“Don’t second guess yourself, just buy her”: Hedge delighted with Socks Nation decision

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

The Thoroughbred Report enjoyed a good chat with Suman Hedge as the thrill of Group 1 victory was sinking in (well almost!) on Sunday afternoon.

“There are so many disappointments in racing because it is such a hard sport," said Hedge who part owned Socks Nation after buying her on Sheriff Iskander's behalf at the 2022 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

“You end up with so many nice horses being injured or not fulfilling their potential - and all those memories come to the fore when something like this happens.

“You always have thoughts of those horses bubbling in your mind so when something like this does happen it is surreal as you become so used to losing!

“Even people who are really good at this game lose most of the time so a win at any level is something to savour, it is always really special.”

Hedge remembers the day that the daughter of the one-time shuttler (to Swettenham Stud) Sioux Nation (USA) caught the eye at Oaklands Junction, looking forward "to seeing what she looked like” after spying her in the catalogue, admitting that "I really didn't know much about her sire.”

What he saw was a filly who immediately grabbed attention.

A very, very efficient horse

“She was such a good mover - a very, very efficient horse who knew how to use herself well.

“She was very athletic with a big overstep and great motion.

“She is the sort of horse you see and say, 'she has the perfect action for an athlete.'”

Though, he admits, he has seen such horses before, and it has not always worked out well - “we've had some great actioned horses who have been very slow and some not such great types who have been very efficient performers.

“Which is what is great about the game,” he said - "it gives everyone a chance. If there were set rules the big players would race every good horse.”

Still feeling the nerves and pressure when recommending a horse to a client, Hedge was keen on Socks Nation but wanted to make sure she did tick every box.

And one of those boxes was the faith in her by another good judge.

“I am very close to Scott Holcombe at Milburn Creek where she had been prepared and he gave me a glowing appraisal of her.

“I had inspected her three or four times as I tend to do with the ones I like and eventually Scott said 'she hasn't changed Suman! If you like her, don't second guess yourself - just buy her.'

“When someone you respect gives you a push like that it gives you a bit more confidence.”

Hedge remembers Socks Nation being popular - "a lot of trainers liked her.”

“Matthew and Melissa Smith place a lot of importance on the heart testing and I found out from them later that they really liked her on her cardio readings.”

With such competition it took $160,000 to secure Socks Nation, the most expensive of the six Sioux Nations at the sale and the second most expensive yearling by him in Australia.

Socks Nation gets her name

Sent to renowned breaker Adrian Corby - who Hedge describes as “such a talented, wonderful horseman,” - Socks Nation fared well early, and gained her name.

“Adrian was pronouncing Sioux 'Socks' and we thought it would be a little bit of fun to call her that - and he has taken it well.”

Taking the breaking-in process in her stride, Socks Nation did suffer an early "glitch" to her career - “she whacked her head on the feeder and fractured her jaw and had to be wired up - it was a bit hairy for a while as we didn't know where she'd end up with that, but she recovered really well.”

From there Socks Nation made her way to the Ciaron Maher stables and Hedge could not be happier with the job they have done with her.

“Ciaron, Jack Turnbull (assistant trainer) and the staff - it is a real team effort, it is a stable that works like a well-oiled machine,” he said, noting another trait he admires in Maher.

“Ciaron seems to be able to identify talent, not just in horses but in people as well,” he said, recalling Annabel Neasham's time with the stable as one example.

“His good eye for talent helps him achieve the amazing results the stable enjoys.”

It can be said that Sheriff Iskander also has that eye for promise, he, being the driving force behind Suman Hedge's burgeoning career as a bloodstock agent.

“I used to be in the background, managing horses after other people bought them,” Hedge recalled, "and it was Sheriff who gave me the opportunities for which I am so grateful.”

“If not for him I'd have no career at all and his confidence in me has pushed me to work harder.

“He is extremely loyal and has supported me heavily - which gave me the impetus to start my own company.”

Zoustar kicks off a career

Hedge's good eye for a horse came to the fore in 2012 when a member of Northern Meteor's debut crop was secured for $120,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“There was trepidation around regarding Northern Meteor," Hedge recalled - "Encosta de Lago's sons had not yet done a great deal and there were a few naysayers regarding this yearling.

