Cover image courtesy of Michael McInally
Happy Go Plucky was picked out by John and his son Corey for just $7300 at the 2015 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale and has now won over $460,000 in prizemoney in a 62-start career which has featured 10 wins, five for Allan Denham, and now five for Gilmore, including his first stakes win as a trainer since his return from working with Yulong in China in 2018.
Gilmore, 73, trains a handful of horses for his son and a few of his friends from the Gold Coast, having built an amazing resume with his work in Asia over the past 30 years.
He has worked closely with several of the major Chinese investors in Australian racing, notably Yuesheng Zhang of Yulong, YP Cheng of Domeland and Zhiqiang An of Golden East Horse, and is better placed than most to assess the similarities and differences between racing in China and Australia.
The principles he has applied to his work, be it in Beijing, Shanxi or the Gold Coast, remain the same.
John Gilmore (second from right) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
"I think that's the case. They are all athletes. Swimmers in China swim the same as they do in Australia. Gymnasts are the same, too," Gilmore told TDN AusNZ.
"Anyone that has got horses knows, you learn more from them than they learn from you. You have to know what you are looking for. They can't talk, but they will tell you.
"Anyone that has got horses knows, you learn more from them than they learn from you. You have to know what you are looking for. They can't talk, but they will tell you." - John Gilmore
"I believe in keeping them fit, maintaining their fitness and keeping them happy. They are no different to a footballer. If you keep on grinding away with them all the same, they will soon get sour."
Lessons learned in China
Yulong's emergence as a powerhouse in Australia, both in the breeding and racing industries, is no surprise to Gilmore who worked in Shanxi under My Zhang's guidance in 2017 and 2018, in the infancy of the Yulong journey.
"I learned a lot of things in China, mainly when I was up at Yulong in Shanxi. He had so many horses up there and you learned so many things. There are some very talented riders up there, who ride horses like most people would ride a bicycle, and you could see things and you learn from them and the horses," he said.
"(Zhang) is marvellous what he can do. He has a lovely place up there in Shanxi, but he knows every single horse. He'll see a mare and know exactly what she has done and where she has been. He could go do the same thing when he goes to Yulong in Victoria. He’ll tell you about every one of them. He's very clever that way."
Mr Zhang with a Magic Millions purchase | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
At the start of the century, Gilmore was a pioneer, working in Beijing with YP Cheng, while he also spent time working with An, who is based from Inner Mongolia. Between them, the three men have invested significant amounts of money in Australia.
"Mr Cheng, the Domeland man, has got three different companies that race horses now, and Mr An, who has a racetrack up there in the capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, he's a big real estate developer but he loves his horses. He's got Wisdom Of Water here, plus a few others," he said.
"You have to give them credit. They come here and buy, they pay the top price for what they want and they accept that some win and some won't win."
"You have to give them credit. They come here and buy, they pay the top price for what they want and they accept that some win and some won't win." - John Gilmore
It's not a typical career path for a trainer winning an Ipswich Cup, and while Gilmore said his work in an emerging market such as China has been rewarding, it is not something that has been achieved easily.
Asked if he would recommend a young Australian trainer follow his footsteps, he offers a note of caution.
"It is very, very difficult. I was lucky that I went to Macau first and learned a little bit of Chinese and a lot about their culture and their customs," he said.
"To go there without that experience would be very difficult. But it was an interesting experience and even for those who work in Hong Kong, with all the glory and all the glamour, it can be a very hard and tough business."
A Plucky journey
'Hard' and 'tough' are terms that could equally be applied to Happy Go Plucky, who seems to have elevated himself to a new level as a rising 8-year-old.
"He has always shown promise, but a bit like a good wine, he seems to get better with age. His form has never been better. He's won every year from a 2-year-old right through to a 7-year-old," Gilmore said.
"He just loves the stables and you walk in there at the start of the day, he has to be first on the walking machine, or first on the track in the morning. As soon as you walk over to him, he gets excited and he's telling you 'let me out'. He just loves being around the place.
"He'd race until 15 if you wanted him to. You could x-ray him all day long and you wouldn't find anything wrong with him."
When Gilmore first came across Happy Go Plucky in the Vinery Stud draft at that 2015 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale, he saw potential that would require patience to realise.
"We looked at a couple of horses there that I didn't really like. My son does the pedigrees on them. When we looked at him, I said 'he'll take a bit of time, but there is not too much wrong with him'," Gilmore said.
"He had a couple of small issues on the x-rays, but I was confident given time, he'd grow out of them. When I look at a horse, I'm thinking what they will look like in six or 12 months or even longer. I try and visualise what they will turn into. We gelded him, broke him in and let him develop."
Happy Go Plucky as a yearling
By Vinery Stud's Pluck (USA), a son of More Than Ready (USA), Happy Go Plucky is out of the Listed Vo Rogue Plate winner Dirty (Hussonet {USA}), which is a family with plenty of black-type success.
"I started to work him as a 2-year-old and he showed me a bit then. I got offered a job overseas and I told my son to send him down to Allan Denham. Allan and I are like brothers and I've known him for 50 years," Gilmore said.
"Allan was able to get him going and he won five races with him. When I came back to training here on the Gold Coast, the horse came back to me and he's now won five for me. He has really thrived up here in the warmer climate."
More success beckons
It may have taken 62 starts for Happy Go Plucky to get his first stakes win, but Gilmore is hopeful there is more to come, with next month's Listed Grafton Cup on the agenda.
"I took the saddle off him yesterday and it was just about a waste of water washing him. He ate up last night and at the gate this morning, he had his head over looking at me," he said.
"We will head to Grafton with him now, that will be the plan. He had a go there in 2019 and a few little things went wrong."
"We will head to Grafton with him (Happy Go Plucky) now, that will be the plan. He had a go there in 2019 and a few little things went wrong." - John Gilmore
While Gilmore's career has taken him to some amazing places, the quiet life with seven horses on the books on the sunny Gold Coast appeals to him greatly now over the long, tough and often cold days in China.
"I'm 73, so my days of breaking my back are well and truly gone. My son has been a godsend to me. He has a big job in real estate but he comes down every morning and helps his dad," he said.
"He normally goes to the races and does all the work, but I went yesterday because it was his wife's birthday. That was a lovely present for her, because they own half of the horse as well."
