Gordon and Jacqui Richards were booked on a Sunday evening flight from Melbourne to Adelaide on February 26th 2017.
This had been a deliberate ploy, just in case their promising three year old Benz happened to win the Zeditave Stakes at Caulfield the previous day. They knew a victory in the Group 3 feature would mean a long night of celebrations with a horde of excited owners. How right they were.
Benz won the Zeditave with Blake Shinn up and the celebrations began before the gelding reached the hosing bay. The son of Bushranger (IRE) had now won six races from ten starts, an achievement worthy of a decent party.
Gordon and Jacqui were feeling half human again by lunchtime on the Sunday and were wishing they’d booked an earlier flight. I think it was Jacqui who suggested they should pop out to the Inglis Premier Sale which was under way at Oaklands Junction. Mind you there was no thought of buying a yearling. This exercise was designed simply to kill a little time.
The chestnut Lope De Vega colt was already out of his box being paraded for inspection when Gordon and Jacqui caught sight of him. He took their breath away. “He had this unusual blaze beginning at the forehead and finishing halfway down his face,” recalled Gordon. “His conformation was impossible to fault and he was a lovely walker.”
The trainer was quietly chuffed when he learned the colt’s official X/Rays had been cleared. As lot 583 the yearling wasn’t due in the sale ring until the Tuesday. He made hurried arrangements for a friend to represent him, with strict instructions not to exceed $40,000.
Gordon was relieved that his friend was able to secure the chestnut for $41,000. He probably wasn’t aware at the time that his new acquisition had been “pinhooked”, having been originally purchased for $70,000 at the Great Southern sale - a losing deal for the vendors Maluka Thoroughbreds.
Image courtesy Racing Photos - Gordon and Jacqui in the afterglow of a thrilling Group One win at Flemington.
Gytrash was conceived during Lope De Vega’s fourth and final shuttle season in Australia. At the time of the 2017 Premier Sale, the progeny of the Shamardal stallion hadn’t “taken off” in Australia. Nowadays he’s a burgeoning influence in both hemispheres.
Gytrash’s dam Miss Barley had left only one average winner, although she is a daughter of Fastnet Rock. It’s now history that Lope De Vega’s most celebrated Australian son Santa Ana Lane ($7.4 million) is also out of a Fastnet Rock mare.
Whatever the reasons, Gordon Richards while “killing time” at the Premier Sale was able to select and acquire a colt whose earnings are rapidly approaching $1 million dollars - a combination of luck and a discerning eye for a likely type. Gytrash has been only once unplaced in fifteen runs and that was at Group 1 level last year. He over raced and lost a plate when tenth in Despatch’s Goodwood Hcp.
When syndication time arrived, progress was slow. Gordon took a while to convince clients old and new, that the colt with “half a blaze” just might gallop.
The sight of a stampeding herd of owners in the Flemington birdcage after Saturday’s Lightning Stakes, was a massive triumph for syndication and the reputation of South Australian horses on the big stage.
Image courtesy Racing Photos - Gytrash has almost 40 owners. Most of them were at Flemington for the Lightning Stakes.
The emerging top level sprinter is raced by two syndicates and quite a number of individual part owners - all up very close to forty people.
Gordon isn’t sure who plumped for Gytrash as the horse’s official racing name. “Correctly pronounced “Gee Trah”, it sounds a lot better than it looks on paper,” said the trainer over the weekend. “Mind you when they’re winning Group 1 races any name sounds good.”
The popular understanding is that a Gytrash was a mythical black dog which haunted lonely roads in England awaiting travellers. According to the myth, the dog appeared in the form of several other animals scaring the pants off any unsuspecting passer by. The word is sometimes used today to describe “any strange looking individual.”
Gelded as an early two year old, Gytrash raised Gordon’s hopes from the outset but didn’t make his debut until February 2018. Stable apprentice Anna Jordsjo rode Gytrash in his first five races, putting together the tidy record of two wins and three placings.
Adopting his usual policy of using Melbourne jockeys when in Victoria, Gordon secured Luke Nolen’s services for the gelding’s first interstate essay. Gytrash struck a smart one on the day, finishing a short neck second to the hugely talented Written By.
Back home in Adelaide he had a quick “freshen” followed by a soft barrier trial and a comfortable win at Morphettville with Anna Jordsjo back in the saddle. Gordon followed his “gut feel” after this win and took the decision to put the immature gelding away for a protracted spell.
Almost six months elapsed before Gytrash was seen out again. Dom Tourneur rode him to an easy win in a BM82 at Morphettville, but Jamie Kah was in the saddle when he reeled off another win in similar company on the inner track at headquarters.
By now the Adelaide Cup carnival was under way and Gordon decided to step him up to Group 2 company in a strong Euclase Stakes. With Dom Tourneur back on board he ran a cracking third, less than a length from the winner Valour Road after overdoing it early. Then came the aforementioned luckless tenth in the Goodwood.
He was going well enough to prompt his astute trainer to return to Melbourne where he reeled off consecutive Flemington wins. Fred Kersley rode him to a comfortable win in an open three year old event, while Craig Williams was on board when he stepped up to 1200m to win the listed Creswick Stakes by a widening 2.3 lengths.
