Steve Tregea had cause to worry when Anthony Allen made the snap decision to send Incentivise to the lead 1200m from home in Saturday’s Bm80 (1810m) at Eagle Farm. “Tactically it was the right thing to do because the speed was slow, but I didn’t know how the big boy would handle it,” said Steve. “He’s never led in his life and I feared it might confuse him.”
The gangly son of Shamus Award didn’t look one bit confused as he powered away to put nine lengths on Happy Go Plucky and Masaff - his fourth consecutive win and his first at Saturday metro level. He provided the first leg of a double for emerging top stallion Shamus Award who came up with the Oaks winner Duais later in the day.
Three hours after a win that had good judges singing his praises, the gelding was back at Steve’s Toowoomba farm up to his knees in grass telling a paddock mate how he’d destroyed them at Eagle Farm. It was hard to believe this was the slow maturing horse who made his debut in an Ipswich maiden just nine months ago, finishing 9th but only 3.6 lengths from the winner. “That run was purely for education,” said Steve. “I couldn’t get him into the paddock quickly enough and he wasn’t seen again until March. His first two runs didn’t get us too excited but you could see him gradually switching on.”
Steve Tregea is the breeder, owner and trainer of a very promising horse. He's keeping it all in perspective - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
His four win streak began in a Sunshine Coast maiden (1600m) on April 11th. Despite a tendency to lay in, Incentivise was very strong late to win by 3.3 lengths. Nineteen days later, he stepped up to 1800m to decisively win a Cl 2 on the Sunny Coast. He gave the leaders six lengths from the 200m, but swamped them to win by almost a length.
A fortnight later Steve stayed at home with the four year old, to win a BM70 at Clifford Park with Kyle Wilson-Taylor replacing Anthony Allen. The winning margin was 7.3 lengths but would have been ten had they gone another fifty metres. That win assured him of a start in the $105,000 Provincial Stayers Final of 2500m at Ipswich on Cup day June 19th. “Win, lose or draw he’ll almost certainly have a break after Ipswich,” says Tregea.
“Had you seen him as a foal you would never have imagined he could be doing what he’s doing. He was shockingly knock kneed in the first few weeks and it was obvious corrective shoeing was necessary. Our farrier looked at him regularly, making small adjustments as he went along. You could see the improvement month by month. He’s always been a tall, slab sided sort of horse who got the nickname “splinter” early in his life and is still known by that name around the farm.”
Anthony Allen has ridden Incentivise in 3 of his 4 wins including Saturday's demolition job on the opposition at Eagle Farm - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Steve’s the exception to the rule in this era of big commercial stables and frenzied yearling buying. He prefers to breed, train and race his own horses. Brisbane born Tregea has been around horses most of his life, starting off as a youngster at horse shows and pony club. Later in life while working in Central Queensland for the Dept. Of Primary Industries, he dabbled with a couple of thoroughbreds and actually rode them work himself on a deserted airstrip.
Steve’s agricultural experience led to his establishing a wholesale seed business in Toowoomba which he operated for thirty two years - selling to local farmers and exporting to Asia. By the time he sold the business in 2018, he’d been living on property at Cecil Plains on Toowoomba’s outskirts for twenty five years. With more time now on his hands, Steve has also set up a training complex right on Clifford Park racecourse where he usually has twelve boxes occupied. Spellers and pre trainers are kept on one of two farms which embrace a total of 105 hectares, and are collectively known as Windermere Stud.
Steve has been selectively purchasing broodmares for many years, rarely stopping to look at yearlings. “We’ve sold many a yearling, but haven’t purchased too many,” he said. “There was one particular Iglesia filly at the 2006 Magic Millions sale that I couldn’t keep my eyes off. Every time I went back to have another look at her, somebody from the Waterhouse camp was doing the same thing. Eventually they frightened me off.”
That filly brought just under $300,000 and was trained by Gai Waterhouse but obviously had her share of problems. She was named Miss Argyle and raced only twice, finishing second in the Gimcrack Stakes and out of a place in the Sweet Embrace Stakes. In her final preparation she won three consecutive barrier trials before disappointing in a fourth and was immediately retired. “She turned up at a broodmare sale as a three year old, and this time she was knocked down to me,” said Steve.
