Mark Newnham has long been a fan of racing in Hong Kong, so when the opportunity arose to join the training ranks in racing’s mecca, he grabbed it with both hands.
The notion of a ‘hands-on’ approach with a small team of horses in a passionate racing jurisdiction, one that only races twice a week and allows trainers to focus solely on training, made great appeal.
“Training here is something I have always wanted to do,” Newnham told TTR AusNZ.
“I like the system here, I like Hong Kong racing. The whole package appeals to me because you’ve got the Jockey Club billing your owners and paying your staff; they take a lot of the things away from the trainer.
“I don’t necessarily enjoy running a business. The time you spend running a business, coupled with the travel… you take them out of the equation and that allows you time to do your job and train horses. You can be around the horses and have a connection with the animal.”
Mark Newnham
Newnham admitted he is there for the long haul.
“I’ll be here until I finish training. That could be 10 or 15 years, I don’t know. I don’t have any intention of coming back to train in Australia. I’m here to train out my career and I’m all in. I would say it’s a minimum of 10 years,” he said.
Newnham is a horseman. The 55-year-old cut his teeth in the industry as a strapper for Bob Thomsen at 15, before becoming an integral part of the legendary Tulloch Lodge operation of Gai Waterhouse. Newnham also worked with the late, great Bart Cummings, and he entrusted him with Group 1-winning stars of the 1980s such as Campaign King, Beau Zam (NZ), Tristanagh and Sky Chase (NZ).
“I don’t have any intention of coming back to train in Australia. I’m here to train out my career and I’m all in. I would say it’s a minimum of 10 years.” - Mark Newnham
Newnham also enjoyed stints abroad, riding out abroad for trainers Clive Brittain and Kevin Prendergast. Then came a successful career in the saddle, where he chalked up more than 300 winners, most of them for Waterhouse, and three Kembla Grange riding premierships. Newnham was pivotal in educating the brilliant Pierro - just the fourth colt in history to win the 2-year-old Triple Crown.
His vision of Australian racing is very different to how it was when he commenced training in early 2016 and, given his desire to know his animals as best as possible, it’s not for him.
Pierro (red cap) winning the G1 Golden Slipper in 2012 | Standing at Coolmore, Image courtesy of Sportpix
“I can see the future of Australian racing will be made up of those mega-stables in the next five to 10 years and that’s not something that appealed to me. Those stables are getting into the hundreds, that style of training doesn’t appeal to me,” Newnham explained.
“That trend will only increase.
“When I started training in Sydney, if you had 50 in work and were training well and had good results, you could remain viable and relevant. That number will probably increase to 100 in the next couple of years and could well be 150.”
“I can see the future of Australian racing will be made up of those mega-stables in the next five to 10 years and that’s not something that appealed to me.” - Mark Newnham
The 2023/23 Hong Kong season gets underway with a 10-race card at Sha Tin on Sunday, however, Newnham won’t have a runner; he will send his first horse out next Wednesday night at Happy Valley.
The Australian is looking forward to the challenge and has kept his mission simple.
“The aim is to train as many winners as I can, that’s about it. Whether they be in Class 5 or Class 1 or anywhere in between, I’m trying to train as many winners as I can,” Newnham commented.
“It will be very enjoyable when we get our first winner, that’s for sure.”
Settling in
Newnham moved up to Hong Kong in early June and between then and now, he has been doing what every new trainer there should do.
“It’s been three months now. The transition has been good,” he said.
“A lot of time is spent doing a meet and greet.
“I did have a client base here already; owners that had horses with me in Sydney. I think there’s nine horses with me here that have been through my Randwick stable, so that’s been helpful. Catching up with those owners has been good, as often they will bring a friend or two along and that can create new opportunities.”
Newnham trains from Sha Tin’s Olympic Stables, alongside Kiwi Jamie Richards, who is in his second season in Hong Kong. Douglas Whyte and Michael Chang are the two other trainers nearby.
Sha Tin Racecourse | Image courtesy of Beijing Clubhouse
“I’ve got 35 horses at the moment and there’s scope to expand to 60 if need be. And then you’re allowed to go to 70 if you have a stable in China in Conghua. Usually, the first-season trainers don't have that. Last year, with Jamie, he didn’t have a Conghua stable, whereas this season he does,” Newnham said.
Newnham, who has enjoyed feature race success in Australia with horses such as Maid Of Heaven (Smart Missile), Shadow Hero (Pierro), Nakeeta Jane (So You Think {NZ}), Greysful Glamour (Stratum) and Splintex, is looking forward to seeing how Mission Bravo (Smart Missile) - a horse he trained in Sydney - performs.
“He’s won a couple of races on the dirt here and he seems to be going quite well,” he explained. “There’s a nice dirt race for him on September 24.
Gallery: Mark Newnham's most successful racehorses in Australia
“I won’t have a runner at the first meeting on Sunday, but One For All will be our first runner on Wednesday night. He’s a good Happy Valley horse, he won three in a row there last season, all in Class 4. He has crept up to Class 3, which is quite a jump, but I don’t think he’s been bottomed out just yet.
“I’ve got horses that have transferred in good condition and they’ll be ready to run in the first month, whereas a lot of the newer horses will take time to acclimatise.”
Newnham will look to grow his stable in the ensuing months by purchasing some horses from the various ready-to-run sales and bringing across some of his young horses from Australia.
“I’ve got horses that have transferred in good condition and they’ll be ready to run in the first month, whereas a lot of the newer horses will take time to acclimatise.” - Mark Newnham
“That’s the other thing that takes up my time, is trying to identify horses that will be suited here,” he said.
“I also try and target horses that aren’t yet for sale, but it is difficult now with prizemoney increases in Australia.
“The stallion syndicates are good to target. If they’re going to geld a horse, it’s really of no further use to them.
“Over the past five or six years, I’ve encouraged my Hong Kong-based owners to buy yearlings and that we can have a system in place where horses are brought along and educated in Australia and then we can decide their future from there. Blake Ryan has taken quite a few of my young horses that I had in work at Randwick and will help prepare some of those to come to Hong Kong.”
No favours
Newnham is under no illusions regarding the enormity of the task ahead, and time already spent in Hong Kong has taught him he won’t get a leg-up from his peers.
“There’s an old saying, ‘If you don’t want to get told a lie, don’t ask’. Not that anyone would intentionally lie, but they’re not here to help you, and I wouldn’t ask. Everyone’s got to sink or swim on their own here, there’s no mates club where people are going to all of a sudden do you a lot of favours, they’re all the opposition,” Newnham explained.
“It’s fierce competition in a closed pool and you’ve got to manage it yourself and trust your instincts.”
“It’s fierce competition in a closed pool and you’ve got to manage it yourself and trust your instincts.” - Mark Newnham
Newnham is well-aware that racing in Hong Kong is cut throat and if you’re not winning races, you’re not getting new clients.
He said: “The top four or five guys have got the bigger-spending owners, but they wouldn’t have started that way. It’s a matter of getting results and pushing your name up in front of people so the more higher-rated imports or nicer younger horses end up coming to your stable.”