Another “freshen” followed by a soft barrier trial win at Morphettville and he was ready for another Group 3 essay in The Heath 1100m at Caulfield. After being held up briefly at the 400m he went under by only half a length to Crystal Dreamer.
Gordon Richards wasn’t happy with the gelding’s action after the race and was quick to order a thorough overhaul. Initial palpation by the vets revealed soreness in one knee. Scans and X/Rays revealed no obvious abnormality but he’d jarred up significantly in the affected knee. “I didn’t care how long he needed to be out as long as there was no actual injury. It was a great relief,” said the trainer.
Gytrash made his long awaited return at the highest possible level in Saturday’s star studded Group 1 sprint. With Craig Williams required for Loving Gaby, the ride was offered to Damian Lane who was eliminated by suspension. Dwayne Dunn wasn’t prepared to accept the mount in case Team Hawkes elected to run Exceedance in the race, leaving a very nice ride open for Mark Zahra.
With the majority of watchers focused on the newly tagged “boom sprinter” Nature Strip, few would have been aware of the chestnut horse tracking the dual Everest winner Redzel. They became aware when Gytrash suddenly loomed up to Redzel at the 200m with Nature Strip struggling and Loving Gaby starting to hit top gear. “It was a monstrous thrill when he beat those horses so decisively to give the stable our first ever Group 1”, said Gordon.
Image courtesy Racing Photos - Gytrash (Mark Zahra) sails past Redzel to win the Group One Lightning Stakes.
The huge owner group were unabashed in their emotions after the race. “I was enjoying the euphoria as much as they were until one of them, a big strapping bloke put me in a headlock,” recalled the trainer. “I understood his elation but for one horrible second I feared strangulation”.
Thoroughbreds have been in Gordon’s life since childhood days in Port Lincoln. “My father Henry was a plumber but hobby trained for years and there was always a horse or two at our place,” he said. “I rode regular trackwork for several years and enjoyed the experience of getting them ready for races.”
Gordon’s stables are just across the road from Morphettville racecourse. He’s never been a big team trainer, preferring to keep the numbers around the 20 mark. “It just doesn’t make sense to lose touch with each individual horse for the sake of having large numbers,” said the trainer. “In fact right at the moment I’ve got two spare boxes”.
Navy Shaker is a horse for whom Gordon has special affection. “He was one of the horses to get me going,” says the trainer. “In one of his seven wins he ran a Morphettville 1200m record which stands to this day. Not even Takeover Target or Black Caviar were able to beat his amazing 1.08.2 for the trip.”
He’s also proud of a win with Ballata in the famous Great Eastern Steeplechase at Oakbank in 2002.
Best performers for the stable in recent history have been Belfast Boy (9 wins including two at Flemington), Benz (7 wins including the Group 3 Zeditave Stakes), Roselli Sting (8 wins in SA ), Chapel city (6 wins in SA), Charossa (7 wins including 1 at Flemington ), Enki (10 wins and 18 placings in SA), Stimullatte (9 wins including 6 at Morphettville), Capodecina (6 wins including 5 at Morphettville), Garner (lightly raced three year old with 3 wins from 6 starts so far), and Bold Star second only to Gytrash in the stable rankings. The four year old gelding won 4 races at home before sneaking to Melbourne where he won a BM84 at Moonee Valley. Following a “freshen” he’s been back and forth to Melbourne where his form is exemplary.
He won a BM84 before Xmas at Flemington followed by a good second in the Gr 3 Standish Hcp. Then came a close win over Causeway Girl in the Listed Kensington Stakes at Flemington before a cracking second to Anaheed in the Gr 2 Rubiton Stakes 1100m on Feb 8th. “He’s definitely a Melbourne horse and that’s where you’ll find him during the upcoming carnival,” says Gordon.
Richards has the uncanny knack of knowing when it’s time to take a horse to Melbourne. He’s been successful many times and has gone very close to winning on numerous other occasions.
Image courtesy Racing Photos - Gordon Richards joined the Group One ranks with a fine training effort to win the Lightning.
He proved once again on Saturday that he knows when a horse is cherry ripe. Gytrash hadn’t had a barrier trial and went into the Lightning with only three serious gallops under his belt. “With his inclination to jar up in that troublesome knee I’ve got to be very careful with him,” says Gordon. “We have swimming facilities and a water walker at Morphettville and that’s where he’ll do the bulk of his work before heading back to Melbourne for the Newmarket on March 7th.”
When you’re in the racing industry and you have a name like Gordon Richards, it’s impossible to escape the constant reference to the legendary English jockey of the same name. “It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve fielded the comment thousands of times,” said the trainer. “As tough as it’s been at times I guess worse things could happen.”
Adelaide’s Gordon Richards has already carved himself a special place in Australian racing with a Group 1 success at historic Flemington. His attention to detail and a rare affinity with horses is sure to bring him further success at the elite level.
Serious horse trainers don’t get too much spare time. If Gordon Richards finds himself with any time to kill in the future, he should be looking for a thoroughbred horse sale.
(Banner image courtesy Racing Photos - Gytrash draws clear of Redzel in the closing stages of the Lightning Stakes.)