Five minutes with... Adam White

Adam White - Vinery Stud

TDNAusNZ: Where are you from and what is your earliest racing memory?

AW: I grew up in the South East district of South Australia. My father was the leading jockey in the area for a number of years and my mother trained around 15-20 horses at any one time. So I grew up in a racing family and attended the races regularly with my parents from a very young age.

TDNAusNZ: Can you tell us a bit about the work you do, the farm, recent results and exciting stallions at Vinery?

AW: As Bloodstock Manager my role at Vinery is a bit diverse. Foremost I am responsible for nomination bookings to our roster of stallions. Additionally I also manage the stock of quite a few of our resident clients that have horses here at the farm, along with working closely with Peter Orton on Vinery's own stock. Deciding which stallions mares are sent to along with yearling and weanling sale allocations.

Apart from More Than Ready (USA) we have a very young roster of stallions which is quite exciting. We also have shares in three very exciting two-year-olds at the moment in Exceedance, Reloaded and Born A Warrior.

TDNAusNZ: What was the highlight of the season for you?

AW: From a racing enthusiast I would say attending Randwick for Winx’s last run. I have been lucky enough to see her race on a number of occasions and that day was certainly special. When Hugh Bowman stood her up in front of the winning post was something that gave you goose-bumps. From a Vinery perspective watching Exceedance win his first start at Wyong impressively. He is a really exciting colt.

TDNAusNZ: What do you love most about your job?

AW: Watching foals grow and develop before heading off to the sales or the racetrack. Enjoying those special moments with their breeders when they achieve outstanding results either in the sale ring or racetrack.

TDNAusNZ: What is your favourite day on a racecourse?

AW: Any day when I have a runner.

TDNAusNZ: Do you have a favourite book and favourite movie?

AW: Any good autobiography. Movie would be Shawshank Redemption or Primal Fear.

TDNAusNZ: What was your favourite weanling, yearling or mare purchase this year?

AW: I purchased a nice Headwater colt at Magic Millions Weanling sale this year. I think the stallion is a big chance to get early runners so hopefully it will prove to be rewarding.

TDNAusNZ: What stallion do you consider to be ‘under the radar’ and why?

AW: All Too Hard. They are coming of age. He gets a lot of winners and the stars will come. In May he had two horses run close seconds in Group 1 races. He has a Group 2 winning 2-year-old this season and actually has more 2-year-old winners this season than Zoustar, Lonhro, Written Tycoon, Pierro, etc.

TDNAusNZ: What first season sire (other than your own) are you most excited about?

AW: For stallions with 2-year-olds I think a number of them have done a job which they were expected to do when you consider their crop size. The one I feel could progress further over the next couple of years would be Shooting To Win.

TDNAusNZ: Who do you think is a rising star in the racing industry? (person, not horse)

AW: I would say David Eustace. He is already an integral part of a large successful stable and he goes about his business in a professional way.

TDNAusNZ: If you were an Everest slotholder, who would you pick?

AW: Classique Legend. Talented horse still on the rise.

TDNAusNZ: What positive change would you like to see in the industry?

AW: Prize money increases around the country have been incredible the last couple of years. If in some way that could filter down to smaller breeders I think it would assist everybody.

TDNAusNZ: If you weren’t in the thoroughbred industry what would you be doing?

AW: I wanted to be a sign writer when I was younger.