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One of the most respected professionals in the Australian racing industry, Duncan Grimley has been involved with every aspect of the industry, from breeding at Glastonbury Farm to managing Coolmore's affairs in Australia, to acting as bloodstock manager and advisor for Strawberry Hill Farm owner John Singleton to being an owner. Grimley has quite literally done it all.
But the breeding of 'Giant Killer', Gytrash was a stroke of luck and a stroke of genius.
"Gytrash's dam Miss Barley was bred by Strawberry Hill Farm's, John Singleton. We sold her as a yearling for $350,000, directly to Patinack Farm," said Grimley recalling the beginning of this Everest journey.
"Clearly she wasn't a superstar on the track, she was unraced. After three foals, when Patinack ended up having a dispersal, she was included in the sale.
"I was at the sale with a couple of clients. One, in particular, was looking for a mare closely related to Strawberry Road to go to his stallion. I advised him to buy this one because I knew she was a good-looking mare."
"And at the time, I thought she would make A$30,000 or A$35,000. She was in foal to Lope De Vega at that stage. And I didn't think any more of it."
"I was standing in the back when the mare came into the ring."
"At the Magic Millions, everybody sits on the tables in the auditorium to make their bids. The client that I advised was sitting at a table in the back and I said to a friend of mine that he was going to buy this mare. Just watch."
"Well, he didn't bid!"
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"And I said, let us see what's going on here. As I was sitting with my friend John Johnstone, I asked him to bid for the mare and he ended up buying her for A$25,000."|
"Eventually, I walked up to the client whom I had advised earlier and asked him what happened. He said, that he had forgotten to bid. He also said that he had changed his mind."
"The mare went back to Glastonbury and three weeks later she slipped her foal. At the time, there were some concerns as to whether Lope De Vega would be coming back to Australia for the season. In the short term, there were quite a few issues."
"But then it all worked out. Lope De Vega did come back and we got a free return. And the result of that mating is now a horse called Gytrash."
"So it was a bit of a journey to get him. But he was always a nice horse when he was born. He was a big strong foal. He had a bit of a plain head but a few Lope De Vega’s can be like that. All in all, he was a nice horse."
"We entered him as a weanling at the Great Southern Sale in 2016, where he was sold for A$70,000. He was a big strong foal, with straight legs and he x-rayed really well. And he was bought by John Corcoran of Grangewilliam Stud (New Zealand)."
"At the time, I advised John to put him through the New Zealand sales. We expected someone from Asia to buy him because he was a big strong horse, and there were not too many Lope De Vega's available at the time."
"But John decided to bring him back to Australia. He was offered at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, where unfortunately for him, he only made A$40,000. He was sold to Gordon Richards, and the rest is history."
"I will be delighted to see him win the A$15 million Everest. Last year, I asked Inglis whether there would there be anything in it for the breeder. To which they replied, a pat on the back and their deep gratitude as they got to sell him twice," concluded Grimley as he recalled his journey with Gytrash.
Grimley's favourite racecourses include Royal Ascot when he watched Merchant Navy win the Diamond Jubilee and Flemington, where Fastnet Rock was at his best. Another Grimley favourite is their visit to Dubai, where they watched Dubai Millennium win the Dubai World Cup.
"Your favourite racetracks are the ones where you win the Group 1 races.."