Cover image courtesy of Racing Photos
There was a new name in the racebooks for the first Victorian meeting of the season on Tuesday at Pakenham-Synthetic meeting, that of local trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman.
The new officially recognised duo saddled up the 5-year-old Runsir (Fighting Sun) in the opening event at Pakenham, it went down to the wire, but the gelding was able to salute to give Moody and Coleman a 100 per cent strike rate.
It wouldn’t have been a Moody and Coleman runner without the now customary nose roll and the engagement of jockey Luke Nolen which gave the already memorable moment a touch of sentimentality.
Moody, speaking to Racing.com, had plenty to say about his protégé and training partner, “It’s an exciting day for her (Katherine Coleman) to have her first runner and winner. She’s the youthfulness my establishment needed.
“Sarah (Moody), I and the girls, she’s a part of our family now. We all needed a freshen-up, and we are lucky this young lady came into our lives three-and-a-half years ago,” he said.
“Katherine works very hard; she has experience beyond her years. I wish her all the best going forward.”
“It’s an exciting day for her (Katherine Coleman) to have her first runner and winner. Katherine works very hard; she has experience beyond her years. I wish her all the best going forward.” - Peter Moody
The Thoroughbred Report caught up with Coleman after the victory of Runsir to find out about her journey in racing.
Coleman was on cloud nine after the victory, “It was a great way to start. However, I didn’t think he (Runsir) would get there.
“Pete (Moody) told me a story this morning; his first-ever runner got beaten a whisker, and I thought that would be the case again here, but thankfully he got up.”
Early days
Coleman started working with Moody early in 2020 when the champion trainer made a shock return to training after walking out in 2016. However, the moment has been 10 years in the making for Coleman, who moved to Victoria from her native Western Australia for a short stay to gain more experience.
“I had every intention of staying in Victoria for three months to gain some experience in bigger stables and then heading home (to Western Australia),” Coleman told TTR AusNZ.
“But I fell in love with the industry over here, and now it’s been 10 years.”
“I had every intention of staying in Victoria for three months to gain some experience in bigger stables and then heading home (to Western Australia). But I fell in love with the industry over here, and now it’s been 10 years.” - Katherine Coleman
Like many industry participants, Coleman was exposed to horses at a young age and fell in love with them.
“I grew up in Western Australia. I was lucky enough to learn to ride ponies at a riding school and eventually start doing pony club and some equestrian discipline stuff, you know, show jumping and eventing and whatnot,” Coleman said.
“I worked afternoons after school and on some weekends at a harness racing stable. That’s where I got into racing, and my dad owned a few very slow racehorses as I was growing up. Which sort of sparked a bit of an interest in racing for me.
“I finished Year 12, I had every intention of going off to university and studying physiotherapy, but after six months of that, I decided that I miss the horses too much,” Coleman explained to TTR AusNZ.
Katherine Coleman | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“My mum and dad probably thought I was crazy when I said I wanted to drop out of university and go back and work with the horses full time, but they supported me the entire way.”
Coleman moves to Melbourne
Coleman was eager to learn more about the thoroughbred industry and opted to start working with the gallopers rather than the standardbred used for harness racing.
“I started working with some gallopers (thoroughbreds) instead of the harness horses at a small educating and training stable in Bunbury, Western Australia. They were fantastic to me, the Yule family.
“They really got me going, taught me to ride trackwork and showed me the ropes,” Coleman said.
Katherine Coleman (left) riding trackwork whilst working for the Yule family
“I told them that I’d love to go to Melbourne, Victoria and work in a big stable for a couple of months, just to learn a bit more and continue to sort of progress my education. The Yule family fully supported it and helped me find somewhere to go.”
Coleman spent her time gaining and learning more in the industry she had chosen to have a career in, and she ended up at Caulfield working for another trainer. At the time, Caulfield was an operating training centre and home to Moody Racing.
Moody’s Caulfield stable saw many champions, none better than the invincible Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), alongside Dissident, Typhoon Tracy (Red Ransom {USA}), Manighar (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}) and Moment Of Change (Barely A Moment) to name a few.
Black Caviar | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
It was there that Coleman first crossed paths with Moody.
“I worked at Caulfield when I first came over, not for Pete, but for another trainer,” Coleman explained to TTR AusNZ.
“But Pete was always the first one you'd see in the morning walking through the tunnel and he'd always be there to say good morning, and he basically knew everyone at Caulfield and everyone at Caulfield knew him.
