Trainer Lloyd Kennewell and jockey Joe Bowditch have marked their arrival in Melbourne in the best manner possible as their brilliant mare Viddora (I Am Invincible) won the G1 Charter Keck Cramer Moir S.

Kennewell decided to make the big move from his Adelaide base and arrived in Victoria just six weeks' ago bringing his experienced stable jockey Bowditch along with him as well as his young family.

And having watched Viddora miss by the narrowest of margins in this race 12 months ago, she gave them a perfect housewarming present by recording a dominant win on Friday which catapults her into contention for The Everest.

"That's my biggest moment in racing right there, right now," a jubilant Kennewell said. "It still hasn’t sunk in."

"I'm so proud of Joe, who moved his life over here as well. There's a big depth in the jockey ranks over here. He's come over and that will kick him along as well as me having only been here for six weeks."

It’s a third Group 1 win for Bowditch, who at 41, has been somewhat of a journeyman.

"She's a beautiful mare. She's given me the ride of my life," he said.

"To get a Group 1 winner in Melbourne means a lot. We’ve just moved here and we are just trying to find our feet me and Lloyd. He's done a fantastic job with her and it's great to get a Group 1 on the board so early in our time here."

"It makes it all worthwhile, you make the sacrifices, but the rewards are worth it if you can make it here."

The perfect run

Both jockey and trainer were surprised by how easy the win came, with Viddora settling in the perfect position midfield off the hot pace set by Nature Strip (Nicconi).

She unleashed an almighty sprint at the top of the straight and had the race sewn up with 100m to go.

"I knew I was on the horse with the best turn of foot in the race. When she put herself in a good spot tonight, I knew she would take a bit of catching," Bowditch said.

The Everest is the logical next step off such a dominant Group 1 win, and Kennewell revealed he had a brief conversation with slotholders Neil Werrett and Max Whitby ahead of Friday's race.

With Chautauqua (Encosta De Lago) now retired after refusing to leave the barriers in a trial, she looks in a good position to secure the final spot in the 12-horse field.

"It's been a great ride and to possibly get that slot in The Everest, I think she deserves it," Kennewell said.

"She's been underrated and I don’t think she should be underrated any more as a multiple Group 1 winner."

Queries over beaten Nature Strip

While Viddora's prospects soared, those of Nature Strip looked a lot less brighter as he faded to finish eighth, beaten nearly 4.5l.

Trainer Darren Weir said connections of the 4-year-old would assess their options over the next couple of days, but he felt Nature strip might have had enough this campaign.

"You have to think about the horse first, you have to forget about The Everest. We'd love to get him to The Everest but the horse comes first. The big prizemoney can confuse you sometimes, but I just want to focus on the horse and let him tell me if he's right," Weir said.

Even if Nature Strip does not make The Everest, Weir looks to have a strong contender in last year's third placegetter Brave Smash (Jpn) (Tosen Phantom {Jpn}), who charged home for second in the Moir.

"He's had a great preparation. He's going a lot better than what he was last preparation. He looks a lot better I've thought all his three runs have been great," he said.

"He'll present there in great shape providing everything goes right in the next fortnight."

Thoroughbred racing and breeding has its fair share of those 'what if?' moments, and Nakeeta Jane's very existence is owed to a spur-of-the-moment decision Towell took four years ago with their broodmare Lustre Lady (Flying Spur).

"She was actually booked to High Chaparral and I think it was the morning of the booking, we changed our mind and went to So You Think instead," Towell explained to TDN AusNZ.

"She had a High Chaparral filly at foot, now called Layton Abbey, who won at Hawkesbury a couple of weeks ago, and the walk on farm we had her at, the manager there said she felt High Chaparral wasn't the right match for the mare."

"We had a quick think about it, and I rang Coolmore and said 'is it too late to change'? They said, no absolutely not, there's a booking to So You Think available this afternoon I said 'lock it in'. It was that late a decision."

