Fergus Doyle has had better weeks, which is unusual for a man with a colt in the G1 Golden Slipper. A short time ago, the Irishman dislocated his shoulder and endured surgery for a ruptured tendon, but stitches and a sling won’t hold him back from Rosehill Gardens this weekend.
“That’s if we get there at all,” he said. “There’s an unbelievable forecast for Saturday.”
Doyle’s colt is the dashing Kalashnikov (Capitalist), which drew the inside marble for the world’s richest juvenile sprint. He’s a striking animal, winner of his last two starts, including the G3 Black Opal S. at Canberra. Kalashnikov is one of three Capitalist youngsters in the field, aside the fancied Profiteer and Group 2-placed Captivant, and that’s something like providence for Irish ex-pat Doyle, who was also in the ownership of Capitalist five years ago.
'The Chairman'
Doyle is involved with James Harron Bloodstock, which has moved and shaken the Slipper this year with Kalashnikov and Glistening (Zoustar), the latter a $260,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale filly purchase by Harron and the Freedman Brothers. Harron calls Doyle ‘the Chairman’, and the Irishman is responsible for the group’s big-race barrier draws.
In 2016, Doyle drew alley two for Capitalist, and this week he drew the inside gate for Kalashnikov.
“Luck of the Irish, I suppose,” he admitted. “But there’s a certain amount of luck to the whole thing, isn’t there?”
“Luck of the Irish, I suppose. But there’s a certain amount of luck to the whole thing, isn’t there?” - Fergus Doyle
Doyle will be trackside for the Slipper meeting but isn’t sure which one of luck or tactics will play a bigger hand on a very affected track.
“No one really knows how Kalashnikov will go in the wet,” he said, “and a lot of people are saying the same, that they’re not sure how their horses will go on a bog track. But he’s got barrier one, so they might be wide all day and eventually he might be able to sneak up the inside. That’s what we’re hoping for to give him every chance.”
His share of the spoils
Doyle is a native of Ballygarrett, County Wexford, a self-made emigrant who moved big in Sydney construction. At one time he owned the bustling Cat And Fiddle Hotel in Balmain, and he possesses a ticket for Richard Branson’s private space project, something that will see him become one of the first Australians to enter space as an amateur astronaut.
“That one's been like waiting for a horse to win,” he said. “It was put back about three years when one of the crew was killed, but they’re telling us that it will be happening this year.”
As success goes, Doyle has had his share.
In 2014 he was a part-owner in Protectionist (Ger), the German import that stormed the Melbourne Cup with a 4l victory. In 2016 there was Capitalist with his Slipper-winning, record-setting juvenile season. There’s also been Long Jack (So You Think {NZ}), winner of the Geelong Classic in 2019, and Doyle was the breeder of recent G3 Wenona Girl H. winner Vulpine (Snitzel).
“It’s a funny thing with racing,” he said. “Your luck seems to come and go. You can have a great run, where all these things seem to happen, and then you can have a terrible run where you can’t win a maiden at Kembla. It sometimes seems like there’s somebody up there saying, well you’ve had your quota now for a while, and you’re not going to get anymore for another two years.”
Belinda Bateman, Anna Ryan and Fergus Doyle with James and Alison Harron
The long and short of it
Doyle’s jaunty pragmatism is his charm, a man that rolls with the punches in horse racing like he’s seen it all before. One year he’s leading in the Cup winner, and the next he’s lining up for a second crack at the Golden Slipper.
“We could be that lucky,” Doyle said of Kalashnikov’s chances on the weekend, but he also acknowledged that good horses, on the top shelf of the sport, aren’t easy to come by.
“The way things have gone, you’ve got to be at the upper level to compete in the racing game,” he said. “There are so many good horses out there, but it’s very hard, I think, to find a good 2-year-old because a lot of them tend to get burnt out too early. What Capitalist did was phenomenal, but a lot of 2-year-olds just aren’t up to that level of pressure. And that’s why we’re seeing such small fields sometimes.”
