Prior has structured his jockey management business so his clients don’t meet head-to-head too often, but with Glen Boss to ride Away Game and Ryan Maloney aboard Isotope, the $2 million feature race will have extra interest.
Adding an extra layer of intrigue will be another Prior client, Nash Rawiller on $101 shot Kavak (Deep Field).
The Magic Millions 2YO Classic will also see Prior's two high-profile clients, Boss and Rawiller, clash aboard their respective rides Ranch Hand (Fastnet Rock) and Baby Wong (Press Statement).
Prior, who previously worked as the long-time racing manager of Chris Waller, launched his Prior Management Group around 18 months ago, and has since expanded his stable of jockey clients to five.
"When I finished with Chris Waller, it coincided with Nash returning from Hong Kong and Glen Boss returning from Singapore. They were initially the guys I was looking after." - Liam Prior
"When I finished with Chris Waller, it coincided with Nash returning from Hong Kong and Glen Boss returning from Singapore. They were initially the guys I was looking after," Prior told TDN AusNZ from the Magic Millions sales complex this week.
"I had always had an ambition to work in the sports management space. I was very fortunate to be taking on two world-class riders at the beginning. From there, we had good success, better than we could have imagined at the beginning.
"We came through a good spring carnival and then Campbell Rawiller came on board. Obviously he is Nash's son, and Nash and he asked me to take him on. At the same time, Ryan Maloney approached me from Brisbane and Michael Walker from Melbourne. I was doing Brad Rawiller, but he has since moved to Perth."
Gallery: Prior Management Group's riders
Prior wants to offer much more than just an agency by which riders can secure rides. His vision is to provide a full service offering to his clients that allows them to focus on what they do best.
"The idea was to build a team of high-quality riders, guys who had compatible relationships and people I can work with," he said.
"My idea around getting into this was to look to evolve the way jockeys are managed and try to offer a full service for them, in line with what managers offer in other sports. I want to almost have that level of being a concierge for my riders. We look to take away all the mundane tasks, that they don't have to worry about, so they can focus on their riding."
"We look to take away all the mundane tasks, that they don't have to worry about, so they can focus on their riding." - Liam Prior
The modern jockey working lifestyle has evolved to become a seven-day-a-week pursuit in recent years and Prior said it was the role of a good manager to take away as much stress as possible from their clients.
"Nowadays, people are so busy with their riding, whether it be trials, racing or trackwork. I want to try and take as much work off them as I can, and let them do what they are best at and what they enjoy doing," he said.
"It’s a big trust thing. You really have to trust that communication to keep foundations around it. I'm very fortunate that the guys I represent are very decent, good people and they have placed their trust in me to run their careers. You can't take a privilege like that lightly."
The Boss Man
Boss has made a substantial impression since returning from Singapore in mid-2019. Despite being 51, he remains at the top of his game and in 2020 won five Group 1 races, the Newmarket H. and Darley Sprint Classic on Bivouac (Exceed And Excel), the Cox Plate on Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), the Australian Oaks on Colette (Hallowed Crown) and the Sydney Cup on Etah James (NZ) (Raise The Flag {GB}).
Working with Boss has given Prior a real insight into what makes him such an elite performer on the big stages of racing.
Glen Boss aboard Bivouac when winning the Newmarket H.
"Everyone knows Bossy is a star but until I had the opportunity to work closely with him, I don’t think I really understood how much mental preparation goes into accounting for the pressure they have to absorb when riding on the big stage," he said.
"He is probably better at it than anyone. He's the ultimate professional in the way he prepares for racing. On the big stage, he absorbs and handles that pressure better than most. That's why he has been able to convert in big high-pressure races."
Boss has rides in eight of the nine races at the Gold Coast on Saturday, picking up the ride on Ranch Hand in the 2-year-old after his initial ride Fake Love (I Am Invincible) was scratched. The 2YO Classic is one of only a few major Australian races that Boss hasn't won and Prior said that only gives him more motivation to succeed.
"He feeds off the adrenaline that gives him. You look at him this week, he gets into the zone." - Liam Prior
"He feeds off the adrenaline that gives him. You look at him this week, he gets into the zone. He's not backward in coming forward in the way he promotes himself and that helps him get in the zone," he said.
