‘Bringing champion horses back to the people’

LIVING LEGENDS

EQ Life recently visited the property located next to Tullamarine Airport to see the Living Legends themselves. There were strict bio-security measures in place for anyone entering the property, with disinfecting at the gate and these measures also meant that we were unable to touch any of the horses. As we arrived so too did Channel 9 who were shooting footage around the Cox Plate. They were there to see Cox Plate winners ‘Better Loosen Up’, ‘Fields of Omagh’, ‘Might and Power’, and ‘Saintly’.

It was obvious that the horses relished the media attention, showing up at every corner to greet everyone. The flow of visitors has been very limited as only pre-­booked groups that have not been near any horses for forty-eight days or more can visit at the moment.

The team includes ‘Better Loosen Up’, the only Australian to win the Japan Cup (1990), ‘Bomber Bill’, three times a Group 1 winner amassing $1.892 million in prize money, the Sir Tristram bred ‘Brew’, a New Zealand race mare who ran a world record for 2400 metres when she won the Group 1 Japan Cup in 1989, making ‘Brew’ the best bred horse to win a Melbourne Cup since World War II. Then there is ‘Doriemus’ – winner of both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in 1995 and the Lindsay Park trained ‘Fields of Omagh’ who raced for seven straight seasons, winning numerous races and travelling to Europe, Dubai and Hong Kong before winning the Cox Plate in 1996 and then retiring. ‘Might and Power’, rated one of the best stayers in the world, was always a front runner that excited the crowd, and ‘Paris Lane’ with earnings in the millions, winning the Caulfield Cup, the McKinnon Stakes and the Queensland Guineas to put $1.7 million dollars in the bank. Guineas winner ‘Regal Roller’ and the Western Australian champion ‘Rogan Josh’ are there with the Zabeel bred ‘Sky Heights’ who at four years of age won the Caulfield Cup before winning other major races including the Guineas and the AJC Australian Derby.

EQ interviewed Andrew Clarke, Manager of the unique operation ‘Living Legends’.

Why was the Living Legends business set up in the beginning? The original concept came about through casual discussions with some of the owners of ‘Fields of Omagh’ who were wondering what they were going to do with him when he eventually retired as none of them had a paddock. They knew there was a huge fan base for this horse and they wanted that to be able to be maintained upon his retirement. Then they realised that there was a real opportunity for people to be able to come and see the champions that they saw on the racetrack. Often those super star horses when finished are dispersed around the country and never seen or heard from again. So the concept was developed to bring them together to one spot. It was a great opportunity for the racing industry to continue to provide an opportunity for those fans to continue their relationship with the horses.

Around the same time that the idea came about, this very property ‘Woodlands Park and Homestead’ became available. Owned by the Government, they were trying to make the property more relevant and to get more visitors and become more self-sufficient, building upon the tourism potential that was here. Once our group’s proposal was accepted we went about procuring funds to ensure that we could develop the facilities to house the magnificent horses – about $200,000 was required initially. This was used on good fencing and stables.

We now have good ‘Group 1’ horses as well as World Champion International ‘Silent Witness’ who is our latest addition. The world champion from Hong Kong was a big coup for Living Legends, putting us on the international map. A European horse and one from the Emirates Middle East and North America would finish the package.

Racing Victoria haven’t been able to commit major funding to us as their funds were tied up supporting the Racing Museum and they weren’t able to take on the scope of this project whilst they had the Museum. So in support terms they provided some funds with opening events and the Moonee Valley Race Club help us with getting all the grounds up to scratch and maintained. The VRC kindly provide funds when the horses make appearances in the Melbourne Cup Parades and different venues at the races. This year they did provide $10,000 for the horses even though the parade was cancelled.

We are looking for a major naming right sponsor at the moment. The potential for this place right next to Tullamarine airport is that we can offer people a big return on their investment with exposure and marketing. The firm would position themselves with every great racehorse that we have here winning all the great races in Australia. The homestead offers a function and event facility with the wonderful historic buildings and we hold staff function days, weddings and the main original dining room is used as a meeting room for those businesses who want private facilities. Ideal for board meetings for those who have partners flying in, as we are five minutes from the airport.

There are walking trails and you can even ride a bike all the way from Docklands in the city to here on the great bike paths. It is one of Victoria’s earliest recorded gardens and there is a lot to offer in terms of sponsorship and impact on the community.

What staff levels do you have here? Our staff are a very dedicated small team putting in big hours. Bill Swift is the horse manager and lives on site here. We have three part timers and myself as manager. The horses are handled daily with feeding, legs being checked, rugs on and off, etc. We have a great sponsorship with the hard feed by Mitavite, Virbac sponsors the worming program and Epsom Produce provides help with hay and other material. We would not be able to survive without their help. We also have a great work for the dole program and they help around the homestead and gardens.

And the equestrian industry? We have had support from all aspects of the Equestrian industry as some were first Foundation sponsors who provided $5,000 whilst other equestrians provide product. You know that Equestrian and Racing circles all intermingle and everyone loves champions.

So I suppose the horses are all characters …? The horses here all have their own personalities. ‘Might and Power’ and ‘Sky Heights’ are both Zabeel horses and very strong – a bit of mongrel in them at times. But ‘Might and Power’ is never happier than when he is around kids. ‘Sky Heights’ we call ‘Barry Hall’ – he is big and bold and strong and he knows he is good. He is friendly yet some days he would just walk all over the top of you. Other days he likes a quiet pat. ‘Better Loosen Up’ and ‘Fields of Omagh’ – they are like Federer and Sampras and are never a hassle, yet they have inner strength.

Visitors who come out here really get to appreciate that horses have different personalities. Some people have never been up close to a horse, let alone touched one. One eighty-two year old lady recently visited, patting the horses and she had tears running down her face as she had never in her life touched a horse. This particular horse can be a little contrary and likes his own company and not always wanting people to pat him. That day he sensed something about the situation and gave this old lady a nice positive experience as she commented that ‘he was a very special unique horse’ – he was ‘Saintly’.