Puget Sound fights his way into a starting berth in the 2017 Kuda Sprint (photo: JC Photographics)
One of the magical aspects of racing is the element of luck. And it’s that single ingredient that gives us those wonderful stories where the impossible is made possible and dreams do come true.
You can study pedigrees and form books all you like, but it’s important to remember that races are run on the track, not on paper. It’s also important to bear in mind that horses can’t read and go about things in their own unique way. They don’t know what they cost and sometimes a horse that doesn’t look like much on paper, might just decide to be a champion after all. It happens. And when it does, it’s pure magic.
I recently read that a racecourse isn’t merely a track, it’s the keeper of stories. I like that idea and I think I’ve found a good one.
Puget Sound, a 2yo son of Sail From Seattle, made his racecourse debut a winning one on 14 January 2017, appearing to have lost the race, but then fighting back in the dying stages to win by a fraction of a length in the shadow of the post. Shortly afterwards, my attention was caught by a Facebook post from Mathew de Kock, who wrote, “Still pinching myself at how well today came together. What a fairy tale start to something that I hope goes from strength to strength. Onamission syndicate , one runner – one winner. So many people to thank and you all know who you are. Well done to all the shareholders and the MDK racing team. The biggest thank you goes out to Puget Sound who humbled us with his heart and courage. All we wanted from him was to give his best but he gave us more. Special moment.”
Enterprising – Mathew de Kock (photo: hamishNIVENPhotography)
It’s rare to see that kind of enthusiasm and gratitude so, my interest piqued, I tracked down Mathew de Kock to find out more. Puget Sound was consigned by Beaumont Stud (the producers of globe-trotting champion Variety Club) on the 2016 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale. He was knocked down to Form Bloodstock on Mathew’s behalf for a relatively ‘cheap’ R120k last November. Mathew then syndicated him out in a rather innovative manner to try and offer an accessible racing experience to ‘Joe Normal’. Also, because Puget Sound was bought on a CTS sale, he automatically qualified for the CTS sales race programme and apart from thrilling his Onamission connections, his debut win qualified him for the R1 million KUDA Sprint on Met day. How about that for luck?
“It’s the first time I’ve done something like this, so it has been a learning curve for me,” explains Mathew. “I’ve just got to say thank you to my dad. When I came to him with the idea, he said ‘run with it’. I went to the Ready To Run sales because CTS offer interesting sales races and also because I love watching a horse’s action. At a normal auction, you only get to see them walk and trot and I feel that it’s important to see a horse’s action and how they move. When I looked at this horse, I enjoyed his gallop. He was a neat individual and he was bred by Wilgerbosdrift. We really trust the farm – they breed rock solid horses and we know they have a solid upbringing. I felt he went for a fair price, so we put our heads down and bought him. He was quite a forward type, so he seemed a perfect horse for this initiative.”
How it works
“We kept 50% and gave 50% to our grooms and staff because we believe in the horse and the idea and in promoting the industry from the ground up. The other 50% we broke down into shares of 1% (although people weren’t limited to buying 1% and could take more), so we’ve got 17 owners from 4 different countries and we’ve called the syndicate Onamission. “We’ve got teenagers, 30, 40 and 50 years olds invested in this horse!”
“It’s not an easy thing to do to try and bring owners in – they’ve got to trust your opinion and once you’ve got them to do that, you don’t want to let them down. The horse itself has probably been the easiest part. Since we got him, there hasn’t been a day that I’ve had to stress over him, besides the outside pressure. He’s sound, and happy and has done everything we’ve asked of him. On race day, I think the least nervous person on the racecourse was the horse!”
But why do it?
“I just kind of had this idea to try and get new people into racing,” explains Mathew. “I felt like there’s not really any reason for people to go racing besides betting, which they can do at home. If people stay home, there’s not much atmosphere or excitement at the track, so there’s no reason for young people to go racing unless they have a runner and owning a racehorse is out of reach for most young people because of the cost. You buy a horse for X amount of money, but by the time you’re done, you’ve got to add VAT and entries and vet bills and it all adds up. It’s not just the sale price.”
“I think the NHA should look at lowering costs – particularly for registering syndicates – to encourage owners to get involved because I feel we’re not making it easy for Joe Public to own a horse. That was the whole thing for me because I’ve had shares in horses. I’m young and earning a salary and realised it’s not easy to own a share in a horse if you’re earning a restricted salary, so I decided to try and do something to make it more appealing, affordable and enjoyable for people my age.”