“Pete is just that sort of character, and I had a brief association with him that way. When Pete decided to come back to training, I was working for Chris Waller at the time, and I was sort of at a crossroads looking to take the next step.”
Moody and Coleman team up
As history panes out, the brief association would become something more. For Coleman, the series of events have flown by and, at times, somewhat unbelievable.
“I think someone recommended me to Pete, and he approached me at the races and sort of said, 'I think you and I need to have a chat, darl', and I said, 'I don’t think there’s much to chat about. I think it’s just a straight yes'.”
“I think someone recommended me to Pete (Moody), and he approached me at the races and sort of said, 'I think you and I need to have a chat, darl', and I said, 'I don’t think there’s much to chat about. I think it’s just a straight yes'.” - Katherine Coleman
Moody set up his boutique stable at Pakenham Racecourse in Nar Nar Goon, and Coleman took up the assistant trainer role alongside Moody’s racing manager Jeff Gold who worked for Moody before his hiatus from racing.
With Coleman’s ability to ride and Moody’s hands-on approach, it is no surprise Moody, and the team made it feel like he never left racing, making an immediate impact. With Moody being a popular and respected identity, the industry saw many former clients and employees return to his fold.
“I think it works very well, and Pete is still hands-on in the stable. He’s in here (Pakenham stables) every morning, so that frees me up to be able to go and keep riding. Riding is something that I really enjoy, and I think we have a really good system.”
The brilliant Incentivise (Shamus Award) gave Coleman a ride of a lifetime, claiming a succession of Group 1 races, including the G1 Caulfield Cup, then put in the gamest of runs in the G1 Melbourne Cup only to be beaten by a fellow superstar in Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}).
Incentivise | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
The son of Shamus Award was one of the most exciting horses in the country, and you would have been hard-pressed to find anybody who thought the horse wouldn’t continue on his journey. However, like a blazing comet through the night sky, Incentivise was retired after a series of injuries saw the risk as too great to race the horse; he now has a lifetime home at Yarraman Park, being a nanny to the next generation.
Black Caviar was the horse of a lifetime for Moody, but, Incentivise was undoubtedly the horse of a lifetime for anybody and would leave most people grateful to be involved.
However, it wouldn’t be long before Coleman and Moody were on another ride of their lifetime when they were recipients of the Waikato Stud-bred I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel).
The stunning black gelding claimed the $10 million Golden Eagle and then, in the autumn, emulated Black Caviar to win the G1 TJ Smith S.
The victory flagged I Wish I Win as one of the most versatile and exciting gallopers seen in recent times. I Wish I Win is set to represent Trackside Media and his trainers in the $20 million The Everest.
Smaller victories just as sweet
However, Coleman is grateful and excited to be involved with such superstars, but she has taken equal satisfaction in some ‘smaller’ victories achieved.
“Pete has also got me involved with some of his clients that have been around for a long time and have been with him sort of the whole way. Whether that’s Wylie Dalziel of Dalziel Racing or another client,” Coleman told TTR AusNZ.
Peter Moody and Wylie Dalziel | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“We’ve had a couple of really fantastic days with Wylie (Dalziel), training a couple of stakes winners for him along the road so far.
“There’ve been some pretty memorable moments and having Pounding run third in the Australia Cup. That was an extraordinary moment because it was such a huge moment for Wylie.
“The Rosemont crew have been massive supporters for us, and we’ve had some nice winners for them. That has been pretty special for me along the way,” Coleman said.
“I think overall, just training nice horses for people that have been really loyal to Pete. That’s probably one of the big highlights for me.”
“I think overall, just training nice horses for people that have been really loyal to Pete (Moody). That’s probably one of the big highlights for me.” - Katherine Coleman
With spring on our doorstep, Coleman is excited about the prospects of the gun filly Legacies (Justify {USA}), who is unbeaten and was last seen winning the Listed ANZAC Day S.
“We’ve got a really nice filly for Rosemont, a Justify filly called Legacies. She won both her starts over the autumn, and she’s come back in. Legacies have returned in really nice order, and we're excited to see her progress through the spring.”
Coleman can’t thank Moody and the Moody family enough for the opportunity and can’t wait to continue the journey.
Legacies | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“We were just speaking about it the other day, how it feels like yesterday we came to the stables for the first time and filled them up. We were just starting out and sort of figuring out the routine and how we would work it all. It’s flown by for me,” Coleman told TTR AusNZ.
“But I’m so grateful and excited.”
