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Some may say that Gary Moore here was born to be a jockey and a really good one at that. Born to a legendary father in (a jockey) George Moore, Gary has never been short of a good trainer or mentor, however, we believe that genes cannot be the only ingredient in his success recipe. A champion on all fronts, Gary has been accumulating accolades since his day one as a pro. Whether it was riding these horses to the finish line before his legendary competitors such as Lester Piggott, Yves Saint-Martin, or at the later stage in the form of a trainer where he has been training winner’s day in a day out.
The colt signalled a great pin-hooking result for O’Gorman who purchased him for A$82,500 from Arrowfield Stud at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale earlier in the year and since then the pedigree has been subject to a significant update with the colt’s half-brother Azaly (Dundeel) breaking his maiden over 2000m at Donald and subsequently finishing second in the Listed Geelong Classic.
Gary Moore Racing is a stable that provides you with the most efficient and well-equipped staff that is needed to churn out champions. Unsurprisingly, Moore has great horses and big plans for the near future. Very recently Moore made a big purchase at the MM Gold Coast 2YO's sale. He talks to The Impact about the son of Arrowfield Stud shuttler Mikki Isle (Deep Impact) and his plans for the horse:
Q: You bought a fantastic horse for A$ 500,000 from the O'Gorman Racing Stables draft and we wanted to find out what makes him special?
A: I had a very good client who asked me to look at the catalog and I looked at all the horses in the breeze-ups. I was attracted to the Mikki Isle (JPN) colt out of the In the Clear (AUS) mare. He breezed in good time and had a very good disposition going around to the200m mark. I liked his action.
I always watch when they go away past the winning post to make sure their action is fluid. And then I can see the individual(s) at the farm before they moved up to the Gold Coast. And he was the horse that I fell in love with straight away. I mean he had a great presence. He had very good x-rays very, very good throat and he is by a very good sire out of Japan.
Mikki Isle's progeny is performing very well on the racetrack. His filly Meikei Yell has won two Group races - the Gr.3 Kokura Nisai and the Gr.3 Kyoto Sho Fantasy Stakes. That’s what attracted us to the colt.
Q: What are your plans for the horse?
A: Well at the present moment, he's staying in Australia. I have sent him back to the farm for two weeks just to get over the sales presentation. Then he will come into our stable at Rosehill. After about two weeks, thereafter we'll get him up to a barrier trial and see where we will go from there. The plan is to send him abroad, eventually unless the owner has a change of heart. If so, he might consider running him in the feature 2Yo races, but that could be doubtful.
Q: What are your past purchases from this sale?
A: Previously, I bought a horse at this sale called Viva Pronto. He raced and won in Macau as well as in Hong Kong. He earned over A$1 million and so I always go back to the right place (The Magic Millions 2Yo Horses In Training Sale) to buy my horses.
Q: What are your plans for the yearling sales coming up?
A: Early December, I will go around the stud farms in the Hunter Valley for three days and probably look at at least 500-year links. I will look at the horses from the bigger farms in the Hunter Valley and the farms that we've had a lot of success buying from. Then I'll do a shortlist for my brother and his son George to look at. From there we will decide on which yearlings we might go after over in the Magic Million sale.
Q: How many horses do you traditionally buy?
A: At the Magic Millions we traditionally buy five or six and then hopefully we're lucky enough to be given another maybe five or six by the breeders. So hopefully out of the sale, we can end up with about 20 yearlings. They are precocious yearlings and they go early. It’s always been our desire to win the Magic Millions race as I have a father that came from Queensland.
Q: Have you traditionally gone to around the stud farms or is it a more recent development after the situation with the COVID19 restrictions this year?
A: I have been doing farm inspections every year. Now, that I'm living back in Australia. I've got more time to be able to look at a lot more yearlings and stay in the Hunter Valley a lot longer. I look at the larger drafts like Arrowfield, Newgate, and Coolmore, who very good nurseries that produce a lot of winners. I also train for the Arrowfield Group.
Q: Have Magic Millions been your favourite sales company?
A: Between my brother & I and my nephew George we had some very good horses. We have bought very good horses, generally, out of both sales companies - Magic Millions and Inglis. And we hope to be able to buy the same kind of horse to race in Australia in 2021 as well.
Q: What are your top horses right now?
A: As you're probably aware my brother's coming back to Australia in December. We are in partnership. At the present moment, the better 2YO we have in the hand of Mr. Bon Ho. We have a half-brother to (2019 Everest Winner) Classique Legend who's called Fairy Legend who was purchased for A$1.1. He is a fantastic specimen.
Thanks to my brother five of Mr. Bon Ho’s horses came to us. He has watched my brother train in Hong Kong. And he wanted to support him when he came back to Australia in partnership with my good self.