While Cutting has been front and centre of Inglis’ media arm in recent years, her ascension is no surprise with the seeds for success planted when she became fascinated by the drama, history and storylines of racing after watching the iconic Phar Lap movie as a 12-year-old.
Her ‘obsessive personality’ and thirst for knowledge saw her avidly research, read about and watch documentaries of past superstars before beginning to absorb as much live racing as she possibly could.
“I loved the drama of racing, I wasn’t really in to punting at all but just followed horses that I really loved,” Cutting told TDN AusNZ.
“After Belle Du Jour won the Golden Slipper in 2000 I began taping races off the TV and would then go back and see what the horse that won the race did in the run and that’s how it all started.
“I then taped races off the TV for about the next 10 years and throughout my teenage years I was obsessed with horses like Sunline, Makybe Diva, Shogun Lodge and Tie The Knot.”
A newspaper clipping of Jemma Cutting in the Courier Mail aged 12
Cutting, who grew up in central Queensland, had no family connection to the racing industry, however, her father had a passing interest in the sport and encouraged his daughter’s newfound passion.
It was Cutting’s mother that set in motion the teenager's journalistic ambitions, which she has pursued with intent and dedication ever since.
“In primary school I really liked English and was quite good at it and I enjoy talking,” Cutting said.
“So, when I got interested and obsessed with racing around the age of 12, Mum said, ‘You could be a racing journalist’ and my entire teenage years and high school was spent aiming to study journalism and get a job in the racing media.”
Pursuing her passion
At the completion of her secondary studies Cutting undertook a Bachelor of Journalism at the Queensland University of Technology and during this period she would work part-time as a producer at RadioTAB, where she was also one of only two female announcers.
While actively pursuing her media ambitions Cutting felt as though she would benefit from gaining a hands-on understanding of how the industry operates, and in doing so approached Deagon-based trainer Shaun Dwyer at trackwork.
“I was conscious being a young female that perhaps I wouldn’t be taken as seriously as I wasn’t a punting type of person, so I wanted to go and work in stables to get some hands-on experience,” Cutting said.
Jemma Cutting with Black Caviar
“I also wanted to get some hands-on experience so that if I ever got to a place in media I wasn’t just someone who had read a lot of books and didn’t have any idea of how it actually works.”
Cutting described the stablehand experience as intimidating at first, saying that it wasn’t easy to step out of her comfort zone and enter an unfamiliar environment.
However, the time she spent with Dwyer and then Tony Crane proved a rewarding and beneficial experience, particularly when Bart Cummings’ right-hand man Reg Fleming would stop over when bringing horses up to Queensland for their winter campaigns.
“It was intimidating at first as an 18/19-year-old to go into a stable and everyone knows what they’re doing and sometimes it takes a bit for those sort of people to warm up to you and respect you, but Shaun (Dwyer) was an easy person to work for and I ended up really enjoying it,” Cutting said.
“It was intimidating at first as an 18/19-year-old to go into a stable and everyone knows what they’re doing and sometimes it takes a bit for those sort of people to warm up to you and respect you..." - Jemma Cutting
Towards the back end of her studies Cutting was working three jobs while completing the final year of her degree on a part-time basis.
She would complete placement at Sky Racing before relocating to Sydney when offered a full-time position and as a result stopped working in the stables.
“If I had my time over I wish I'd have gone overseas or worked on stud farms but at the time I didn’t really know how big the bloodstock industry was because I was so one-eyed and very focused on a racing media career,” Cutting said.
“And all my experiences early on have really helped me to get where I am now.”
A new world
It was at Sky Racing where Cutting was first introduced to breeding when a vacant position as the producer of Bred To Win arose due to Angus Roland’s internal promotion.
Despite having next to no understanding of the bloodstock side of racing, Cutting jumped at the opportunity and with the guidance of Roland assimilated herself into the role with aplomb.
She thoroughly enjoyed producing Bred To Win for the best part of four years, saying that everyone she dealt with on the stud farms ‘couldn’t have been any nicer’ or more accommodating.
Jemma Cutting and Peter O'Brien preparing for an interview
“I said to Gus (Roland) that I was interested in producing Bred To Win and credit to him, not only did he recommend that I take over the show he basically mentored me the entire way through, so I have a lot to thank him for,” Cutting said.
“When I started I had no concept of the breeding industry, I didn’t know the language, didn’t really know much about stallions other than having heard about Danehill and Northern Dancer.
“I didn’t even know that you said 'by a stallion' and 'out of a mare', so it was a bit of a baptism of fire but everyone was really lovely to me going onto farms while interviewing them.”
“I didn’t even know that you said 'by a stallion' and 'out of a mare', so it was a bit of a baptism of fire but everyone was really lovely to me..." Jemma
After an extended stint on Bred To Win while at Sky, Cutting was looking for a change and in doing so moved into an on-air role at Big Sports Breakfast, where she worked alongside Terry Kennedy.
