Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Bruce Slade is in an enviable position. He has the best of both worlds as the director of bloodstock at Henry Field’s Newgate and his own Kestrel Thoroughbreds, maintaining a strong association with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing.
Despite all the success, Slade remains humble and describes it as a ‘full circle moment’ and a weekend where connections can be found everywhere.
Bruce Slade | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
The golden run can sketch back to the gun colt Militarize’s (NZ) (Dundeel {NZ}) barnstorming success in the sire-making G1 Golden Rose on September 23.
Militarize is raced by a group that includes Newgate Bloodstock, China Horse Club Racing, Trilogy and Go Bloodstock Australia.
The son of Dundeel (NZ) had already won twice at Group 1 level in Sires’ Produce S. and the Champagne S.
All the accolades make the Chris Waller-trained Militarize one of the most exciting stallion prospects in the land.
Day of all days
However, it would only get better, and on Saturday at Randwick on Epsom Day, it reached a crescendo.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing needed a few extra hands to haul away their trophy collection after the 10-race card.
They walked away with two Group 1 winners: the Gooree Stud-owned Tropical Squall (Prized Icon) in the Flight S. and the exciting imported Metropolitan H. victor, Just Fine (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), co-owned by the micro-share platform MyRacehorse.
The stable also scored the trifecta in the sire-making G3 Breeders’ Plate and won the Listed Dulcify S. with Ganbare (Maurice {Jpn}).
Gallery: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing's stakes winners at Randwick on Saturday, images courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
While the Joe Pride-trained Think About It (So You Think {NZ}), who will represent Newgate in the $20 million The Everest, scored a courageous victory in The Everest lead-up - the G2 Premiere S.
Adding further lust to the day, Newgate’s first-season sire Tassort struck with his first runner, Manaal, taking out the G3 Gimcrack S.
“It’s just incredible. You just have to enjoy it, right?” Slade told The Thoroughbred Report.
“From my perspective, I’ve been lucky enough to come to Australia on the back of Gai’s (Waterhouse) support initially in 2010, and I worked there for five years, then I worked with Newgate from 2015 to 2020.
Some of the Waterhouse Bott Racing team - Bruce Slade, Emma Coleman, Gai Waterhouse, Claudia Miller and Adrian Bott | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Now I have a dual role where I can live on the Gold Coast with my family and work for both Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing and Newgate, which I am incredibly grateful for.
“I have the benefit of working for great friends, Henry (Field), Gai (Waterhouse) and Adrian (Bott). They are people I respect and have learnt a lot from,” Slade explained.
“I love doing my best for people and am passionate about seeing others do well.
“Kudos to Henry, Adrian and Gai; they just keep putting themselves in positions where they have live chances in all those different races. There is a lot of depth across the board.
“Kudos to Henry (Field), Adrian (Bott) and Gai (Waterhouse); they just keep putting themselves in positions where they have live chances in all those different races.” - Bruce Slade
“And it was just great to go into those big days with lots of live chances, and this is what can happen when you have a bit of luck. We all know how hard it is, and it doesn’t come along often, so you have to enjoy the ride because next Saturday, you may be walking away from the track with your head down.
“That’s just part of the game. Just keep rolling with it.”
Spilt role
Slade explained how he splits his time between his roles at Newgate and Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing.
“The majority of my roles centre around the bloodstock side of things and sourcing the bloodstock. I work the yearling sale season from January through to May/June. And then I work privately on tried horses throughout the year, but that’s sporadic.
“The majority of my roles centre around the bloodstock side of things and sourcing the bloodstock.” - Bruce Slade
“I’d say the first half of the year is with Gai and Adrian, then the second half, and I’d say 70 per cent of my time would flip over the other way (to Newgate).
“I would start selling on the Newgate side of things where I’m far more involved in the stallion business side of things. So, selling nominations and working with our sales and marketing team. That really cranks into gear from June through to now, and then we start planning and working towards next year to try to improve and put ourselves in positions like the one on Saturday.”
All as special as each other
Justifiably, Slade could not pinpoint a highlight from the recent success.
“I mean, there’s just so many different things going, and the beautiful thing about racing and breeding in Australia right now is just the beauty of opportunity.