"I think ultimately, his horses feed off that. More times than not, he's in the right place and converts. You see it any great sports people, be they Johnathan Thurston, Alfie Langer, Andrew Johns or Darren Lockyer, they put themselves in the position to get that clutch moment when it presents to them."
Ranch Hand | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Nash cut from a different cloth
Rawiller is a very different personality from Boss, but he too has made a significant impact since returning from Hong Kong, winning three Group 1 races in 2020. The Metropolitan on Mirage Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}), the George Ryder S. on Dreamforce (Fastnet Rock) and Canterbury S. on The Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux {NZ}).
The 46-year-old has not lost any of his hunger and also has eight rides on Saturday. He is also looking win the 2YO Classic for the first time.
'When Nash retuned to Sydney. I think people, in some ways, had forgotten how dominant he was before he went to Hong Kong. He was Australia's best rider. He was the premier rider in Sydney, as a horseman and riding talent. I still to this day think it would be hard to find anyone better in Australia," he said.
"He's got the innate ability to get horses to lift underneath him. His consistency, aggression and competitiveness makes him a different beast all together."
Nash Rawiller pats Mirage Dancer (GB) after winning the G1 The Metropolitan H.
Maloney back for Guineas redemption
Maloney had his biggest-ever day on the racetrack on this day last year when he guided Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) to victory in the 3YO Guineas, only for the horse to lose the race later on after a positive swab.
Alligator Blood would later give Maloney his first Group 1 win in the Australian Guineas, while the experienced hoop has since formed a strong relationship with Isotope, winning the Listed Mode Plate and the Listed Gold Edition Plate ahead of her tilt at the 3YO Guineas on Saturday.
"He's incredibly underrated as a rider. His strike rate in Queensland is around 30 per cent and that is in the same realm of someone like Willie Pike," he said.
"He's an understated type of guy, but an extremely talented rider. We are now seeing him getting the opportunities in good races that he deserves, and he's another that has shown he can handle the pressure moments.
"I think he will only continue to get those opportunities, irrespective of whether he was in Melbourne and Sydney. He could match it in any jockeys room anywhere in Australia. He's such a talent and very underrated."
Ryan Maloney and his two children
Pushing the profile
While the success of his current crop of clients speaks for itself, Prior has looked to help push their profile on social media as well, knowing the audience is out there to consume content on those platforms.
"I have been trying to professionalise everything that we're doing together. When I first started doing this, I didn't think it was a good idea to look at promoting myself as part of that. I was a relative newbie to that space, and you've got to back it up," he said.
"I think now with each of them having their foothold in their respective jurisdictions and competing at the highest level. We wanted to up the ante and promote their achievements.
"It seems that racing's participation on social media, as opposed to traditional media formats, has become bigger and bigger every year. We can get into that space and promote the people that are riding for us, which then flows into promoting the broader public. We all have a duty to promote our sport to ensure it's longevity."
"We all have a duty to promote our sport to ensure it's longevity." - Liam Prior
Another method of promotion that Prior has worked on with Boss is through ambassadorships.
"Glen's an ambassador for Maserati Australia and that's the first Australian ambassador for them in any form. To give a global brand and luxury car brand like that an inside into racing, it’s important. It’s our duty to create new paths for new brands and new people to have an interest in the sport," he said.
Liam Prior (left)
Getting the recognition they deserve
Prior's long-term aim is to give jockeys the opportunity to develop the same level of profile as Australia's other leading athletes.
"You’d like to see them put in the realm of other high-profile athletes in Australia, because they deserve that. They train hard and they are at the same level as a lot of those guys," he said.
"From a commercial and corporate perspective, they probably aren't recognised at that level. That's why it's important to push them into that space. That's what I am trying to do in my management business."
Prior is unlikely to expand his management base to many more jockeys in the coming 12 months but does see a longer-term opportunity to move into management of other athletes as well.
"I think it’s important not to have too many conflicts of interest in the independent jurisdictions you are working in. That's why the balance at the moment, seems right across the states," he said.
"From where we have started, I have got ambitions to grow in other sports and other areas in time. I've done my apprenticeship in that space and that’s where we have started in at the moment. The benefit of this game, is that you can work through a network of contacts in many lines of business."
