Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

While relatively small in size, Michael Freedman’s Randwick stable continues to outperform its size. With just over 75 horses against his name, Freedman maintains a boutique-style training business with a string of high-quality horses.

The youngest of the Freedman brothers, Michael is no stranger to high-quality bloodstock having tasted success in some of Australia’s most prestigious races. Returning from a successful international training stint in late 2018, Freedman has quickly regained his status as a prominent Sydney trainer and it appears he is only just getting started.

Freedman started the first month of the new season with a bang having saddled 10 winners from just 38 runners at an impressive winning strike rate of 27 per cent. Freedman is currently sitting fifth on the NSW training premiership which places him just behind the mega stables of Chirs Waller, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace and James Cummings who all manage significantly larger strings.

In the month of August, Freedman saddled 10 winners from just 38 runners to hand him an impressive winning strike rate of 27 per cent. It was the accomplished horseman’s best month since commencing training in his own right some 18 months ago.

Freedman’s impressive start is certainly no fluke with the accomplished trainer finishing in the top 25 of the NSW trainers' standings last season. More so, Freedman was one of only four trainers within the leading division to maintain a winning strike rate of over 20 per cent - the other trainers included James Cummings (21 per cent), Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott (20 per cent) and Paul Messara (34 per cent).

Table: Prizemoney/starter NSW training standings 2022/23 season

While he only saddled 194 runners for the season (the second fewest of the top 25 trainers for the season), Freedman continues to outperform his peers for prizemoney to starters. An average return rate of over $16,000 suggests that his stock are competing in better-quality races and most importantly performing well in them. Not only does he manage to place horses well in quality races but he also maintains a winning strike rate at the upper echelon of the pack.

Rounding out last year’s NSW racing season with a 20 per cent strike rate has Freedman just behind Paul Messara, James Cummings and Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in regards to best winning strike rates. This adds further merit to his winning strike rate given the fact he is placing his horses in better-quality races while having far less opportunity than his peers.

While he is widely known for his affinity with juveniles, Freedman is certainly no one-dimensional trainer. Last season, 17 per cent of his winners were 2-year-olds which included dual stakes success with Madeira Sunrise (I Am Invincible) and Hip Hip Hurrah (Snitzel). An overwhelming majority of Freedman’s winners last season were 3-year-olds (70 per cent) which included Communist (Russian Revolution) who was victorious at the elite level in the G1 Randwick Guineas.

There are no signs of stopping Freedman’s rich vein of form given the opening month of the new season was his best yet. Not only are his horses winning, his placement of horses in quality races has been outstanding with 80 per cent of his stakes runners for August finishing in the top four placegetters.

Of those performers, two were narrowly defeated for first-place honours, including dual stakes winner Queen Of The Ball (I Am Invincible), who was ever–so-close in the G3 Toy Show Quality at Randwick. Meanwhile, promising Snitzel colt Moravia was a close-up second in the G3 San Domenico S. at Rosehill. The Snitzel colt was then narrowly denied the G2 Run to the Rose on the weekend.

With a string of promising 3-year-old prospects to his name and the acquisition of more stables at his Randwick location, Freedman looks set for another successful stint in the Sydney training ranks.