Knocked back

But fate wasn't finished with Towell and Nakeeta Jane just yet. GT Park had intended on offering the filly at the sales but hit a snag which meant they retained her to race.

"We usually look to sell all our yearlings but both sales companies knocked her back, because she was a little bit offset in one knee," he said.

From the time she was born, she wasn't tagged as the prettiest filly of the bunch, but Towell always felt she had the potential to develop into a very nice horse.

"She got her name because we called her Plain Jane, because she was a plain sort of foal," he said. "We always called her Janey on the farm. She was always quite plain, but a big bossy sort of filly. Always very dominant in the paddock and always had a lot of presence about her."

Towell's father Ron had bought the dam Lustre Lady at the 2006 Magic Millions Sales for $100,000 from Arrowfield.

"John O'Shea trained her for us. She was a very, very handy filly for us. She was placed in the Breeders Classic, obviously a Group 2, so she had plenty of ability. We've kept her and bred from her since then and had a couple of handy ones from her."

Cyrus Rocks (Bernardini) has been good enough to win three races, while Layton Abbey (High Chaparral {Ire}) has won one from four early in her career. Lustre Lady also foaled a colt by Pierro earlier this week.

Patience pays with Nakeeta Jane

Nakeeta Jane, trained by Mark Newnham, certainly looks the best of them, progressing from a second in a Kensington maiden earlier this month to a win in a strong maiden at Warwick Farm last start.

"Mark's just always been very patient with her. He's always had a bit of an opinion of her and the plan was always the Oaks in the autumn. That was always the direction he wanted to head but she has just come to hand so quickly this preparation, that we decided we had to have a go at the Group 1," Towell said.

"She's been racing against some pretty handy opposition. Obviously Ranier (Lonhro) is a very handy horse she beat comfortably last start at Warwick Farm."

"She's been racing against the colts and geldings and been super impressive against them, so she's definitely worth a run against her own age and own sex. We decided to pay up for the late entry fee because it was the next logical step for her this preparation."

The thrill of a Group 1 runner

It won’t be the first time that Towell and GT Park have had a Group 1 runner. They enjoyed a great ride with the mare Montana Flyer (Flying Spur) a few years back as she contested five races at the elite level, including a placing behind Typhoon Tracy (Red Ransom {USA}) in the 2010 Queen of the Turf.

But Towell admits that there is a real buzz about having a Group 1 runner on such a big raceday and he feels Nakeeta Jane is in with a genuine chance.

"It's been a great build up this week, right from Monday when we paid the late entry, it’s been a big build up," he said.

"The market's suggesting that she's not really a chance, but we're quietly confident that she’ll run a very big race."

Win, lose or draw on Saturday, she’ll be spelling at GT Park on Monday, preparing herself for what Towell predicts will be an even better autumn.

"I don’t think she's fully mature yet and Mark is of the same opinion, so I think there's an exciting autumn ahead for her," he said.

Around 25 graduates assembled at the Hyatt Hotel at Sydney’s energetic Darling Harbour for the 2018 Godolphin Flying Start alumni conference. Following feedback from the growing number of Flying Start graduates, this year’s theme for discussion was based around finding and connecting with new customers in an ever changing and competitive marketplace.

The day was introduced by Flying Start course manager Clodagh Kavanagh who encouraged the delegates to share ideas and experiences and gain inspiration from the day’s speakers.

Breakfast with a CEO

The first talk came from Katie Page Harvey, CEO of multi-national retailer Harvey Norman and part owner of sales company Magic Millions. Katie talked of the struggles and triumphs she has had in managing Australia's largest retail business with her husband Gerry.

The company now has around 300 stores and employs 20,000 people worldwide, however she attributed the success of the business to the development and investment into her team and the evolution of their product and its services in order to deliver to the customer.

When matters moved onto the thoroughbred business Katie talked at length about the importance of getting more women involved and the significance they can have in racing and breeding as well as the need for people to vary their approach in attracting women as well as men as customers.

She encouraged industry leaders to use other sports to promote our own especially through events which encourage engagement with people.

