In today's Q & A, we feature a quick-fire round with Georgia Everingham, bloodstock consultant at Magic Millions.
Favourite moment - racing, sales or breeding related - for the 2022/23 season?
Georgia Everingham: Attending the second running of The Archer in Rockhampton where we watched two war horses battle it out to the line.
Which sire do you consider a value sire? Fee <$50k and not a first-season sire.
GE: Star Turn, standing at Vinery Stud for $27,500 (inc GST). A stallion who will get you winners, both fillies and colts. Elite performers on our home turf with Group 1 winner Startantes and as trade horses with colts suitable for Asian racing e.g., Golden Monkey (Singapore) and Cordyceps Six/ Astrologer (Hong Kong).
Star Turn | Standing at Vinery Stud
What young sire (less than three crops) do you think will one day be Champion Sire?
GE: Looking at less than three crops of racing age - Russian Revolution looks the likely candidate to me.
Which yearling purchase in 2023 are you most excited about?
GE: My favourite yearling to follow from 2023 is the I Am Invincible x Tumooh colt whichwas purchased at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by James Harron Bloodstock Colt Partnership. I have loved the colt since we first saw him at Emirates Park. Now named Bodyguard, he trialled well in Sydney in the JHB colours. (Please note this Q & A was received prior to the running of the Listed Maribyrnong Trial S.)
What, if any, is your greatest current-industry concern?
GE: Personally, I hate seeing underdone or uneducated horses, from the conception of the horse the goal should be to breed a confident, trainable athlete with the right pillars instilled to succeed. Providing horses with the pillars for success including correct nutrition and education to handle the pressures of racing is the minimum standard that should be accepted.
It’s the outliers that can be damaging to the industry.
Name an emerging human talent in the industry, and say why?
GE: Tilly McCarroll in her pre-apprenticeship under Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
Tilly is a rounded and talented event rider and horsewoman who looks to be showing the same dedication and ambition to race riding.
If you had $10 million to invest in an industry initiative, what would it be and why?
GE: I would invest in education with pathways by backing an established facility like NEGS, Armidale NSW. The school has a state-of-the-art equestrian centre on the 50-hectare property including two indoor arenas, 42 paddocks and 26 stables over two barns.
Obviously, the love of the horse is the core, but they are also producing and nurturing talent through high-performance squads and education.
The facility could be used to host intensive educational programs during the holidays for university students/new to industry people. I would also be looking to tap into their equestrian system for future industry employees and sustainable racehorse retirement programs.
NEGS are currently looking for sponsors after taking a loan out for a new horse truck for the students to compete around Australia, these opportunities are enhancing the skill of the next generation of equine professionals. Perhaps some industry powerhouses would like to get behind this and have their logo on the truck?
Fellow graduates of NEGS to my knowledge include Mel and Cecilia O’Gorman, Julia Hargreaves (Olympic Showjumper), Jilly Henderson (Noogee Park Thoroughbreds), Wendy Peel (Jockey), Georgie Mitchell (Yarraman Park), Sam Croft (Clarke & Croft) among many others immersed in the industry.