“Some said his hocks were not great, others said he didn't have enough strength behind the saddle.”

But what Hedge saw - noting that he "likes to look at the positives” rather than dwell on the negatives when inspecting a horse - was a yearling with "a lot of presence.

“He had that beautiful Encosta de Lago head and was very athletic. I loved him but really didn't think that I'd be able to get him, I just thought he'd make a lot more.”

But racing fortune was on his side that day, the horse who would become Zoustar a pivotal turning point in Hedge's career.

“You need a lot of luck in this game and your whole career can change with one horse," he said.

And not just a career, but everything - “you look back and realise how close you can come to having a completely different life,” he said.

An Adrenaline rush

Hedge loves and fully appreciates his racing life, admitting that he sometimes gives himself “an uppercut!

“Sometimes we get a bit cuddled and spoilt, we sit at the sales and complain about things like how long it is taking and then you get home and think you are such a brat! It is such a great life-style and such a very enjoyable industry be involved in.”

“You get to meet nice people and win races which is such an adrenaline rush.”

A rush Hedge enjoys regardless of the where and the when - “I still get a thrill from a win at Balaklava on a Wednesday, you can never take wins lightly.”

Socks Nation is one of a number of fillies raced by Iskander and Hedge with a plan set in motion a few years ago.

“Sheriff decided he'd like to race some nice fillies and asked me to buy some of the better types for him.”

Socks Nation is the ringleader so far but there have been other good ones as well - such as the Listed winner Zoukerette (I Am Invincible) who was sold to the China Horse Club for $700,000 at the recent Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

And the lightly raced and promising Ella's World (The Autumn Sun) - “a nice staying filly" who has won her last couple for the Anthony and Sam Freedman stable.

“Sheriff has been a bit unlucky with some of the fillies we have bought," Hedge said. “Probably the most talented of them is a $900,000 Zoustar filly who hasn't raced yet as she has just had niggling problem after niggling problem - the Freedmans are hopeful that we will see her in the spring.”

Exceeding expectations

When Socks Nation may also be again in action though obviously her owners are already delighted with her achievements - never expecting that she would end up with an elite level win to her name.

“We thought she was above average when she won at Sandown," Hedge said of Socks Nation's fourth start when she won her maiden by five three-quarter lengths - "she cleared out and looked pretty progressive.

“We were really hoping then that she could measure up to be a Listed type horse - the message from the stable was that it would be great to be able to get some black-type with her.”

But Socks Nation kept improving, though still not giving Hedge confidence that she was going to win a big one.

“We thought it would be really good if she could place in a stakes race to enhance her value. We certainly didn't have any Group 1 feeling about her.

“But I must say that the stable projected a lot more confidence going into the race - and it seems it was well founded.

Noting that Socks Nation is yet to finish out of the first five in her twelve starts, Hedge describes her as "a very honest filly who has coped well with everything served up to her. When she is not winning, she is still always thereabouts.”

A game filly

“She is a very game filly who always shows fight,” he continued.

“On Saturday when the other horse loomed up to her I thought we were running for a nice second which in itself would've been a pleasant surprise.

“But when that horse got to her she really rallied.”

Hedge very much enjoys the vagaries of racing horses, also happy when - around 90 minutes before Socks Nation's Oaks success - Cotton Tree (Shamus Award) was a game second at Flemington.

“He is my favourite horse at the moment," said Hedge, "though I'd probably now have to say that he is second to Socks Nation!

“He was a $16,000 purchase with Mick Price at the Magic Millions sale in June. We were walking around the stables and this little ball of fluff came out and caught our eye.

“The vendor told us there was no reserve due to him being sold to cover a debt and that they were hoping to get $25,000 to $30,000 for him.

“He has been so much fun - he is the opposite to Socks Nation, so ungainly; a tall, gangly skinny horse who races with his head in the air. He has the worst action and is not at all attractive to look at - but he has a big ticker.

“He is such an unfashionable horse to look at, but he is mixing it with them, and he tries his heart out every time - you cannot help but love a horse like him.”