“Touching on Think About It, the whole farm is proud of him - Jim (Carey) and his team that run the farm. It’s not just about having the horse in the Newgate slot, but the fact he was born and raised at Newgate. He’s an excellent result for the Kolivos family.
“Then you’re making stallions like Militarize. I mean, they’re just special, special horses. How hard is it to find a horse like that? Bar the Slipper Militarize has won every Group 1 race he’s contested. Now we are dreaming of Cox Plates with him and having him on the Newgate roster down the track.
“I was so excited on the weekend for Bryan Carlson and Emirates Park having the Gimcrack winner in Manaal. It was satisfying for both operations that they and many others got behind Tassort from the get-go and were rewarded with that filly.
“There are 56 different breeding right holders, small to medium-sized breeders in Australia that now have a lifetime breeding right in Tassort, and it may be the start of an incredible journey for all involved.
Manaal, winner of the G3 Gimcrack S. | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“I work with Gai and Adrian, but I was just as delighted to see Michael Freedman train the filly. He has been so close with many nice horses lately; seeing him get a big one for a prominent owner was fantastic. I was just as happy to see Tommy Berry return and Kathy (O’Hara) and Adam (Hyeronimus) ride Group 1 winners.
“You know how hard it is, so when people win, you can’t help but feel happy for them and celebrate their success.
“The Gimcrack was also a trifecta for the Newgate roster; the second filly, Celestial Bling, is a daughter of Capitalist, while the third, Repose, is by Russian Revolution.
“The Gimcrack was also a trifecta for the Newgate roster; the second filly, Celestial Bling, is a daughter of Capitalist, while the third, Repose, is by Russian Revolution.” - Bruce Slade
“It’s just a huge credit to the farm and job Jim, Jackson (Beirs), Rachel (Safir), and the whole team do when these horses bred and raised on the farm perform like that.”
Million-dollar colt excites Slade
Slade was also excited over the future of the G3 Breeders’ Plate winner Espionage (Zoustar) and his stablemates Straight Charge (Written By) and Prost (Snitzel), who filled the placings.
“The Breeders’ Plate was a tremendous result. It comes down to incredible support and trust. It was a massive thing for James Harron of the Colt Partnership to give Gai and Adrian a $1 million colt and to repay that faith by winning a stallion-making race such as the Breeders’ Plate.
“It takes a lot of trust and faith in somebody to give them a colt of that calibre. Yulong had the second colt, Straight Charge, and they’ve hugely supported us, and he’s a nice colt for the future. Likewise, the third colt, Prost, raced by TFI and Kia Ora, is another exciting horse that hit the line well.”
Slade touched on Waterhouse's strong relationship with Gooree Park and the satisfaction of scoring another Group 1 winner in the famed silks with Tropical Squall in the Flight.
“There’s a real connection with Gai and Gooree. Tropical Squall was, I believe, the 79th stakes winner for Gai in the Gooree colours. It’s a set of famous colours that have been so good to the stable and the industry.
“There’s a real connection with Gai and Gooree. Tropical Squall was, I believe, the 79th stakes winner for Gai in the Gooree colours.” - Bruce Slade
“Gooree now houses all their mares with Newgate and races King’s Gambit with us. So, there’s just connections everywhere.
“The victory of Just Fine was very significant. Gai’s first-ever Group 1 winner was in the Metropolitan with a tried horse for David Ellis (Te Akau Nick) out of New Zealand.
“And now to win another with this import owned by MyRacehorse who specialises in the micro-share concept, that’s just incredible.
“The victory really illustrates the opportunity in Australia. You go from horses owned by Emirates Park and Gooree to one owned by over 5000 people, who were all ecstatic and crying.
“For some people without micro shares, maybe horse ownership wouldn’t be possible, but there they were with a Group 1-winning horse now potentially on his way to tackle the Melbourne Cup!
“Not only that, Just Fine was the first winner for King Charles III and his colours, and now a horse once owned by The King is now owned by over 5000 Australians, which is truly incredible.
“Just Fine was the first winner for King Charles III and is now owned by over 5000 Australians, which is truly incredible.” - Bruce Slade
“It was just a spectrum of stuff happening. I won’t forget it for a long time, that’s for sure. I’m just thrilled for everybody involved.”
