First Impressions: Daniel Robinson of DPR Breaking

Cover image courtesy of DPR Breaking

The English-born Robinson has had a life surrounded by horses and horsemen. Born in Newmarket, England, the heart of thoroughbred racing, Robinson was immersed in the thoroughbred world from a young age.

Robinson’s father, Phillip Robinson, was a champion jockey in Hong Kong, one of the most challenging jurisdictions in the world and this inspired Robinson to try his hand at race riding. However, Robinson became too heavy to continue.

Robinson now spends his days educating the next generation of thoroughbreds to grace the racetrack, under his DPR Breaking and excitingly moved shop from Windsor Downs, near the Hawkesbury area to the recently rebranded Milangall Park set up by Trevor Folsom.

Robinson is a horseman through and through and likes to view each thoroughbred passing through his hands as an individual.

“The process is not to have a process and take each horse individually,” Robinson told TTR AusNZ.

“The first day or two is basically an introduction to establish what the horse is like, its sensitivity level, willingness, insecurities, etc., and to establish a partnership.

“A partnership built on trust where the horse is happy for you to lead them, be that through the saddling process, their first ride under the saddle and so on,” Robinson shared.

“The end goal is to have a quiet, relaxed, willing and professional horse. There are many ways to achieve this, so once you know what sort of horse you are working with, you can adjust your approach to suit.

“We have milestones to hit obviously, which is to have each horse accepting the saddle, the rider and then be directed and guided by them with ease, have confidence working alongside other horses and doing it with as much finesse as possible.”

Robinson explained it is just as important to recognise when a horse isn’t handling a particular aspect of the education process and why it is important to guide the horse to make them feel more confident.

“One of the most important parts of my job is to identify where each particular horse struggles or has the most uncertainty and adjust my approach to address this, to educate them thoroughly in this area so that they become more confident and accepting of the process overall,” Robinson explained to TTR AusNZ.

“The better you can become at reading them (horses), the easier it is to notice what each horse’s threshold for learning is, you don’t want to overwhelm them, but you also have to stimulate them in order to progress.

For this reason, each horse moves at a different speed and is given the time they need before moving on to the next step. If we ever feel a horse isn’t handling the process physically, we usually advise our client, and they are given more time to mature.”

Robinson explained they start about 100 thoroughbreds each year, as well as performance horses in the quieter time of the year. DPR Breaking receives support from some outstanding organisations like Chris Waller Racing, John O’Shea, Cressfield, Champion Thoroughbreds, Proven Thoroughbreds and Torryburn Stud.

“We’re fortunate to receive such great support from many more wonderful clients.”

Superstars

Robinson has had his fair share of exposure to quality gallopers, including the current star Think About It (So You Think {NZ}), who claimed the G1 Kingsford-Smith Cup and the G1 Stradbroke H.

Think About It is set to climb The Everest, now worth $20 million, at Randwick in October after Newgate elected the gelding to represent them in their slot.

The son of So You Think (NZ) has shown a tendency to get a tad fizzy on race days. However, it doesn’t seem to affect his performance to the confusion of yard watchers.

“I usually find most of the So You Think progeny to be quite sensitive but Think About It was actually quite level-headed as a yearling. He always felt like a nice horse. Joe has done a great job looking after him and developing him into the class act he is today.”

Robinson has also educated the outstanding She Will Reign, who would claim the G1 Golden Slipper and is making waves in Japan as a broodmare. But as Robinson outlined, it wasn’t apparently obvious the daughter of Manhattan Rain was the typical precocious juvenile that usually salutes in Slipper.

“She Will Reign was quite a light-framed juvenile, and there wasn’t much of her. She seemed very sweet when she first arrived but had become quite reactive and irrational about the barrier,” Robinson explained.

“My main focus was getting her comfortable in the gates, so honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to what I thought of her ability. Normally when horses encounter issues like this (barrier) it can really slow down their racing progress, so the fact she was able to overcome these hurdles so swiftly and go on to win the Golden Slipper is a real credit to her.”

