In This Months Edition
Trainer Profile - Myffy RaeBy Peter Klein AAP Racing Myffy Rae
Photo Credit: Steve Hart Inform's July profile is respected Queanbeyan trainer Myffy Rae. One thing that Inform readers have asked occasionally is where does the name come from? Well, Myffy is actually short for the Welsh name; Myfanwy. But although well travelled, Myffy is a Canberra girl through and through. Born in 1958, she grew up in the area and was smitten at the age of five with the horse bug. That was somewhat surprising as her parents had no involvement with horses or racing. Myffy says "I chose all my friends on the criteria if they had a pony or not!" At twelve she had her bedroom covered in ads with the Marlboro Man on his horse collected from Time Magazines which she sought out from local church fetes. Although mum and dad thought she would grow out of her 'phase' it was apparent her love of horses wasn't going to go away. However, her parents were adamant that she would finish her schooling and then go on to University. Myffy's father was actually a well known political reporter and Myffy got to meet all the prime ministers of that time through her father including Sir Robert Menzies. Myffy eventually enrolled at the University of NSW in a science degree and completed a year of the course. During that time she got her first look at a 'racehorse factory', when she started riding work at Randwick for Tommy Smith. What did she learn from TJ? "I started to learn what a machine it was. Tommy and Ernie (brother and stable manager), the other foreman and the whole atmosphere was enchanting. In the dark, working and watching, it was like a Dickens novel. I learnt about being hard on horses, but soft as well and also as to their needs whether in trackwork, or back at the stables." Myffy then transferred her studies to Rosewood Agricultural college in South Australia for a couple of years. During this time she had made some friends at Lindsay Park which enabled her to tee up a job with leading English trainer Henry Cecil. So for the next six years, Myffy spent her time riding trackwork in Europe and England. She returned briefly to Australia to get her jockey's license, and then returned to ride as an amateur in Italy. She had the travel bug bad - travelling and working in France, Morocco, Italy and Kentucky. In 1990 she returned to Australia again and rode trackwork for Tulloch Lodge at the time when Gai Waterhouse was starting to play a more prominent role at the stable. With two great trainers as Myffy's teachers, they both obviously had a big influence on her career. "T J Smith taught me to work my horses no matter what the weather was doing. And with Henry Cecil - I learned about training the English way, away from the track which is much better for horses psychologically." Myffy was granted her license in 1993. Since then, she's trained over 180 winners from 1542 starters, a healthy strike rate even by large city stable standards. She describes her training style as a bit 'European'. Whatever her methods, she certainly gets results. The Jonker, whom Myffy part owns, cost only $25,000 and is the winner of $741,000 including the Inglis 2yo at Flemington. Another good horse for Rae was Beau, a winner of 5 races. Myffy treasures the time that Beau ran 3rd in the Manion Cup beating home the likes of Northerly. He also ran second in a Canberra Cup, a race Myffy would really like to win. One horse she currently has, Sheezvalue, is a very good sprinter (winning six of her eleven starts) including the Doomben Dash last month, but is quite difficult to train. "I like the challenge of difficult horses - but only to a certain point!" Other good horses Myffy has had recently include Edge of the Storm - 17 wins, Gypsy Battalia - 8 wins and Abdication - 5 wins. One thing that keen judges say about Rae, is that she seems to have a knack for being able to keep older horses racing on. Nowadays, Myffy has 20 horses in work at her own stables at Queanbeyan. Myffy's horses are ridden by a mixture of jockeys. She'll use the top hoops if they are available and recently has called on the services of jockeys such as M Cahill, P Robl and K Sweeney with some success. She's also a huge supporter of female jockeys where possible. To Myffy, the hallmarks of a good horse are soundness and honesty. Whilst she enjoys selecting yearlings, she doesn't get to the various sales as much as she used to because she simply doesn't have the time. Training takes up most of that. What does she like about a trainer's lifestyle? "I love getting up early. But I don't like the travel and loath the bookwork which is so important and sometimes has to come before owners which is even more important." Myffy's weekly routine goes something like this:" I get up about 4.30am. At 4.45am I ring the stables to know how the horses have eaten overnight. I'm up and ready to go at 5.15am. The routine is the same every day except Sundays when I start at 6am. At 10.30am I'm back in the office taking calls, sending emails, check nominations are done and so forth." It's a long day (even before a trainer goes to the races) and requires complete dedication for anyone wanting to become a trainer. And the reality is, it's getting more difficult to stay in the business. "Really, I think I am struggling to stay afloat sometimes. To be honest, you need make sure your owners can pay. A lot of new owners think it is a bit of a 'fun thing' but when the bills come in they can't pay. If I could change anything with racing, it would be more prize money and incentives for country racing." But Myffy has succeeded in a tough business. When asked to name what attributes a trainer needs she says; "Obviously a good grounding in racing in general. I honestly think a period overseas is a must for all trainers whether it be Newmarket, Hong Kong, Chile, Macau or New Zealand. And of course communication skills are very important."