She said Andrew Bensley and John Tapp were also influential and encouraging figures during her time in the ‘mainstream’ racing media.
New beginnings
A casual conversation with Inglis’ Communications and PR Manager Peter Fitzgerald at the 2017 Scone Cup proved the catalyst for Cutting’s change in career trajectory.
“I thought Inglis looked like a really great place to work, so I just casually said to Fitzy (Peter Fitzgerald) if there’s ever a job that comes up in your media and marketing team or anywhere I’d love to be considered,” Cutting said.
“I thought Inglis looked like a really great place to work, so I just casually said to Fitzy (Peter Fitzgerald) if there’s ever a job that comes up in your media and marketing team or anywhere I’d love to be considered.” - Jemma Cutting
“It was very casual but Fitzy put that in his bank of knowledge and at the time Tanita (Vella) who was doing InglisTV was leaving for Godolphin and they were looking for someone to replace her.
“So, Mark Webster and Nick Melmeth from Inglis Digital called me out of the blue and offered me the job.”
Cutting’s initial role at Inglis Digital was outlined as Marketing Operations Coordinator and despite having not studied marketing she believes the roles she occupied prior has held her in good stead.
Steph Carruthers and Jemma Cutting at Jemma's first Inglis Classic Yearling Sale
She said Managing Director Mark Webster, Business Manager Nick Melmeth and Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch have had the biggest influence on her since joining Inglis, saying that the trio are innovative mentors who are not afraid to take the plunge and try new ideas.
“When I started at Inglis Digital I didn’t really understand marketing at all but it’s one of those things as you just never know where you career is going to take you,” Cutting said.
“While going to university and getting a degree does set you up with certain skills, racing and breeding are such niche industries that a degree in marketing doesn’t always teach you the language and how to deal with the people in the industry.
“While going to university... does set you up with certain skills, racing and breeding are such niche industries that a degree in marketing doesn’t always teach you the language and how to deal with the people in the industry." - Jemma Cutting
“So, I couldn’t have asked for a better career path as all that experience and knowledge I had set me up and it was all meant to be.”
Cutting is content with the position she currently occupies at Inglis, saying she is driven to continue improving its digital and marketing footprint through evolving concepts such as sale day live.
She said the best part about her job is the opportunity to work alongside a great group of colleagues while being fortunate enough to look at and talk about horses for a living.
“I’ve been really lucky that I’ve been able to develop my own role at Inglis thanks to the support of my managers and what drives me is to always keep improving, I don’t like to rest on my laurels and I’d like to think that I’m hard working and enthusiastic,” Cutting said.
Jemma Cutting on presenting duties at Inglis | Image courtesy of Inglis
“I would hate to get to a point where I feel like I don’t like to learn anymore and that would mean to me that maybe I need to change career paths.”
Cutting has no regrets despite occasionally pondering on where her career may have went if she wasn’t as ‘one eyed’ about pursuing a role in the racing media.
“It was always my aim, I never had any other career path as it was always going to be racing and I was determined to get there and I’m proud to say at least I did because it’s not like I never made it,” Cutting said.
“I’m really proud of where I started and we’re I’ve come.”
The next generation
Like the vast majority of participants who have featured in our Generation Next column Cutting is of the belief that the attitude around bringing youth into the industry is changing for the better.
However, there is still plenty of room for improvement to ensure that we facilitate the development of the next generation of passionate or yet to be introduced industry participants.
“People understand now that they need to nurture and encourage young people a lot more than they used to and not just take for granted that they can get young people into the industry,” Cutting said.
“It would be nice to capitalise on some of the equestrian community because you can find people like me who just loved horses and encourage them to get involved in racing.
“It would be nice to capitalise on some of the equestrian community because you can find people like me who just loved horses and encourage them to get involved in racing." - Jemma Cutting
“There’s so many people who love horses but it’s just trying to bridge the gap between our industry and the people who just love the horses.”
The advice Cutting gives to those who are passionate about pursuing a career in the industry is to be hard working, enthusiastic, flexible and friendly.
“Say hello to everyone as you don’t know who you’re going to meet, as this industry is one where you can meet many people from any walk of life, whether they are someone who can give you a job or recommend you to someone who runs a farm or knows someone in media or marketing,” Cutting said.
“Say hello to everyone as you don’t know who you’re going to meet, as this industry is one where you can meet many people from any walk of life..." - Jemma Cutting
“And the other thing is that I was very one eyed in what I wanted to do and found it very difficult to let go of one part of the dream but you have to be very opened minded as you can start somewhere and end somewhere else.
“If you have a very clear idea of where you want to go just give it a go and if it doesn’t work out for one reason or another there’s plenty of other avenues that you can take because it’s pretty amazing what you can do in this industry.”
