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| Staff Writer |
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There were times as a youngster, Nature Strip showed both flashes of greatness and signs of immaturity.
Co-owner Peter Kean remembers the days well. A few times, the tote didn’t quite match up with Nature Strip’s performances.
“He was a bit flighty, albeit he could win any race,” Kean recalled, “but he could also lose any race in those days. Some of the punters and some of the Australian and New Zealand public, got a bit annoyed with him because he would be a A$1.80 or A$1.60 shot and get beaten.”
Those days are over, and in a couple of weeks, Nature Strip is likely to be the betting public’s choice to defend his 2021 title in The Everest.
As a rugby administrator in New Zealand, Kean says there really isn’t much difference in how success is derived, regardless of the athlete.
“I've got an old saying: It's not just what you do, it’s how you do it, and not just what you achieve, but how you achieve it,” Kean said. “To me, doing one without the other isn't sustainable, you can achieve a lot of goals by what you do for the short term, but it's how you do it that you'll be remembered for.” Nature Strip gets the What & the How these days.
With the A$6.2 million winners share once again on Team Nature Strip’s radar, the 8YO gelding’s lifetime earnings could go over A$24 million and in range to overtake the incomparable Winx (A$26,451,174) becoming Australia’s all-time top prize money earner.
Kean said his ownership group, led by Rod Lyons, would welcome the opportunity for Nature Strip to shoot to the top in earnings.
Well, first of all, it would be a fantastic achievement and I’m sure we would be over the moon.” Kean said. “I mean, we've had so much fun and success with this horse, and the earnings keep coming. It's hard I suppose when you go back in history to compare one horse with another or one Team with another. It’s a bit like comparing teams over different decades or different times but certainly Nature Strip we'd like to think would be regarded as one of the best horses that ever came out of Australia, certainly one of the best sprinters. So, yes, it would mean a lot.”
Not that there’s any consideration of putting Nature Strip’s head in the grass or retirement at this stage, but the recent whirlwind of success has Kean reflecting a bit. Part owner Jack Van Duuren is battling some health issues, yet he made the lengthy trip to Royal Ascot to witness Nature Strip run off with the King’s Stand Stakes on June 12.
Kean said Van Duuren, will be at Randwick with the entire Nature Strip Kiwi and Aussie crew come Oct. 15. Just as he was in a wheelchair four months earlier at Ascot.
“Jack will be there at The Everest,” he said. “I think it just makes it even more special to win with Jack there. Plus I'll have pretty much all my family there and many of the other owners will as well.
“To be surrounded by family and friends, that's just about as much part of it as the fun and the excitement. For Nature Strip to win again It would mean a lot. A lot.”
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Kean also credits the training and riding team of Chris Waller and James McDonald for their consistency through the years, particularly with their Australian Sprint Champion.
“Chris Waller and James McDonald and Nature Strip, what we see of them are very similar on and off the track,” Kean noted. “Once they get on the track, they haven't changed. And they have that calmness and patience. Likewise, if you look at Nature Strip before the big races, he looks as though he's almost asleep in the stalls, but then when he comes out he's the boss.”
Lyons’ keeps the group altogether, Kean explains. To be able to have special times while winning is a plus, but you can’t win them all.
For those seeking a similar ride, Kean was clear about the details.
“The beauty and glory of owning any horse is to be able to share the fun times and the disappointments and to do it with friends and Family” Kean said. “To anyone wanting to be involved in a syndicate, I would say you probably wouldn't want any more than perhaps six or eight in the group.
“Appoint a manager, give them autonomy to run things. But support them and don't get involved in ownership unless you can afford it. Remember, it's a hobby. I'd say for 90% of owners, it's a hobby and there might be a small percentage that does it as a job.
“Make sure you have some disposable money because the bills keep coming in and not everyone's lucky enough to get a horse like Nature Strip that can pay the bills! Prior to Nature Strip, I can tell you we tried, tried, tried, tried and tried again. So, it doesn't always happen.
“Quite a few of the horses we've had haven't even made the races. So, you've got to be prepared for failure. You've got to accept the fact that the excitement and the wins and everything may not come immediately, but you'd always hope that at some stage they do.”
Kean is certainly speaking for those invested in Nature Strip when discussing a legacy that will likely carry him likely another year at the races, tops.
“His consistency seems to be shining through now. It’s just really nice to be able to say Nature Strip regardless now will be remembered as a champion. Even if he didn't happen to do well in the next race or two? We know we've always got a champion now. That's what matters to us more! For the horse to get that recognition and through history, he will be thought of that way.”