"What Capitalist did was phenomenal, but a lot of 2-year-olds just aren’t up to that level of pressure. And that’s why we’re seeing such small fields sometimes.” - Fergus Doyle
While the dizzy heights of juvenile racing, and the breeding prospects that come with it, are exciting, the Irishman in Fergus Doyle loves a good staying race. It’s why Protectionist’s Melbourne Cup is so dear to him.
“I prefer the longer races to be honest, the middle distance to 2400 metres,” he said. “In Europe they don’t race very often as 2-year-olds. They do race them, but not to the same extent they do here. But the prizemoney is so high, so everyone wants a Golden Slipper winner. And I have to say, leading in Capitalist after his win was fantastic. I got a beautiful picture of Blake Shinn and I walking the horse in, which I’ll treasure forever.”
Blake Shinn and Fergus Doyle return to the winner's circle after Capitalist's win in the G1 Golden Slipper | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Breeding strategies
The obvious move into breeding racehorses occurred for Doyle quite a few years ago. He now has 10 mares, all lodged at Glen Burrows’ Willow Park Stud along Cressfield Road, Scone.
Among the notable families in Doyle’s ownership is that of the late New Zealand mare Hysterical (NZ) (Wolverton {Ire}), who won the 1993 Listed Emancipation S. and produced stakes winner Hy Fuji (Fuji Kiseki {Jpn}) in 1999. Hy Fuji produced two-time Group 1 winner and later Darley stallion Kermadec (NZ).
Hysterical passed away in 2007, but her first foal for Doyle was the Quest For Fame (GB) filly Mary Machree, who was herself second in the Emancipation. Mary Machree, in 2006, produced the consistent Sydney galloper Triple Elegance (Mossman), a 38-start warrior for Chris Waller and winner of the G3 Liverpool Cup.
There is also Listed winner Maritimo (NZ) (Pins) in the small band, along with Fastnet Rock mare Connemara. Lately, Vulpine has put something of a spotlight on Doyle with her win in the Wenona Girl this month, and the breeder has one horse headed to next month’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Jockey Robbie Dolan hugs Vulpine after winning the G3 Fujitsu General Wenona Girl | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Lot 299 is a Snitzel colt from Doyle’s stakes-winning mare Exclusive Lass, who also has a foal on the ground by Capitalist. Willow Park’s Stud Manager Jade Rossington said the colt was “a cracker”, and would be well received at Easter.
“I’ve had some nice mares, but nothing like a blue-hen, as you’d call them,” Doyle said. “It was always the strategy to try and sell the colts and race the fillies, and hopefully get some black type to breed them. My wife Delia used to always say, why did you sell the good ones and keep the bad ones? Sometimes it has felt like that.”
Doyle has an obvious loyalty to Capitalist, whom he supported with mares last season, along with Shalaa (Ire). He has a few mares lined up for the Newgate sire this year.
“I like So You Think,” he added. “I’ve got a full brother to Long Jack by him, and we had one mare go to him last year. One went to I Am Invincible as well, so there’s a bit of a mixture going on. I think it’s good to support other stallions because, when it comes to the sales ring, if you support them (the studs), they’ll support you.”
Doyle also retained a share in Protectionist, the son of Monsun (Ger) standing at Gestüt Röttgen in Cologne, Germany.
Protectionist (Ger) winning the G1 Melbourne Cup
Will he, won’t he?
Weather pending, 74-year-old Doyle will be trackside for Kalashnikov’s Golden Slipper this weekend. The colt is wide in the betting, currently a $51 outsider for trainers Peter and Paul Snowden and jockey Mark Zahra.
Much has been written of the field, with plaudits falling the way of Profiteer, Stay Inside (Extreme Choice) and the bullet train filly that is Four Moves Ahead (Snitzel). But in the end, Doyle said the ineffable weather could level the field.
“Who knows with it like this,” he said. “The track really will change how things play out. But it will still be a brilliant day. In the past we’d always have 10 or 12 people come along to the race, sometimes even 20 people, although all that’s been different the last two years with COVID. But it’s a race you look forward to for a long time, especially when you have one in the field. This race really measures up at the top of my list.”