Myffy Rae - Quick Q & A 2007 Spring Preview: Leg-Up For Spring
With a new racing season once again upon us, AAP Racing thought it an appropriate time to highlight some horses we think showed enough in the Autumn that a watchful eye should be posted on them for the Spring Carnival. By Scott Gooley AAP RacingHOLLABACK 3yo filly (Fusaichi Pegasus - Lady Mulan)
Trainer: John O'Shea CAMARILLA 3yo filly (Elusive Quality - Camerena)  Camarilla in full flight
Photo Credit: Steve Hart HERE DE ANGELS 3yo Gelding (Dehere - Angelic Belle) FIUMICINO 3yo Gelding (Zabeel - Latte)  AJC Derby winner Fiumicino
Photo Credit: Steve Hart MURTAJILL - 2yo Colt (Rock of Gibraltar - Skating) PURREALIST - 2yo Colt (Tale of the Cat - Surrealist) REIGNING TO WIN - 3yo Gelding (King of Kings - Secret Liasons) Obviously there are horses that will come from nowhere and the future, particularly in racing is an unpredictable one, but we hope the above horses are in the thick of the action during the Spring. To be notified when one of the above is racing, or your own selection is due to race, join AAP's free Blackbook service to be notified via email well in advance of their next start. To join, simply visit the link - http://www.aapracing.com.au/BlackBook.aspx Happy punting! July Product News - Form Analyser is now online
Serious form students use AAP's Form Analyser to find winners fast. And now it's even easier with the new online version. Form analyser online does away with the software previously required to run the product. Now you can simply log on and work online to see racing data. Users will notice a number of changes to the screen. It's easier to find data than the old version. The headings are designed to be self explanatory. For example GET DATA means just that - it's where you locate and purchase fields, form and ratings. VIEW DATA enables clients to display the data. Once you are in the fields page, there are some additional buttons you can use which make studying form really interesting. Choices include RATE/ODDS, FILTER FORM, SORT FIELD, and RATINGS LINE. Most of these features were in the old offline version, however they are much better displayed and easier to locate in the online version. When you click onto a horse's form you get even more choices about interrogating the data. Buttons on the form page include LONG FORM, PACE, GRAPH, FORM LINKS and RATINGS which you can set your own parameters to. Another improved feature is the race notes and horse notes section where you can make a pre race or post race note about any race or horse. You can quickly locate any notes made under the SEARCH NOTES button. If you need to locate a horse in a race coming up, you simply go to the CHECKS section and type in the horse's name. If it's in the weights, nominations or acceptances, it will show the meeting and date. You can do the same for any trainer or jockey too. For users who want to study form offline, they can export the data to a spreadsheet in a CSV file. The really good news is that existing offline users can switch from the old to the new version with minimal fuss. By using the UPLOAD process, Form Analyser copies data from your PC to AAP's database including post race horse and race notes and the meetings you have currently loaded into Form Analyser on your PC. All that existing users need to do to try the online version is to go to PROFILE and change their preferences from offline to online and click on update. Form Analyser - The best online form product on the market. Try it today!