Inspiration
“I was inspired by Charles Savage and his Easy Equities concept in the investment industry, which allows you to buy portions of shares in big companies. I consider my dad’s stable as a ‘big company’ in racing, so I just adapted their idea and applied it to racing. I bought the horse and then broke down shares into 1% and worked out an all inclusive package that included insurance, vet bills etc.”
“Everyone hates having to pay bills and contracts at the end of the month, so I worked out a rate for the whole year so that it’s a once off fee of R3,200 and then everyone can just enjoy it.” When I exclaim that at that price, I’d happily buy in, he says with satisfaction, “That’s EXACTLY the reaction I wanted. Training fees are high and they can vary on a monthly basis which makes it difficult to budget for, but if you make it a one off fee for the year, that’s very different. Also, and I think this is the most important part, owning a 1% share does not dilute your fun. You don’t say I’m going to see the horse I own 1% in run today, you say ‘I am going to see my horse run today’. And that’s the point I was trying to get – whether you own 1% or 50%, the enjoyment is still the same and if we can make it more affordable, we can get more people involved.”
At that price, it also doesn’t hurt so much if the horse doesn’t set the track alight. Mathew agrees, “Racing should be more about the enjoyment of owning a horse than the financial benefit. At the end of the day it’s a hobby, not an investment and I think it’s important for us to be realistic and say that. It’s very expensive to own horses these days, so it’s important to get that point across, otherwise people will end up being disappointed.”
KUDA Sprint
While it’s been gratifying for the syndicate to have their first winner – particularly on debut – it’s even more exciting that they have a lively shot at a R1 million race on Saturday. Mathew says, “I have to say it’s a great initiative from CTS and KUDA offering this additional race on Met day. It opens doors for few more owners to have a runner on a big day. Of course it’s all well for us to bring people to the race course, but one’s got to make the racecourse experience a good one if you want people to come back and CTS and KUDA have really come to the party to add to the day. I did gamble on all that when I planned this initiative. It wasn’t an unrealistic goal, but obviously it’s hard to predict beforehand, so we just decided if it happens, it happens. His race was the last opportunity to run and qualify for a place in the race as the declarations were that Monday. So we worked towards that Saturday and we never had a hiccup or a single day when things went wrong.”
“I just wanted him to run his best and hopefully not come last and watching the race, I really felt the horse was done and dusted and would get 3rd. I would honestly have been satisfied with that, but it’s almost like he knew how much was at stake and dug down to give us his all and come back and win. Well, that’s how it felt to me,” he says shyly. “So this Saturday we’ll have 15 people at the races that might not have been there if they didn’t have a runner. If 15 trainers did that with 15 runners, we’d have over 100 extra people at the track. Imagine if everyone adopted the idea?”
Managing the process
Racehorse owners are notoriously difficult animals, even when they are experienced. Has it been harder / easier with the syndicate? “So far so good. We drew up an agreement contract to say that we’ll always act in the best interest of the horse and the people, but the horse comes first. We’ve got a Whatsapp group for the horse and all the shareholders are on the group. Communication is a big thing in this day and age and if you communicate well, it makes life a lot easier. I owe credit to people like Charles Savage and Charl Pretorius who is our website driver – they’ve helped make it more fun and not so serious. But like I said, a 1% holder is the same as a 100% shareholder – you enjoy it the same, you feel the same pressure, so that’s why the build up has got to be enjoyable, you’ve got to be informative after the race and you’ve got to be informative about where you’re going in the future. You’ve got to treat everyone like a 100% shareholder – I think that’s the way forward. In this day and age, money is hard to come by. The game is tough, so you’ve got to appreciate the 1% shareholder.”
Fortunately it’s all been easy so far. “It’s been fairytale after fairytale,” Mathew agrees. “To have a runner on Met day is more than what they dreamed of when they bought a share. They didn’t expect it and we never promised it and hadn’t actually budgeted for it, but he’s paid for himself to go down and won’t cost anyone anything, so they’ll all just go down and enjoy the day. Whatever happens, they’ve had a good experience already.”
Fairytale or not, he’s certainly got a lively ticket on Saturday. Mathew comments, “He’s pulled up sound and happy. It’s tough for a 2yo to do what he’s about to do, but he’s showed us he’s got a lot of courage and heart and I just know he’s going to give his best.”
There are moments of grace, if we are lucky, in all our lives. Racing folk find them at the track. Why not come down and join us this Saturday?