Robinson explained in his experience the traits found in the typical precocious juvenile, “That’s a tricky question, as it is very early in the horse’s life to comment on how forward they are, as they can come on in leaps and bounds in such a short time,” he explained.

“I believe for a horse to be precocious, they need to handle the physical and mental pressures they face. Mentally, they have to handle the work and not be stressed or overwhelmed by it, but they also need a body that can address these challenges; for 2-year-old racing, ideally, usually, they are compact in form.

“A precocious horse is hard to find, and there is nothing to say some good 2-year-olds wouldn’t actually be better with more time.”

Other stars

Think About It and She Will Reign are not the only star gallopers Robinson has helped lay the foundations for; he has also been involved with the Group 1 winners Comin’ Through (Fastnet Rock), Lion's Roar (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}) and Private Eye (Al Maher).

Robinson reflected on the G1 Doomben Cup winner Comin’ Through, whose cheeky behaviour saw him being sent to Robinson for re-education.

“Comin’ Through was a big and boisterous colt that had gotten a bit cheeky. I was riding for Chris Waller at the time and rode Comin’ Through at Rosehill before he was sent to me,” Robinson told TTR AusNZ.

“He had learnt a few tricks and knew how to test the boundaries, but he did feel talented. I was very grateful to Chris for entrusting me to re-educate such a promising and expensive colt at the time.

“Chris (Waller) has put a tremendous amount of faith in me over the years, including sending me horses like Chalk Stream, who is owned by the King of England (King Charles III).”

Robinson also described the John O’Shea-trained G1 Randwick Guineas winner as a quirky horse, while the Joe Pride’s outstanding sprinter’s ability wasn’t overly evident in the early days.

“Lion’s Roar had a lot of character and was quite a quirky young man to start. However, he was very athletic, which has held him in good stead.

“Private Eye was a very vanilla horse. He did nothing wrong, but he also didn’t wow you; he’d blend in easily. But he has shown a real zest for racing and has continued to improve each preparation.”

Robinson is extremely excited about the future of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Hawaii Five Oh (I Am Invincible), who went close to winning a Group 1 when beaten by another DPR Breaking graduate Think About It in the Stradbroke H.

“Hawaii Five Oh was an absolute brute of a yearling. He had a fluent moment and showed so much class early on. We hope to see him salute in a Group 1 in the future.”

All Too Hard

Robinson also fondly remembered the Champion Australian 3-Year-Old Colt of 2012/13, All Too Hard.

The son of Casino Prince is a half-brother to the invincible Black Caviar (Bel Esprit). He was sold for $1.025 million at the 2011 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale to Hawkes Racing.

After a career that included four Group 1 victories and placing in the G1 WS Cox Plate, All Too Hard retired to Vinery Stud, where he has carved out a successful stud career.

“I was working at Patinack Farm at the time when All Too Hard arrived. Vic Thompson was running the Hawkesbury base, and he came in as a yearling for me to start under saddle,” Robinson said.

“I was lucky enough to work with him for his first two to three preparations before he went to Randwick. I remember Vic (Thompson) telling me that we had to look after him as he was very expensive; my reply was, ‘I look after them all.’

“All Too Hard was one of the first horses I thought justified his price-tag; he felt powerful and professional in everything he did. All Too Hard obviously had a very fast sister (Black Caviar), so in the early days, we nicknamed him ‘fish eggs’.”

No recipe

However, Robinson maintains that after years of experience, no exact recipe makes a champion.

“I don’t think there is an exact recipe for what makes a champion; they come in all forms,” Robinson told TTR AusNZ.

“We like to see them tick the boxes, for example: breathes well, moves well, but I think a lot of it comes down to heart. I think a good trainer has a lot to do with it, too, and looks after and encourages a horse’s desire to be competitive.

“A horse that enjoys what they’re doing and has confidence is the first step in achieving this.”