Want to find out more? July Book Review: Punter's LuckAuthor: Peter KleinPublisher: New Holland
Fans of Dick Francis will enjoy Punter's Luck, a crime mystery set against the backdrop of Australian thoroughbred racing. John Punter never expected his career of betting on horses to find favour with his father, a well known racing trainer. After all, he threw in those early starts cleaning out stables and riding trackwork to have a life and make a living on the punt. But his world is turned upside down when an old racing mate goes missing, big drug money disappears and bodies start piling up. Somehow, Punter is always in the right place at the wrong time and the cops think he's their prime suspect. So Punter enlists the help of Kate, an old flame now a senior crime reporter to help him dig up the truth. But the more they look, the murkier the trail becomes and Punter soon finds that the financial dealings at the top end of town can be just as ruthless as the betting ring at any big day at the track. Peter Klein is the son of award winning children's author Robin Klein. His previous book 'A Strapper's Tale: Recollections of Kingston Town's Strapper' was a best-seller. He's spent a lifetime in horseracing working for some of Australia's top trainers like the legendary T J Smith and Bart Cummings and was a one time strapper of champion galloper Kingston Town, a successful horse trainer in his own right and now works in the media as Racing Manager of Australian Associated Press. Klein can be found most race days outside the mounting yard, checking out future winners. Available: Price: $29.95 10 Questions with Steve Morely - Glenlogan Park Stud1. How long have you been involved in the racing industry and where and when did you get your start? I have been in involved in the industry full time now for about 10 years but have had a connection as a breeder for about 15 years. I developed a love for racing at a very early age where my best friend's father was a bookmaker and we used to spend most Saturday's attending the country race meetings around Dubbo. Also, coming from a country town and spending a lot of my time growing up on my grandfather's farm, I always had a close association with horses and the rural life. When I moved to Brisbane I purchased a small block of land and then went and started buying my first broodmares. I then spent time working for free on a number of farms whenever I had an opportunity to try and learn as much as I possibly could. It has basically snowballed from there. 2. Can you give us a brief overview of Glenlogan Park? Glenlogan Park was established about 15 years ago and is owned by Qld property developer Jon Haseler. The farm is situated on 2000 acres just outside of Beaudesert and is about 1hour and 20 minutes from both the Gold Coast and Brisbane city. During the height of the season we employ close to 40 staff and for the 2007 season we will be standing 5 stallions. We used to run a breaking and pre-training complex from the farm but are now solely devoted to just the stud side. 3. Greatest moment in your professional career? It will be very hard to top the day that Show A Heart beat Falvelon by a lip in the Group One Stradbroke Hcp to finish his racing career. At that stage we had secured both stallions for stud duties and it was a really fitting end to a horse who had encountered plenty of hard luck throughout his career. To get the quinella was just some amazing icing on the cake! Both stallions continue to provide plenty of highlights however, as Show A Heart went on to win Champion First Season Sire last year, is assured of getting Champion Second Season Sire in Australia and Champion New Zealand 2yo Sire this year as well as providing this year's Magic Millions winner in Mimi Lebrock. Falvelon is also flying and to own and race his first Group winner in Keiki was a tremendous thrill for the farm. He has served bigger and better books each year so I am confident he will continue to rise through the ranks as well. 4. The best racehorse you've seen? Super Impose lived here at Glenlogan Park after he retired and he was one of my all time favourites on the track. It was a pleasure and an honour to have him here and I consider myself quite blessed to have had some part to play in the life of a legend. 5. Your role must be a demanding one but when you get the chance, how do you like to relax in your spare time? I am still a country boy at heart and take every opportunity to get to as many remote places as possible. I love exploring Australia and have a particular preference for the Northern Territory, Western Australia and the top end of Qld. I try to go barramundi fishing in Kakadu as often as I can and recently went across to the Kimberleys which I absolutely loved. I also try to go scuba diving and snorkeling whenever the opportunity arises. 6. What's the most satisfying aspect of your job? Without question it has been the development of our stallion roster, their progeny's resultant success on the racetrack and helping clients breed winners and run profitable businesses. 7. Glenlogan's stallion roster at the moment is very strong. What characteristics do you and the team at Glenlogan look for when securing a stallion? We are very strict on securing stallions and what we look for. There are many, many aspects that add up to the final decision. A few of the most important are - Group One quality speed racehorses, conformation, presence, genetic pedigree makeup and the ability to be able to secure them at a fee that allows us to price them at great value. 8. Off all the horses that you've been involved with over the years, is there one that stands out for a particular reason and if so, why? Unquestionably it is Show A Heart. He is a stallion I identified not long after starting at Glenlogan as a potential sire who could realistically resurrect the Star Kingdom sireline. He is a magnificent horse to look at, was immensely talented on the racetrack, has an incredibly kind nature and now is making a very significant impact on the Australian breeding industry. He is a horse who has never let us down at any point in his career and with the book of mares he will be getting this year it appears as if the sky will be the limit for him. 9. Can you tell us some of the future prospects that Glenlogan will be offering at the sales this season? We have a number of outstanding Show A Heart's to offer next year including a half brother to Group One Flight Stakes winner Cheeky Choice. We also have a beautiful Fastnet Rock filly who is a three-quarter sister to Sharkbite. 10. Finally, the best piece of advice you've received over the years? The harder you work - the luckier you get! Crossword
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