As the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained and in the game of chance that is horse racing, there are many who have rolled the dice only to find out down the track things didn't work out quite the way they planned.
Michael Freedman, the youngest member of Australia’s famous training quartet once known as the FBI (Freedman Brothers Inc), understands this only too well.
After a long and successful stint in Singapore and a brief return home to Sydney, Michael was lured to the exclusive Hong Kong training ranks in 2017.
It was the call-up most horsemen can only dream of and he didn’t have to think twice about it, enthusiastically embracing the opportunity to join what’s considered by many as the pinnacle of global horse racing.
A tough hand
But, looking back, it’s fair to say he was dealt a rough hand of cards.
“The truth be known it was a difficult assignment from the word go. I don’t agree with it but local owners have a perception of the Olympic Stables. I think it’s a fantastic setup but they thought they were not lucky.”
“It was like fighting with one arm tied behind your back,” said Michael.
The “Olympic Stables” at Sha Tin, located at the opposite end to where the main contingent of trainers is based at the ginormous racecourse, are a legacy of the 2008 Beijing Olympics when the Hong Kong Jockey Club provided training and competition infrastructure for Equestrian events.
Over the years, Chinese superstition has placed a hoodoo over the Olympic Stables with many Hong Kong owners believing they are “unlucky”. This theory gained momentum thanks to underachieving trainers of the past repeatedly blaming them for their poor results.
“It was like fighting with one arm tied behind your back." - Michael Freedman
Subsequently, Michael struggled to attract support from Hong Kong owners who can be difficult to get on side at the best of times. With only substandard stock to work with, winners were rare and then came the infamous accident involving a horse walking machine at the stables which only fuelled the bizarre myth.
Unable to dispel the sentiment, and missing his teenaged triplet children in boarding school back home in Australia, Michael decided to hand in his Hong Kong training license last October. Whilst it wasn't the type of international career mission he and wife Anna had hoped for, he remains philosophical about the journey.
“Had I not done taken up the opportunity, I would have forever questioned the decision. You make decisions and clearly, with the benefit of hindsight, it wasn't the right move. I would have been wondering maybe I should have, and clearly, I know now that’s not the case.”
The Sha Tin racecourse
“Hong Kong just didn't suit us at all. It came out of the blue. I had no real intentions of going and when that came up quite suddenly, I had to make a fairly quick decision. We went up with every intention of trying to make it a long-term thing but on many levels, we didn't like it and made a decision it was better to come back and get re-established in Sydney.”
“Had I not done taken up the opportunity, I would have forever questioned the decision." - Michael Freedman
Six months on and the vast open spaces of the Hunter Valley could not be further from the hustle of Hong Kong and that’s where Michael found himself last week attending his first Scone Cup Carnival.
New partnership
Just a few weeks after announcing a new training partnership with his brother Richard, luck was on his side this time with the pair winning the Scone Cup (Listed) (1600m) in front of a crowd of local breeders and friends in the racing fraternity.
“We couldn't have scripted it any better. In the context of our partnership kicking off, it was really timely to win a feature race over the two days.”
There was a touch of irony when Special Missile (Smart Missile) crossed the line to win the Cup as the horse’s owner is the Hong Kong-based Kenneth Chung for whom Michael didn't train for whilst he was based in the region. It’s a different story nowadays and he’s got a handful of Kenneth’s horses that are managed by Bill Mitchell in his Randwick stable.
“We couldn't have scripted it any better." - Richard Freedman
Michael’s brother Richard, who will continue operating out of his Rosehill stables, says whilst the win wasn’t the biggest that they have shared together, it was the most important as they prepare to take on the might of some of the bigger training operations in Sydney.
“Once you start to analyse the way the industry is heading it seems the big and the powerful are becoming bigger and powerful and it’s very hard for boutique stables to keep up so we thought we better make ourselves bigger and joining forces did that,” said Richard.
“The market is seeking alternatives to the established stables and we are hoping that the owners can trust us with what are very expensive commodities these days in racehorses. When you have 30 years of experience hopefully you can engender a bit of confidence.”
Special Missile winning the Listed Scone Cup
That experience has taught them a lot of lessons and to understand each other well.
“This is not our first rodeo and we went into this partnership differently in so far as we knew what the pitfalls were and what aggravated us when we were all working together. We have written a document that has ticked off those areas and we have a set of rules we will follow.”
Playing to their strengths
The brothers have made a conscious decision to play to each other’s strengths with Michael having a specific focus on the two-year-old horses in the team and Richard continuing to draw out the best from the older horses for which he has become quite renowned with great examples being the imports Auvray (Fr) (Le Havre) and The Bandit (Jpn) (Empire Maker).
“It’s a logical step. We get on well and figured that putting two experienced heads together in a business fishing in the same pond made good sense. It’s a similar model to how we had it back in the days in Melbourne when Richard and Anthony were at Caulfield and Lee and I were at Flemington,” said Michael.
Between their two operations, Michael and Richard currently have the capacity for 60 horses which is hardly the monstrous numbers of the heady FBI days but that's the way they like it for now.
Richard Freedman
Richard’s son Will is also an integral part of the business and has been working out of Randwick with his Uncle Michael in recent weeks.
“Will floats between the two. He understands the operational side of both stables now. He’s full-time at Randwick and was even before we merged. It’s a great experience for him wanting to be a trainer,” said Richard.
This is all shades of FBI in the 80s and 90s, with the family banding together in the competitive racing world, except, there’s one difference.
“We won’t all be wearing Ray Bans,” mocked Richard.
That memorable trend will be left to a bygone era.
“You look back on it and we all laugh. The game’s supposed to be fun otherwise why are we doing it,” he added.
