Cover image courtesy of Inglis
Having been 'compulsorily retired' by the Hong Kong Jockey Club after reaching his 70th birthday last year, John Moore decided to re-unite with Rosehill-based brother Gary and form Team Moore to make a splash back in Australia.
Travel restrictions and logistics have meant John's arrival in Australia has been delayed until now, but having served his quarantine, he has wasted little time getting his head around the stock that are in the stable, and the ones that he wants.
Key to his strategy has been sending out his son George to do the legwork on inspections and it has been the next generation of the Moores under his banner of George Moore Bloodstock, and he was been the face of the family when bidding on horses at Riverside Stables this week.
“Everything is coming together for the stable. Dad’s been in town for about a week now, I came in about four weeks ago. I was travelling assistant trainer for Dad for about eight years, so I know his attention to detail and exactly what he wants," George said.
Among the Moores' five purchases at the Classic Sale this week was the Sale-topper by Capitalist, Lot 374, from the draft of Kitchwin Hills for $625,000. They also purchased a colt by Invader, Lot 41, on the opening day of the Sale, for $375,000.
Unsurprisingly, the Moores have had substantial backing from Hong Kong-based clients, who are keen to have the option of starting their horses out in Australia and utilise their ownership permits to then hopefully import the horses to Hong Kong.
"Now that Dad is in the country, we are putting a lot of time and effort into it. Since he has been here, the phone has been off the hook, everybody wants to buy a horse. A lot of those horses are likely to go to Hong Kong but we have got a lot of permits for horses to race here and at least we can hold them to qualify," Moore said.
"We have got good clients like Beauty Generation's Patrick Kwok. He has given us three orders to buy here. He got the Invader colt. He's given us a lot of support, and we are appreciative of that. This other client, who has taken 50 per cent of the Capitalists also bought the Maurice that we got on Sunday (Lot 252).
"We have got good clients like Beauty Generation's Patrick Kwok. He has given us three orders to buy here." - George Moore
"He's a son of one of my dad's best friends in Hong Kong, so he's given us a lot of support. I think that will pay off. He also owns a share in our horse, Cotton Fingers, that stallion syndicate we sold Cotton Fingers to. He's going well. He was an $875,000 at Inglis Easter last year out of Girl Hussler, the good mare."
Cotton Fingers (Snitzel), named after the nickname given to the patriarch of the Moore family, champion jockey George, is yet to debut. He is a half-brother to Group 1 winner Manuel (Commands) and Group 3 winners Taking Aim (Choisir) and Computer Patch (Exceed And Excel).
Cotton Fingers as a yearling
John back in the stables
John Moore's arrival in Australia has been about much more than buying new horses, and the legendary trainer has also been spending time familiarising himself with those already under the eye of he and his brother Gary.
"The clients have got a lot of confidence in Dad. He's had 39 Group 1 wins all over the world. Dad has just got here and he needs to get to know the horses in the stable," George said.
"All the horses have different characteristics and he is in every box every single day, figuring the horses out. You have to understand their character to train them correctly. He needs a bit of time.
"Dad has been doing all the programming from Hong Kong, but now he is in town, he is going to give it that special genius touch that he has with training horses. We are going to get the results, and if we don't get the results we want from these horses, I'd be shocked."
"Dad has been doing all the programming from Hong Kong, but now he is in town, he is going to give it that special genius touch that he has with training horses." - George Moore
What has been a slight surprise, given John Moore's reputation in Hong Kong for developing horses over time, was the type of horses Team Moore has purchased at the Classic Sale. The Sale-topping Capitalist colt and the Invader purchased on Sunday both look likely to be up-and-running 2-year-old types.
"We have changed quite a lot in the stable to Dad’s standards, which are very, very high, and we notice right now that we have got a lot of late 2-year-olds and I said to Dad, ‘Let’s go to the sales and buy those early, precocious 2-year-old types, so we can race them early next season, rather than constantly waiting to try and win races with our older horses right now’," Moore said.
"We are just buying the best types in the sales, like we usually do. We look at pedigrees but it is mainly a type thing. We are going to buy a lot more at Easter, too. We will probably buy six or seven at Easter, so we are going to have a good string of 2-year-olds to target the races in October and November."
James, Gary, John and George Moore with James Ferguson | Image courtesy of Inglis
Expansion a necessity already
The challenge with that will be accommodating the new acquisitions, with Team Moore already looking at expanding from its current Rosehill base.
"Our only concern right now is stable boxes. We only have 20 boxes. The good news is all the 20 boxes will be filled with really, really good horses. The bad news is if we buy 12 to 14 horses, it’s going to be tough, because we have already got 30 horses, that's going to take the stable to close to 50," he said.
"Dad is thinking of possibly expanding to the Gold Coast and getting some boxes there. At some point we won't be able to accommodate the amount of horses we are buying. We are going to have to figure something out."
Long-term, George has ambitions to follow his father into the training ranks, but at the moment, he is focussed on continuing his bloodstock interests and furthering his education under one of the most respected minds in the world of racing.
"I'll probably go to the (Magic Millions) Adelaide Sale as we need to pick up some cheaper horses. I’ll then do Easter inspections with the Inglis boys, do a shortlist and have Dad do the Easter Sale. I need to go back, my girlfriend is in Hong Kong. I have been away four and a-half months and she is not very happy," he said.
"Thought might be given to me possibly coming down and training, but right now, I am focussing on bloodstock. I'm still in the stable every day helping Dad out, just to make sure that they are getting the support. Having worked as an assistant to him in Hong Kong for seven or eight years, I know exactly what he wants and his routines with the horses.
"He's happy for me to work in the stable with him and I'm the cheapest labour right now, because I don’t get paid!"
