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| Staff Writer |
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Denise Martin was overtaken by the scene at Royal Randwick in Sydney, Australia. Martin had pooled together a group of owners to invest in Espiona, and they were treated to an entertaining race The Everest, which is the richest race in Australia and the richest turf race in the world. The purse for this year’s event was set at $20 million.
“The owners had a memorable day,” Martin said. “It was extraordinary. It was a full house at Royal Randwick. There was great racing all day, and the lead up to The Everest was very exciting.”
The horse Martin had investors in, Espiona, had a solid run in the race, finishing in seventh place, 2.79 lengths behind eventual winner Think About It. There was plenty for Martin to be excited about following the event. Espiona had performed well and given all of her owners a great experience on The Everest raceday.
For the richest race in Australia, trainer Chris Waller and Martin were able to lure jockey Hugh Bowman back from Hong Kong specifically for the race. Bowman was born in New South Wales. Bowman and has many Group One victories to his credit. He was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2019.
After the race, Bowman was able to talk to the owners about how the race unfolded. Espiona was never able to hit full speed in the straight as she did not have a lot of room to let down.
Bowman was happy with the mare’s effort but felt ESPIONA didn’t get to show her true potential in the finish given the lack of space she had in the straight.
“When he returned to speak to the owners, he simply said, ‘I'm really not able to tell you how she performed over the last couple of hundred metres because she went to the line quite untested,’ ” Martin said. “It was tight racing for the last three or 400 metres.”
When Giga Kick was forced to pull out of The Everest, Martin hoped Espiona may be in line to finish in the placings. While Espiona ultimately ran seventh, Martin was happy with the mare’s preparation leading up to the race.
“The mare was turned out perfectly by our trainer and his team,” Martin said. “She looked great on the day and performed very admirably.”
Espiona next raced in The Invitation and Martin believed that the mare was perfectly suited to the event.
“I think in The invitation, she (Espiona) is the ruling favourite,” Martin said ahead of the race. “The 1,400 metres of The Invitation suits her ideally. She’s drawn fairly. She’s certainly in the race with a major chance.”
With star jockey Kerrin McEvoy tasked with riding Espiona, the entire team delivered on her promise. Espiona beat Group 1 winners Ruthless Dame and Alcohol Free as well as Magic Time in the $2 million fillies and mares feature.
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McEvoy was forced to take Espiona wide on the turn before she went to the front of the four-horse pack with 100m remaining in the race. It was McEvoy’s third consecutive win at the race and he remains the only jockey to ever win The Invitation.
Martin was worried about the weather entering the race as Sydney has experienced an unusually dry winter and spring.
“It’s been the driest winter on record in New South Wales,” Martin said. “The tracks have been very firm.”
Winning The Invitation was another feather in the cap for Espiona’s owners. The filly has now earned $2.8 million in prize money during her career to date.
“She’s already a Group 1 winner, Group 2 winner, and Group 3 winner to date,” Martin said. “The high prize money for this race is great for the owners, and it has enhanced her pedigree in dollar earnings substantially.”
Following The Invitation, there isn’t a hard course of action planned for Espiona. Part of how her schedule may change will depend on how she comes through of the race.
“I’m not sure where we will go now with her,” Martin said before the race. “Chris may find a race for her in Victoria – she may race at Flemington during Melbourne Cup week.”
There are currently two options for Espiona and the final decision will be left to Chris Waller.
“Chris might suggest that she goes to Victoria for one or two races there,” Martin said. “Or she may go for a break.”
While managing Star Thoroughbreds takes up a lot of Martin's energy, it is a job she enjoys greatly. A lot of people have inspired her during her career. There are so many different influences in her life it’s hard for her to acknowledge just one or two.
“A lot of people inspire me,” Martin said. “I always feel that people who have had some sort of difficulty in their lives or career and yet have performed at the elite level not just in racing, but in all sports, are very inspiring.”
Martin emphasised that she enjoys working with Waller. His highly successful approach to training racehorses has provided a solid return on investment for owners. He has also been able to keep the horses in the best shape possible.
“Our trainer is an extraordinary talent,” Martin said. “I’m very admiring of his skills. I mentioned to you before I had 20 years with Gai Waterhouse. I admire her skills as well. But a variety of people in a variety of businesses inspire me.”
“Chris is my inspiration to keep performing well because I want to find high-quality horses for him to train and give our people success at the elite level,” Martin said. “He’s been able to do that often in the ten years I’ve been with him here at his stables at Rosehill.”
Over the years, Martin has found a system that has worked for finding high-quality horses within a syndication budget. Martin and her team do their due diligence at the sales looking for the right horses for her owners and trainer.
“I know that people in this country from time to time are looking to buy performers from overseas for a massive amount of money, millions of dollars, sometimes to race horses over a staying distance here,” Martin said. “Typically, in Australia, we are not known for breeding stamina horses.”
Finding the right horses means keeping an eye on the global racing scene.
“To secure horses that can run 2,400 to 3,200 metres, you have to look at countries where traditionally in the past, like New Zealand, they produced horses at the staying type distances. Increasingly, there have been European horses brought into this country by Australian owners and overseas interests to race over these trips.”
What Martin has found with most of her owners is their desire to win and it is important to be able to offer these opportunities as affordably as possible when sourcing a horse to be competitive to win races.
“We had a Group One Rosehill Guineas winner,” Martin said. “He cost just under $200,000 to buy as a yearling. So therefore I’m not looking to go to Europe and spend millions if I can spend $200,000 domestically and get a high-quality horse. That’s, in my view, very successful for what we are endeavouring to do.”
By Dean McHugh