Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
The manner in which Run Harry Run dispatched of some talented stakes-winning colts in the G3 Blue Sapphire S. at Caulfield earlier this month was bound to attract plenty of attention, not least because of the cleverness with which the gelding is named.
Earlier this week that attention came in the shape of an offer from Hong Kong to buy the Mike Moroney-trained 3-year-old, an offer that was subsequently rejected by his ownership group. It wasn’t a decision the group took lightly according to Player, who revealed to The Thoroughbred Report that the excitement of continuing to race such a promising prospect was too good an opportunity for Run Harry Run’s owners to pass up.
“The ownership group was presented with offers from Hong Kong and it was very significant money, so it got due consideration,” Player said.
“They looked at it and debated it amongst themselves, but at the end of the day they just believe the horse has a lot more to give. Mike Moroney is absolutely convinced that he’s on an upward spiral and the joy of racing a horse like Harry is something the owners want to continue to be part of.
“A lot of the owners were there at Caulfield when he won the Blue Sapphire and I think that really cemented to them that they have a horse that they can have a lot of fun with for years to come.”
“They (the owners) looked at it (the offers from Hong Kong) and debated it amongst themselves, but at the end of the day they just believe the horse (Run Harry Run) has a lot more to give.” - Mark Player
Big and beautiful
Run Harry Run was one of five colts purchased by Player and Rob Roulston under their PR Funds banner during the 2022 yearling sales season, and a number of the duo’s biggest supporters feature in the ownership group, including prominent owner-breeders Gerry Ryan, Neil Werrett and Colin Madden.
The Hong Kong-based Lucky Owners Pty Ltd, Musk Creek Farm’s David Kobritz and Tim Eddy, who is on the board of Racing Victoria, are others in what Player describes as a “good, diverse” ownership group in Run Harry Run, whose three-quarter brother Trump (Written Tycoon) won four races in Hong Kong after making a similarly exciting start to his racing career in his native Australia.
Mark Player and Robert Roulston | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Having initially been purchased as a future stallion prospect, Run Harry Run’s relentless growth spurt quickly put paid to any potential stud career for the big chestnut, who was a standout for both Player and Roulston when the pair first laid eyes on him at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2022.
“Rob and I buy five colts each year and at Magic Millions he was a colt that we both landed on very early,” Player recalled. “We both go through as many of the colts as we can at the sales we go to and we try not to go over the $500,000 average for our group.
“I think the reason we both landed on Harry is that when we buy, we buy these horses with hopefully the potential to make a stallion, as everyone does when they buy a colt, but also we buy on the basis that we want horses that are going to be able to be durable and strong, and race over a few seasons.
“Then if they don’t quite reach that Group 1 level, we have Hong Kong as an option to get a little bit more money back in the coffers for the owners. That’s always in the back of our minds.”
Run Harry Run as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
At $280,000, Player was delighted to have secured Run Harry Run for that price given the potential he and Roulston saw in the Kenmore Lodge-consigned yearling, and as far as choosing a trainer was concerned, there was only ever one man for the job.
“He was a very big, strong yearling, very well prepared but very raw,” Player added. “There was just that look about him that he was going to get stronger and better.
“There was just that look about him (Run Harry Run) that he was going to get stronger and better.” - Mark Player
“He was always a very relaxed horse and a beautiful mover. For a big horse he was also very balanced, and those were the characteristics that Rob and I really honed in on.
“We thought he was a colt that would make around the $300,000 mark given the service fee for Written Tycoon and the way the sale had started pretty strongly, but we were lucky enough to get him at $280,000.
“After the sales we sat down with our group of owners and looked at trainers that we thought would suit, and Colin Madden, one of our owners, was really keen to give one to Mike Moroney. As most people know, Mike is a very relaxed and laidback character, and Run Harry Run was certainly that as well, so we thought the two would really suit each other. As luck would have it, it’s all worked out very well.”
Mike Moroney (left) with Run Harry Run and connections after winning the G3 Blue Sapphire S. | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
A proven formula
Run Harry Run’s striking physical characteristics weren’t the only drawcard for Roulston and Player, with one particular aspect of his pedigree standing out above all others.
The son of Written Tycoon carries the same double cross of the hugely influential Vain as New Zealand Group 1 winner Miss Wilson (Stratum), dual Kosciuszko hero Front Page (Magnus) and, most significantly of all, Vinery Stud stallion Ole Kirk, whom Player purchased as a yearling for $675,000 on behalf of Neil Werrett.
Ole Kirk | Standing at Vinery Stud
“It was never going to go unnoticed by Rob and I that that was the cross that had worked so well with Ole Kirk,” Player said.
“It was a very special time for everyone involved when he won his Group 1s and we were able to put a deal in place for him to stand at Vinery.
“We hoped that Run Harry Run might go the same way, but he was a horse that continued to grow and got very heavy, so to look after him Mike said we would have to geld him if we were going to have a racehorse. So that’s what we did.
“We hoped that Run Harry Run might go the same way (as Ole Kirk), but he was a horse that continued to grow and got very heavy, so to look after him Mike (Moroney) said we would have to geld him if we were going to have a racehorse.” -Mark Player
“We knew that double cross of Vain had worked with Written Tycoon and we were very happy to see it in the pedigree.”
