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| Staff Writer |
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The rhythmic thud of hooves on turf replaces the familiar drone of jet engines as Mitch Cunningham surveys his domain. The former airline pilot, once responsible for guiding hundreds of passengers safely across continents, now finds himself at the helm of a different kind of high-stakes operation. In the verdant expanse of the Hunter Valley, Cunningham's Ridgmont Farm stands as a testament to his audacious career shift – from navigating the skies to nurturing equine champions.
As Cunningham prepares for the upcoming racing season, his attention is firmly fixed on The Gr.1 Everest, Australia's richest horse race with its A$20 million prize purse. With not only Stefi Magnetica confirmed as a contender, but Storm Boy being on the cusp of a selection by co-owners and slot holders, Coolmore, Cunningham's journey from pilot to racing mogul is poised to reach new heights.
The 3YO son of Justify has already won the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic, Gr.3 B.J. McLachlan Stakes, and Gr.2 Skyline Stakes.
Cunningham commented, "Storm Boy has been a wonderful ride for us, and one we feel is only in its infancy. We have retained a meaningful share in him and are confident that his three-year-old season will be more impressive than the last."
He added, "Storm Boy has always profiled more as a 3-year-old, so to have won the way he did on multiple occasions this season has been special. We hope to have a paddock full of Storm Boys in years to come."
As the 2024 Gr.1 Everest approaches, Stefi Magnetica and potentially Storm Boy will carry the hopes of Cunningham and Ridgmont Farm in Australia's richest race.
Cunningham's ascent in the racing world has been nothing short of meteoric, mirroring the rise of his two-star runner, Stefi Magnetica. "It's very exciting for us living in Australia, where we're all about sprint racing. And The Gr.1 Everest is the pinnacle of that," Cunningham enthuses.
"Year after year, it's one of the highest-rated sprint races in the world," Cunningham says of the Gr.1 The Everest. With potentially two horses in the race, his chances of success have doubled, but so has the pressure.
Stefi Magnetica's journey from a humble maiden winner at Wellington to the newly minted Gr.1 Everest contender is a narrative that captures the essence of racing dreams. Her progression has been a whirlwind of success, culminating in her triumph in the Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap.
Cunningham attributes this rapid improvement to her trainer, Bjorn Baker. "A lot of it is down to the training performance of Bjorn Baker. He's an extraordinary trainer based in Sydney. He's done a remarkable job with Stefi," he explains.
The mare's success story is interwoven with threads of family legacy. Following in the hoofprints of her dam, Mid Summer Music, who also claimed the Stradbroke, Stefi Magnetica represents a rare mother-daughter duo to clinch the prestigious race.
"It's a remarkable feat and very unusual for a mother and daughter to win the same race," Cunningham reflects. "There's a lot of familial ties to Stefi Magnetica, certainly in her breeding between Mid Summer Music and her, but equally, we've got co-owners in the horse who are father and son pairs."
Reflecting on Stefi's breeding, Cunningham elaborates, "She's by All Too Hard out of Mid Summer Music; you know, traditionally, All Too Hard isn't going to get you that precocious two-year-old type style horse, but he's known to get you a very high quality, high caliber horse. But they take time, typically, which makes a lot of sense given Stefi's rate of improvement as she's gotten older."
Cunningham's success on the track is mirrored by the growth of his breeding operation, Ridgmont. Nestled on 550 acres of prime Hunter Valley land, Ridgmont is home to about 60 broodmares and is rapidly becoming a powerhouse in the industry.
Cunningham explains. "We try to breed and sell at the top end of the market. We've got about 60 broodmares here, and we're breeding, usually to proven top-line stallions, and selling at Magic Millions or Inglis Easter sale."
The farm's philosophy is as ambitious as its founder. "Our credo is that all our horses should be given the opportunity to win a Group One," Cunningham states. "It does sound quite hyperbolic, and clearly not every horse will win a group one; very few do. But the idea behind it is that everything we do here lays the foundation to give every horse that opportunity," he elaborates.
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Cunningham's transition from the cockpit to the paddock might seem unlikely, but he sees clear parallels. "I think business is business," he reflects. "There's a lot you can take from your past experiences, and there's certainly a lot I could take from my flying days."
The precision and attention to detail required in aviation have found a new application in Cunningham's approach to horse management. "Probably the biggest challenge in running any business is the interpersonal and staffing side of it," he notes. "And so that's a tool that I've sharpened significantly in the last few ventures and years of my professional life."
Cunningham emphasises the importance of his team, "Our General Manager is a fellow called Chris Phillips who is a vet by trade, but he's as good a horse person as we could have hoped to have hired at Ridgmont early on, and beneath him, he's matched by expertise from varied backgrounds, which when put together, puts us in good stead to grow the business at the right rate."
At the heart of Cunningham's racing empire lies a deep-rooted family connection. The Ridgmont logo, featuring six lines representing each member of his immediate family, is a testament to this. "Family is everything to us. This is a family business," Cunningham says. "My father and my brother are heavily involved, and this is something that we want to do together."
This familial bond extends to the naming of his star mare. "The fact that the horse is named after my wife... there's all these cool little stories that I guess hark back to that sort of family tie to Stefi," he shares.
Expanding on the significance of the logo, Cunningham adds, "The six lines on the logo represent each member of my family. So, it's my father, my mother, myself, my sister, my two brothers, and further to that, their children and partners. We all love racing, and racing is a really important part of our family dynamic."
As The Gr.1 Everest approaches, Cunningham finds himself in the enviable position of having two possible shots at Australia's richest race. The preparation is meticulous, drawing on all his experience both in the air and on the ground.
"These days are there to be enjoyed," Cunningham says. "There's nothing I can do about it on the day to change the outcome. So I'll be there with my family and colleagues and friends, and we'll just be enjoying it."
Discussing Stefi Magnetica's preparation, Cunningham reveals, "At the moment, her next run will be The Gr.1 Everest. She trialed well on October 5th, and Bjorn will give her some meaningful work beyond that, leading into The Gr.1 Everest."
Looking beyond the A$20 million feature race, Cunningham's ambitions for Ridgmont continue to soar. "We're pretty ambitious with where we want to take the farm, and we've got some lofty aspirations as to where we want to go," he reveals.
The possibility of standing stallions at Ridgemont in the future isn't ruled out, but for now, Cunningham's focus remains on perfecting their current model. "At the moment, our focus is very much on the business at hand, and that is breeding really strong and sound horses and racing really good horses," he affirms.
Cunningham also shares his plans for Stefi Magnetica's future. "Stefi Magnetica will come back here after she's finished racing, and we'll be breeding from her. She's really given us everything we could have dreamt of as a racehorse, and hopefully that continues, but that'll just be a bonus," he reflects.
As for Storm Boy, Cunningham sees him as a potential cornerstone for the farm's future breeding operations. "We have retained a meaningful share in him and are confident that his 3YO season will be more impressive than the last," states the former pilot.
As the headline race of the Everest Spring Carnival looms, Mitch Cunningham stands at the threshold of racing history. With not one but possibly two horses in The Gr.1 Everest, he's not just participating in Australia's richest race – he's making a statement. From the cockpit to the winner's circle, Cunningham's journey embodies the spirit of Australian racing: bold, ambitious, and always reaching for new heights.