Miss Argyle has been a worthy representative for the Tregea broodmare band. She’s the dam of Cheyenne Warrior who won two races in Australia and one in Singapore, Ra Ra Epic a three time winner in Queensland, Ardrossan who won four races including a Gr 3 in NZ, and Bergerac who won ten races for Steve including an Ipswich Cup. Incentivise was foaled in 2016, followed a year later by a Golden Archer gelding later named Argyle Lane. “He’s now a three year old and like Incentivise has taken forever,’ says Steve. “We’re just now starting to ask a bit more of him, and he’s stepping up to the mark. I think he might be a pretty nice horse.”
After a trouble free run in the breeding barn for a decade or more, Miss Argyle’s luck turned sour in 2019. Her filly foal by Whittington arrived safely but died just three weeks later. Despite the trauma, the grand old mare went back in foal to Pride Of Dubai and looked certain to resume her almost flawless stud career. “Sadly she died foaling another filly last year and we were unable to save her foal,” said Steve. “It was the end of an era for Windermere Stud. You can understand why Icentivise’s winning streak is so special to us.”
A great image from Trackside Photography as Incentivise gallops through the crisp Toowoomba air to win at Clifford Park with Kyle Wilson-Taylor on board.
The Toowoomba horseman has no doubt that Love Rocks is the best horse to come off the farm. The son of Stratum had a very limited career of just sixteen starts for five wins and five placings. “He was a brilliant horse who must have had a freakishly high pain tolerance,” says Steve. “He had chronic knee issues from the outset but somehow lasted sixteen runs. All of his five wins were on city tracks and included the listed Lough Neagh Stakes. He wasn’t entitled to win a race anywhere.”
As this story goes onto the website Steve’s getting ready to have his second crack at the famous Stradbroke Hcp. His durable sprinter Niccanova will attempt to go marginally better than he did in 2020 when he overcame a wide run to finish a close third to Tyzone and Madam Rouge. The son of Nicconi has been a great money spinner for the Tregea family posting ten wins and thirteen placings for $1,059,000 in prize money. The four time stakes winning seven year old comes off a dashing win in the Gr 2 Victory Stakes on May 1st, and a close up ninth in the blanket finish to the Kingsford Smith Cup won by Vega One.
Another great colour bearer for Windermere Stud is Incentivise’s half brother Bergerac who registered his tenth career success with a Mackay Cup win last July. A month earlier he’d won the Ipswich Cup.
“He came out of the Mackay Cup with a suspensory ligament problem from which he never fully recovered,” said Steve. “We gave him another three runs but it was obvious he was well below his best. We found him a good home and he’s enjoying retirement.
“The thrill of his Cup double in Queensland was matched by a win at Randwick during a quick trip to Sydney almost two years ago. We took Michael Murphy down to ride him and he won a BM82 on that famous racecourse. It was a great day.”
Steve brought Michael Murphy with him to ride Bergerac in a BM82 at Randwick in 2018. It proved to be a winning move - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Steve recently joined a growing list of Australian owners to succumb to the lure of the Hong Kong dollar when he sold Command n’ Conquer to a client of the David Hayes stable. The son of Warhead had won five from seven under the Windermere banner including three at Doomben. Now known as Naboo Attack, the gelding was very impressive in winning first up in Hong Kong late last month. “I agonized over letting him go but it was a business decision in the end,” said Steve. “David Hayes is on record as saying he’s the best horse in his stable currently.”
Steve and his wife Anne have an exciting few days coming up. Apart from making a Gr 1 appearance with Niccanova in the Stradbroke, the couple are anxiously awaiting the birth of their second grandchild. Steve and Anne are the proud parents of three daughters Samantha, Casey, who’s already the mother of four year old Lilly, and expectant mother Hannah.
Steve Tregea has applied a lot of thought to everything he’s done in the agricultural business and the establishment of his successful boutique racing operation. Even his racing colours were carefully selected - simple, conspicuous and defining. The red and white halves and red cap will stand out like a beacon should Niccanova loom large in the homestraight at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Incentivise's half brother Bergerac wins at Randwick in August 2018 defeating Mr. Tickets (Tim Clark) - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
This effortless Toowoomba win qualified "Splinter" for the Provincial Stayers Final on Ipswich Cup day - courtesy Trackside Photography.
(Banner image - Under blue Queensland skies the long striding Incentivise had 9 lengths to spare as he won the BM80 on Saturday - courtesy Trackside Photography)