Player is effusive in his praise for Yulong stallion Written Tycoon, who has made a superb start to the 2023/24 season. The former Champion Sire enjoyed a Group race double with his progeny at Caulfield two weekends ago and followed that up by siring the winner of New Zealand’s first 2-year-old stakes race of the year on Saturday, with the filly in question, Velocious, now a warm favourite for the lucrative R. Listed Karaka Millions 2YO at Ellerslie in January.
Run Harry Run epitomises the sort of horse that Written Tycoon can produce according to Player, who was also quick to praise his trainer Mike Moroney for the incredible job he has done in getting the progressive 3-year-old all the way to stakes grade in his first racing preparation.
Written Tycoon | Standing at Yulong
“Written Tycoon is just a sire for everywhere really, he leaves fantastic, strong, durable horses and this lad is about 16.2hh high and well over 500 kilos,” Player said.
“He’s just a big, strong horse and Mike Moroney is absolutely convinced that he should be unbeaten, he just didn’t have any luck on his first start. From there, he has just got better and better, and his dominant win at Caulfield was the icing on the cake on what was really his first racing preparation.
“Written Tycoon is just a sire for everywhere really, he leaves fantastic, strong, durable horses...” - Mark Player
“To get four runs out of him and progress from a provincial maiden to a Group 3 win at Caulfield in his first prep is a fantastic training effort by Mike and his team, and a great reflection of the horse’s potential.
“Mike is very considered in his plans and I remember talking to him after his first race. He said, ‘This horse has really got something, I really have a strong feeling about this horse’.”
Not running from anything, even Royal Ascot!
Moroney’s strong feeling has proved to be bang on the money, and after initially considering a tilt at the G2 Sandown Guineas this coming Saturday, the multiple Group 1-winning trainer recommended that Run Harry Run head to the paddock with an ambitious autumn campaign in mind.
The G1 Australian Guineas at Flemington on March 2, a race in which Moroney finished third earlier this year with Japanese Emperor (NZ) (Satono Aladdin {Jpn}), has already been identified as Run Harry Run’s principal autumn target, and Player revealed that his trainer has no doubt the gelding is up to the task.
Run Harry Run will be aimed towards the G1 Australian Guineas at Flemington in March | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Mike thought that four runs was enough for him in his first racing preparation, particularly as he said he’s a horse he wants to aim at the Australian Guineas,” Player said.
“That’s a race that the whole ownership group is very excited about. We have owners up in Hong Kong that are already making plans to hopefully come down for it in March, and with Neil Werrett also in the ownership group and on the board at the VRC, it’s certainly a race that we’d all love to see him run in.
“Mike is of the opinion that he is a Group 1 calibre horse and Mike sees him every day, so I’m happy to be led by Mike on that. The comments from Daniel Stackhouse after every run have basically been, ‘Look, he’s very green, but he’s improving and has got more to give’, so we certainly hope that he can progress through the grades and be a proper Group 1 horse in the autumn, and for years to follow.
“Mike (Moroney) is of the opinion that he (Run Harry Run) is a Group 1 calibre horse... we certainly hope that he can progress through the grades and be a proper Group 1 horse in the autumn, and for years to follow.” - Mark Player
“We think that 1400 - 1600 metres is going to be his ideal distance as he continues to grow and mature.”
That distance range would bring a race like the $10 million Golden Eagle right into contention for Run Harry Run in his 4-year-old season, and with the number of lucrative age-restricted races for 4-and-5-year-olds only increasing as part of an incentive to keep horses in Australia beyond their Classic year, his connections aren’t short of future options for the talented gelding.
It is not just Australia, however, that his connections are looking at further down the track, with a trip to Royal Ascot already having been mooted by members of the ownership group - a trip that would certainly raise an eyebrow or two given the backstory behind Run Harry Run’s name.
Royal Ascot | Image courtesy of Royal Ascot
Out of the Denman mare Maybe Markle, who herself is a daughter of Queenie (NZ) (Black Minnaloushe {USA}), those who keep half an eye on current affairs, and to a greater extent the British monarchy, should have no problems deducing the inspiration behind Run Harry Run’s name, a moniker which was put forward by Godolphin Flying Start graduate Carrie Hu on behalf of part-owner owner Rifa Mustang and chosen unanimously by the rest of the ownership group.
A number of Run Harry Run’s owners have history at the Royal Ascot, and although there is plenty of water to flow under the bridge, a future trip to the prestigious meeting isn’t out of the question according to Player.
“In his post-race interviews at Caulfield, Mike said that one owner had mentioned the Royal Meeting and he said it might be a nice target if we could ever get in,” Player said.
“It’s a long way down the track, but given that Neil Werrett and Colin Madden were involved with Black Caviar and had such a fantastic time, and are regular attendees at the Royal Meeting as are Charmaine Li and other owners, it’s probably something that we would look at down the track if the horse was good enough and warranted it.
“I think we’d get a similar reaction over there as to what we have here. I think everyone would love the name!”
“I think we’d get a similar reaction over there (at Royal Ascot) as to what we have here. I think everyone would love the name (Run Harry Run)!” - Mark Player
His rapid progression has already attracted plenty of attention here in Australia, and with a name like Run Harry Run, it’s hard to see any other outcome should he ever make the trip to Royal Ascot!
