Vale Peter Heagney: professional, mentor, friend

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

Champions Day 2024 is one Simon Vivian is never going to forget. He spent the day, has he had so often over the previous four decades, chatting and laughing with his great friend Peter Heagney.

“We watched a few races, talked about how great Via Sistina was and we had a laugh or two.”

It's a day Simon will always look back fondly on, as he will with the many he spent in Peter's company since they met, both working with the legendary David Coles, in the late 1970s.

“At times we worked together, at other times we were competitors, but throughout that all we were always friends,” he said. “It was always more of a friendship than a working relationship.

“Peter lived a full life, at 77 he has been taken from us too soon, but he enjoyed every second of what he had, his work, his family, his horses.

“I've had phone calls this week from people I haven't heard from in over 30 years, people wanting to offer their condolences, to tell stories about Peter and the impact he had on them.”

The days Simon has the best memories of are the many hours spent in the car, travelling around the country inspecting horses.

“We'd be on the road from 7am until 6pm then out to dinner, we'd get up the next morning and start it all again. We never ran out of things to talk about, and we had a lot of laughs. There was no such thing as a stifled conversation with Peter!

“Our families mixed socially, our wives became close friends; sitting down with a glass of wine and telling stories, we always had terrific fun.

“The industry will miss a great contributor, but those who knew him will miss a great friend.”

Delighted!

And he was a great mentor, one of those grateful to have him in her life being Stephanie Grentell who cherishes her time spent working with him at Inglis. And she has plenty of fun memories.

“Whenever Peter would write the press releases, he'd always use the word 'delighted' and after a while we all started to rib him for it!

“He took it in his usual good humour and then it was a game to see who could come up with the best alternatives.”

Whilst always professional, Peter was, Stephanie said, always entertaining.

“He was one of the most fun people to be with, he had this very distinctive little dance he'd do that anyone who knew Pete well would know! It still brings a smile to my face now thinking of him doing it.

“My time at Inglis were some of the best years of my life. The nights after a day of selling at Premier with the whole bloodstock team squashed into Pete's office having a red wine, our many many kilometres travelled doing yearling inspections and hours poring over pedigrees; sharing an office with that crew for nearly a decade was a privilege.”

Stephanie was the first female auctioneer at Inglis (or anywhere in Australia) and leading up to her debut on the podium she was putting in the hard yards.

“I'd been been practising for months, in my car, at home, every spare minute I had I'd be off into the rostrum at Oaklands with Simon Vivian guiding me all the way. And Pete, he was the ultimate professional and I remember one day he marched into my office and said, 'Grab your gavel, we're going in for a practice session.'

“I could see he couldn't help but be proud and a little surprised at how far I'd come! The sessions were regular with him after that but that first time will always hold a special place for me.”

A gentleman to the core

“The big thing about Pete was just the way he conducted himself at every single turn, be it at Flemington hosting clients or trudging through knee deep mud looking at yearlings who couldn't be caught. He was a gentleman to the core and didn't know how to conduct himself in any other way. It was all those little seemingly insignificant moments in time that I will remember most about him.”

As well as one stand-out memory, the year “Peter single-handedly saved the Premier 2 sale!”

“I can't remember the year, I want to say 2009. The sale was falling flat, it was post global financial crisis and every person in the auditorium was flat; the owners, breeders, trainers, bid-spotters and auctioneers; we were all just watching the impending doom in front of us.”

“Then Pete got in the rostrum and just lifted us all out of the doldrums! He was like a crazy robot up there, arms swinging around like windmills, pulling bids from buyers who didn't even know they wanted a horse until he told them to bid! It was one of the best, if not the best display of auctioneering I've ever seen.”

Mark Dodemaide also remembers that day. “I had never seen anything like it," he recalled. “It was his second turn in the podium, he had 22 horses to auction and at that stage it was a struggle to get to 60 per cent.”

“Everyone was wondering where this sale was going but Peter grabbed the bull by the horns, and he was on fire. He sold 19 of the 22 and was getting $60,000 for $30,000 horses! I was standing next to Stephanie at the time, and I said to her, 'Let's just watch and appreciate this!'”

A really good fella

Working alongside Peter for decades, Mark has plenty of insight into the man he was and there is no better accolade than “he really was just a really good fella.”

“He'd be having a passionate racing conversation and notice that someone in the group was not as interested, so he'd change the topic to include them, he was really good at that.

“And you never walked away from Peter thinking you didn't know where he was coming from, he always hit the nail on the head, he was always spot on with his assessment of things.”

Such as the day he was asked to auction a group of standardbreds. Mark was following harness racing at the time and had a reasonable knowledge of what was going on. After watching Peter conduct the sale with his usual professionalism, he said to him, 'I didn't know you followed the trots!'

“I don't!" was the reply.

“Well, he had me fooled," Mark laughed, “he came across as an authority.”

Mark remembers asking Peter what he would be doing in a world without horses.

“He said he'd be running one of those old-fashioned milk bars. And I can just see that, his friendly, smiling face welcoming regulars, asking kids how they went at the footy.

“But he loved horses and he had the perfect job which he was perfect at.”

Immediately at ease

Maluka Thoroughbreds' Mags Anderson remembers when she and Luke first set up in Victoria, what it was like to be the new kids on the block.

“We were invited to an Inglis lunch, we didn't really know anyone and we were a bit nervous.

“But Peter was so welcoming of us to the Victorian breeding and yearling preparation ranks, he stood behind me at that function with his hands on my shoulders talking about my decade as yearling manager for Sir Patrick Hogan and he was so complimentary, kind and welcoming. He put Luke and I immediately at ease and we have loved Inglis ever since.

“He went out of his way that day to make sure we were comfortable and included, we will never forget it, or him.”

Much of Peter's life outside of the world of thoroughbreds was centred around other horses, he and his wife Helen competing and judging.

Competitor Kellie May remembers a day at Barastoc just two years ago when her show horse, a 16.3hh hunter, decided to take off as he was being measured.

“Peter and Helen were both there as officials,” she recalled. "When my horse bolted, we all ran whilst Peter jumped in the golf cart.

“My horse did two laps of the cross country course and Peter caught him just near the road where Werribee Park meets the Zoo. I was hysterically crying but Peter just casually led him back across the polo field.

“And he tried make me laugh by saying, 'You won't need to lunge him today!' It was amazing in my books, what a legend. And having watched him as an auctioneer from when I was a child, I was so chuffed that Peter Heagney had caught my horse, it was a day I'll never forget.”

Enormous shoes to fill

Fiona McIntyre who, like Peter, has her foot in the racing and equestrian worlds, is another with many fond memories.

“I had the absolute pleasure of working with Peter on the Equestrian Victoria Show Horse Committee. He was the Chair until he retired in 2022 when he handed over the reins to me, leaving enormous shoes to fill!

“Peter was always available for a chat, a sounding board and a mentor not only to me but to so many in the equestrian world.

“For many years he commentated at all major equestrian events across Australia and for me hearing Peter's dulcet tones across the arena at major competitions brought me comfort and settled my nerves.

“He was so generous imparting his knowledge, wisdom and passion with his big smile and endearing laugh, never expecting anything in return.”