horses and horse sales?
A: As for the sales, I have probably been inspecting yearlings for about 20 years now and four years ago I started buying yearlings for myself to breeze up.
Q: What sales do you normally aim to attend every year?
A: I usually buy at the Inglis Classic Sale in Sydney, The Melbourne Premier, Adelaide Magic Millions, and March sale on the Gold Coast.
Q: Do you breed for overall athleticism or for specific races?
A: I don’t normally breed, I buy from yearling sales.
Q: Which was your most favourite horse from your own stable of all time and when was he or she sold?
A: I sold a lovely Darci Brahma colt in 2017. His race name is Trumbull and he has now had 5 starts for 3
wins and I know the best is yet to come for this horse, he was such a little professional who loved his work and is probably the toughest 2YO I have ever handled. I also hold high hopes for my sale-topping Shamexpress colt from last year. His race name in Singapore is Latent Power and looking at his first trial win I am confident that he will live up to my expectations.
Published In The Impact 20 Issue, 2 Vol
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