This has already been seen to great effect through occasions such as the Magic Millions barrier draw on the beach at the beautiful Gold Coast. She stressed that ‘it doesn’t have to be in racing, but events need to be authentic to attract people’.

From retail to social

Following an interactive and entertaining teamwork event around the streets of Sydney, delegates settled back into their seats for the morning’s second speaker, international social media and marketing guru Adam Franklin.

Adam revealed some insightful facts and experiences around the effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool relating especially to the thoroughbred industry. He stressed how the population, especially under 30s are becoming heavily reliant on social media. Staggeringly, 50% of young people would rather lose their sense of smell than their technologies.

Adam stressed the idea of being able to develop trust in potential customers before they even think about purchasing a product of a service or meeting a salesman. He also spoke of how social media and online sources answer the questions people are generally not prepared to ask whilst ‘sales pressure’ is present from businesses.

In an industry where trust and integrity are the ultimate necessities in conducting successful and sustainable business, thoroughbred industry participants should make full use of their online resources to not only build trust but widen their customer base.

Considering the positive interaction shown in the first half of this year’s conference, the afternoon’s discussions promise to be both insightful and entertaining.

On to Barangaroo

Following the morning session delegates, management and current Flying Start trainees assembled for lunch at Shirt Bar, a trendy restaurant in the bustling streets of Darling Harbour which doubles up as a shop for designer shirts before converting into a bar in the evening time. Owner Justin Marmot briefly talked about the successes and challenges he has faced with the business.

Delegates then visited Lendlease Tower and had a tour and lecture from Lendlease’s Daniel Abbot and Sam Orton. The company is a leading property and infrastructure group which employs 16,000 people worldwide and has been involved in projects such as the September 11th Memorial and Museum in New York and the Sydney Opera House.

Dissection by the panel

Delegates returned to the Hyatt Hotel where a diverse panel discussed various topics. This was made up of Michael Di Natale, director of business development for Isobar and also managing director of ‘Plunge’, a gaming app focussed around horse racing, Trish Egan, CEO of Diabetes NSW and Vice Chair of ATC and Tom Ferrier, founder of ‘Purposed’, a company which helps businesses generate social and organisational value.

The panel firstly discussed what works in marketing in the wider world. They all agreed that it is paramount to make a connection between potential customers and the brand of a business.

Trish Egan expanded further by stating that with online resources speeding up feedback for a product nowadays, there is a real need for businesses to be as agile as their customers in responding to both negative and positive reviews and altering their services accordingly. She talked of her experiences of ‘positioning’ a brand and considering the customer’s point of view through the ‘value equation’. This weighs up how much someone will pay for something versus how much they enjoy using it.

Embellishing on the morning session, the panel talked over the power of social media in marketing and how it can be a double-edged sword for your personal brand if used inappropriately. There is also a strong need to be consistent in your beliefs and values across all social media outlets in order to build trust.

Conversation moved on to the subject of negative public perception for a business, especially relevant to the thoroughbred industry as one of its biggest challenges. Tom Ferrier highlighted that 90% of consumers will switch brands for a similar product which is more ethical even if more expensive.

Trish Egan commented that with negative public perception, people lack trust in the product. What is needed is to acknowledge the faults in the business and tell the customers what you are doing to fix them. This creates ‘mutual perception’, something which all thoroughbred industry participants need to help create.

The Award winners

The final chapter of this year’s alumni conference involved the presentation of the Business Excellence and Leadership Excellence awards. These were won by Henry Field and Vicky Leonard respectively who continue to have international influence through their breeding and marketing enterprises. Both took home a bronze horse sculpted by John Coll who is celebrated worldwide through his exhibitions and statues.

Godolphin Flying Start graduates continue to have a major impact on the thoroughbred industry internationally and considering the positive energy and quality of discussion at this year’s alumni conference, it can only be judged as a success.

Thanks goes to Clodagh Kavanagh, Martin Larkin and Sophie Swain for organising the event as well as the 2017-2019 class of trainees for their supporting roles.