RECORD SEASON FOR BALLYMORE

Group One wins by Tofane (Ocean Park) and Roch ‘N’ Horse (Per Incanto) highlighted a record season for Ballymore Stables.

Both bred in New Zealand, Tofane gained her fourth elite level victory in the C. F. Orr Stakes (Gr. 1, 1400m) in February at Caulfield, and Roch ‘N’ Horse won the Newmarket Handicap (Gr. 1, 1200m) in March at Flemington.

The stables of Mike Moroney at Flemington, and with co-trainer Pam Gerard at Matamata, reached their highest combined prize money of nearly NZ$8 million.

The Flemington stable produced eight stakes wins in a total of 51 for the season, while Westbury Classic (Gr. 2, 1400m) winner Dragon Queen (Sweynesse) headed 24 wins for the stable at Matamata.

“That’s the best year we’ve had since Pam and I have been in partnership,” Moroney said.

“Pam prepared Roch ‘N’ Horse in New Zealand, and she came over and won the $1.5 million Newmarket which is one of the bigger stakes we’ve won for awhile. It’s a great combination.

“But the overall tally is certainly a reflection of the Metropolitan prize money over here in Australia.

“We had a good year all round, considering we couldn’t travel as much with the Covid situation. There were parts of the season we could send horses away but we couldn’t send staff with them, which made decisions a bit harder and we had to be watchful of where we travelled. It’s a bit freer now which is going to make a big difference.

“Also with three seasons on end training two Group One winners got us back in the spotlight and upgraded the types of horses we’ve been offered to train, too.

“It’s really proven to New Zealanders that you send them across and accomplish what Roch ‘N’ Horse did at the end of a NZ summer campaign.

“For that reason, we’ve got quite a few New Zealand bred and owned horses that would make up about fifty percent of the stable.

“Horses like Tokorangi, Milford Sound, Reputabelle, Halston, Ceasar, Lottaroc, Sigourney, and we are starting to bring more over from New Zealand to race here.

“It’s a good model and the horses and owners are getting the best of both worlds. They’re getting a far cheaper training fee in New Zealand, and a great environment for their education as young horses.

“If they (horses) put their hand up and once they’re mature enough they can come across here. That’s the proper way to do it and once they’re over in Australia it’s cheaper to race them here because everything is paid for.

“Owners don’t pay riding fees or nomination fees and every runner back to tenth, basically, gets $750 for turning up. So it covers all your expenses, means you’re not out of pocket for running, and a couple of runs in a month can make quite an impact on the training fees.

“And, of course, they’re racing for more money, so once they get racing it’s a far better equation for them to be over here if they’re a horse of the right calibre and good enough to be competitive.

“Pam gives me a good idea of whether they’re mature enough mentally and physically, so the system works and it’s remarkable how well they come over here and settle in. Fillies and mares, especially, seem to settle in very well in Australia.

“Boxing them and using the horse walker, probably more controlled, and they seem to relax and put on weight.

“One exception, Let’s Say Grace, who beat a good field at Tauranga, took awhile to settle in, but has now and hopefully we can get the best out of her.

“It’s not a high pressure situation over here, compared to, say, Hong Kong. We use farms a lot to give them small breaks after they race.

“A lot of big races we’ve won have been with New Zealand bred horses and we’re still supporting New Zealand a hell of a lot.

“We’ve certainly got some nice depth in the horses to kick off the new season and we’re really looking forward to it.

“There are quite a number of nice horses; whether they reach the top we don’t know, but on their work there’s going to be something for the owners.”

Reflecting on events from the stables at Matamata, Gerard said: “It was good to see the horses performing well on both sides of the Tasman, which shows that Mike (Moroney) and Paul (Moroney) are buying the right horses.

“We do most of the education here in New Zealand, and we have a really good team of staff that allows that to happen.

“We’ve had a lot of starters in the big races and they’ve gone well and been around the mark, but at times lacked a bit of luck.

“We’ve also had some nice owners come in and bought into the yearlings from Karaka. We’ve got some promising young horses just turning two or three, and types that are shaping to get up and go a bit earlier.

“The model of educating horses here is working really well and as an example we recently sent a very nice El Roca horse, Lottaroc, over to Mike and he won a $50,000 Maiden by three lengths at his second start in Melbourne.

“We know which ones we need to get there and a lot of them are going over and winning races early in their careers. Obviously, they have to have the ability and be fast enough but the results are showing that we’re getting better at identifying the right prospects.

“A fair bit comes down to nature and temperament, but Mike seems pretty happy with the way the Kiwi bred horses are settling into his facilities and training regime.

“It’s appealing to owners. Costs are a lot cheaper here and they get the good grass and bigger areas to run around in and strengthen up. That’s readily available to them whenever they need it.

“If they step up the work and get a bit tired, we can put them back out and every time they do that they’re running around a big grass paddock with plenty of feed. So they get the time to mature.

“A lot of people say to me: “Pam, a lot of the horses you train end up going to Australia”. But that’s never been a factor for me and we’re working as a team. It’s pretty gratifying when a mare like Roch ‘N’ Horse can race really well here and then go over and win such a big race as the Newmarket.

“You’ve got to have the good ones coming through, like Roch ‘N’ Horse, Tofane, Sound, Harlech, and it helps the whole process of buying yearlings, getting owners, and seeing them perform at the highest levels.

“At the beginning, it’s the horse that you buy and both Mike and Paul do an outstanding job of selecting horses at the sales.

“Then, it’s just about nurturing them and getting the best out of them. Teaching them in the early education, training their minds, and working out what each of their needs are.

“In the past, they’ve probably been renowned for buying more classic and staying types, and had a lot of success in those races, but they’ve also bought plenty of talented young horses and we’re shaping up for the new season with quite a few that have the firepower to go early.

“We’ve certainly got some we can give the early races a crack with, all going well, and a horse like Harlech is ahead of where he needs to be and ready to have a jump out.”

We would like to thank everybody who has supported and contributed to an amazing season and we hope for much more success in the future. Photo: Bruno Cannatelli