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| Staff Writer |
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The final field for The Everest is starting to take shape and this week, Chris Waller Racing announced that Espiona will race in their slot in the wealthiest horse race in the world, which features a $20 million purse and is held at Royal Randwick racecourse in Sydney. Espiona is owned by a group managed by Star Thoroughbreds. Find out here about the journey into racing of Denise Martin, founder of Star Thoroughbreds.
Martin has a horse well-suited for the event in Espiona. This is especially true, Martin said, if you ask the horse herself. “She’s self-opinionated,” Martin said. “She’s a great talent. She has some quirks, as commentators would say, but she’s a fast mare. She runs very fast times in her races.”
Martin has an intuitive feel for which horses can be successful in these races. She had found great success on the track since her beginnings in the sport in the early 1990s.
Martin was born in Tasmania and developed her passion for horses thanks to her father’s influence. She would, of course, also find many other mentors along the way. Martin has worked alongside Tommy Smith, Gai Waterhouse, and Chris Waller.
But Martin didn’t get her start professionally in horse racing. She was originally in hospitality before turning her attention back to horses.
“I had a wonderful career, which I enjoyed enormously, in the international hotel industry, mainly in Europe, South Africa, and Australia,” Martin said.
In 1993, Martin decided to get involved in the burgeoning Australian horse racing syndication industry. Syndication is where a group of people pool their resources together to purchase ownership of a racehorse in share percentages. The investment by the owners covers the costs of buying the horse and the annual upkeep costs to maintain the horse.
“Three decades ago, I felt it was time for me to look to establish my own business,” Martin said. “I wasn't sure in what field I was looking at that time. But having loved racing, as I explained, from a young age, I wondered if there might be an avenue for me within the industry to use my marketing experience and to offer an opportunity for people to become involved in racehorse ownership.”
Martin recognized that syndication in Australia had growth potential. She quickly did the research and put together a plan. “I applied for my licence in 1992,” Martin said. “It was granted at the beginning of 1993.”
Martin feels blessed to have worked with several top trainers. Gai Waterhouse was one of Martin’s first significant contributors. “We had an immensely successful collaboration for 20 years,” Martin said. “It was a great time for both of us. Gai had not long previously been granted her licence when I started. She became successful very quickly.”
Waterhouse and Martin’s collaboration ended in 2014 when Martin decided that Chris Waller would train all her horses in the future in Sydney. “I’m immensely privileged to work with two of the finest, most successful horse trainers Australia has ever produced,” Martin said.
The business has changed significantly since Martin entered syndication. Martin looks to have 10 to 15 people involved in the ownership of each horse. However, technology is changing the game. “When I established Star Thoroughbreds, six people were committed to owning the horse,” Martin said. “Now, it’s many, many more than that. I mean, it is possible if syndicators wish to offer a horse in many multiples of shares, up to 50 people can be involved in the ownership of a horse.”
The number of interested investors has increased due to more data being available. Investors worldwide could find information more quickly due to the internet’s reach. Horses are also now have the opportunity to race internationally as well. “Technology has single-handedly been the difference,” Martin said. “And the coverage of horse racing now is extraordinary. I mean, there is literary wall-to-wall coverage of racing. Not only in Australia but internationally.”
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While Martin has joked that Espiona has a high opinion of herself, some of that confidence has certainly been earned. Espiona has won the 2023 Group 1 ATC Coolmore, along with 5 other victories and over $1 million in prize money during her career to date.
First up this preparation, Espiona ran second to Sunshine In Paris in the Group 2 Sheraco Stakes. Sunshine in Paris picked up an Everest slot after that race but has subsequently been withdrawn from the race. In the Group 2 Golden Pendant at Rosehill Gardens, Espiona overcame a poor position early to score a 2.5-length victory and then talk of next racing in The Everest began.
“Well, I hope I’m sufficiently together and haven’t fainted,” Martin said. “I would think she's certainly in with a chance because, she has an electrifying turn of foot. She can run very fast times. So, it's really a matter of how the race is run on 14 October. When you start talking about multi-million-dollar races and, believe it or not, a $20 million race, I would think she would certainly be well in the race with a chance to finish in the top four or five.”
Martin believes that Espiona will take her owners on the ride of a lifetime and that in time the mare could even make her way to Royal Ascot. But Martin emphasised she trusts Waller’s decision-making with all race programming.
“We’re always guided by Chris,” Martin said. “He makes the right call all the time. If he were to feel that Espiona or one of our other emerging talents were in his mind to the level of talent that would enable the horse to be able to perform well there Royal Ascot, we would be there instantly. But because the prize money in Australia is so good, particularly at this time of year, the focus is really very much local. The horses can earn anything up to $5 or $10 million through this period alone.”
Martin said that Star Thoroughbreds has primarily focused on buying yearlings. There have been a few international horses that Waller has identified through the years that they have pursued which has allowed some owners to sample the “tried horse market” but primarily the business offers yearlings to syndicate. However, buying yearlings presents a challenge for everyone in horse racing.
“It’s like buying a lottery ticket, buying a yearling from the outset,” Martin said. “We don’t know how the horse is going to perform as a young horse or as an older horse. We don’t know how the horse is going to perform under pressure in races.”
While there is uncertainty with buying yearlings, people do enjoy watching the journey as they go through the different stages of their career. Martin and her team do their homework come Australian yearling sale time (primarily January through to April) and assisted by Brett Howard, of Randwick Bloodstock Agency, they identify the yearlings they would like to purchase at auction.
Howard visits all of the major stud farms ahead of sale season for Martin. When the sales roll around, Martin is prepared with all of the necessary information to purchase the yearlings to race in the famous “purple and white stars” silks. Martin has found that the first sale of year, the Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale, to be very successful for sourcing future stars. Some of Martin’s top horses, including Espiona, along with Sebring and Invincibella, have provided her with enormous success on the racetrack.
“It’s an experience on the Gold Coast when Australia is really still in holiday mode,” Martin said. “The Magic Millions sale is in the second week of January. It works out well. Families are there and historically it may have been a case that the husbands go to the sale but now many women love becoming involved in horse ownership as well.”
Martin always has her research done to identify the yearlings which have the ability to repay owners investments. That ethos certainly helped her find Espiona and it has also been a strong part of her success since she left tourism to be involved in racing. “I would try to buy maybe 12 or 14 yearlings at Magic Millions if I could,” Martin said. “It’s become an international event now. With the high-quality yearlings they sell and they are very experienced team. Espiona cost me $190,000 as a yearling, but she’s already earned $1 million and is probably worth $2 million.”
By Dean McHugh