'The breeders are looking for more longevity on the track now' - Hüeppe on educating young horses

Cover image courtesy of Hannover Lodge

Established in 2017, Hinnerk Hüeppe’s Hannover Lodge has evolved into a respected early education and pre-training operation where the likes of Paris Dior (Pierro), King Of Sparta (I Am Invincible), Jacquinot, and I’m Thunderstruck (NZ) (Shocking) have taken their first steps towards stellar racing careers.

A keen showjumper from a very young age, Hüeppe travelled to Australia in 2009 to work for Alice Cameron of Oaks Sporthorses, breeder of Oaks Milky Way who represented Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Through time running Wild Oaks for Julie Ritchie and riding trackwork for a number of prominent trainers in the Hawkesbury, Hüeppe and his wife, top eventer Jade Findlay, have honed a keen understanding of the needs of the Australian racehorse. The educators oversee the education of between 80 and 100 young horses on their property each year, as well as preparing 20 young horses for the upcoming Inglis Ready2Race sale.

A trend towards longevity

Hüeppe’s processes change little year to year, but he has noticed the style of horse coming through his doors as evolving slightly with time.

“The breaking in itself doesn’t really change,” he said. “You always try to evolve (as a business), the horses are always getting better, the staff are getting better, and you always continue educating yourself and changing or improving things.

“You have to adapt to the horses and how they are bred. Australian horses are typically sprinting 2-year-olds, and then also you've got a few stayers coming over from New Zealand and from Australia as well from the south. But I think what we're adapting to is a horse that's more forward and has been even better prepared at the sales."

"I feel like some of the more forward-thinking studs are going back to having their horses well prepared, but not over-prepped, as a yearling, meaning there’s more improvement left (when they come to us).”

A more raw individual that has been handwalked more and has received less pressure is what’s arriving at Hüeppe’s door. Hüeppe believes it is a big contributor to yearlings coping better with the transition to ridden life and to the longevity of the modern racehorse.

“Over the last few years, we've had very well-prepared yearlings that have had the tendency to go rather backwards than forwards throughout the breaking in process, because they've already been so well taken care of and they've been very well protected,” he said.

“Now, farms have started to have yearlings in bigger groups again and bigger paddocks. They give them off time during the yearling preparation, so they're well-handed, but they're leaving a bit more of a raw athlete. There’s a lot more handwalking being done, which helps with the handling, but also I think that the impact on their joints, tendons, and general body really helps them to stand up and handle the pressure that's put on them once we start breaking them in.

“It allows the bone structure to grow more naturally, rather than a set number of laps on a walker every day. That’s not good for a young horse to do all the time, you've got to have straight lines, curved lines, you've got to have different kinds of surfaces, not just a rubber floor. A lot of farms walk them on the road, a lot of farms walk them up and down the laneways - that just naturally gives the bone structure different types of impact. I think that helps when we break them in.

“Things such as shin soreness are definitely prevented or reduced by farms doing more handwalking and exercising those yearlings on different surfaces, or even having more natural preparations where they might have a break in between.”

Exercise variance has long been a core tenet of bringing on young horses in the equestrian industry, and it is pleasing to hear the trend spreading through the racing industry.

“It physically and mentally helps them to have room to improve,” Hüeppe said. “And I think physically they are better prepared in the way that you have a horse that has been allowed to naturally grow and mature, rather than being pushed to (look a certain way).

“I think the breeders are looking for more longevity on the track now. We still want 2-year-olds that go early, but at the same time we've seen more and more in racing now that a lot of horses that just weren't ready as a young horse come out and be successful. If you look at the Everest, we have four, five, six, 7-year-old geldings and mares running in it and winning.”

When the social licence of the sport is increasingly becoming the metaphorical stick, the dangling carrot of the $10 million Golden Eagle and similar races has become all the enticing for breeders and trainers alike to think about the longevity of their horses’ careers.

Staff shortages felt throughout the industry

Hüeppe explained that these days, he does far more of the hands-on work himself with the breakers, citing the difficulty of finding staff of the right standard and training already in the industry.

“Like in every industry, especially racing, we want highly skilled, educated staff,” Hüeppe said. “It's (breaking in) a tough job to ask someone to do - (there is) the pressure, the intensity, the danger of the job that naturally comes with it. It can be very hard to educate staff, because the education is ongoing, everyone has different ways of doing things, and most of the time you learn by doing - and no one has the time these days (to teach).”

A decline in staff numbers has been felt industry-wide for the past few years; the border lockdowns during COVID caused a dramatic decrease in staff coming into the country, which has been further complicated by changes in visa requirements and horse trainers no longer being recognised as “skilled workers” in the eyes of the government.

With a shrinking number of recruitment points and training schemes in general - made worse by Thoroughbred Industry Careers suspending operations at the weekend due to lack of financial support - it has become increasingly difficult to entice and develop new workers in the industry. For a job like breaking in or working in yearling preparation, the climate is just not suitable to start with someone from scratch.

A shortage of time is not unique to Hüeppe, who spends most of the day in the saddle, and a further complication is the ebb and flow of the Thoroughbred breaking in season, with the bulk of the work happening across a handful of months early in the year.

“It’s more and more of a seasonal role,” Hüeppe said. “How do you fairly value someone who does a job like breaking in for you? To employ a full-time breaker and pay them fairly through a normal wage or salary package is almost impossible, in my opinion, because of the risk you take and the effort it takes."

"Most of my work starts in February and the majority must be done by June, there's no end to the hours or days, you just have to get the job done, and you have to get it done as well as possible.

“So what does the breaker do for the rest of the year (if employed full-time by me)? They may ride trackwork or be a stablehand, and you can’t pay that person the same as when they are breaking in. A lot of farms get someone who knows their stuff (to come) in seasonally, they do a certain number of horses across three months, and make the bulk of their income for the year in that time.”

While this works for some people, it also lacks the security of a permanent job - and there’s no guarantee that someone may not get a more desirable opportunity before the next breaking in season commences. Hüeppe is not alone in finding it more economical to do the bulk of the work himself.

Young sires who impress

Amongst the first season sires whose progeny are about to hit the track, Hüeppe has been most impressed with what he has seen from Newgate Farm’s Stay Inside.

“Stay Inside is like Not A Single Doubt,” Hüeppe said. “They are beautiful horses. Not necessarily big horses, but he just throws a good type and he throws a very good brain. I haven't had one that I didn't like in terms of attitude and mental maturity. They’re very intelligent horses that seem to be learning quick and good, athletic horses.”

Stay Inside has 122 2-year-olds readying to hit the race track this season, with 47 offspring named at the time of writing. His barnmate and paternal half-brother Tiger Of Malay, who has 104 in his first crop of 2-year-olds, has also impressed Hüeppe.

“I have had a few Tiger Of Malays, they’re quite sharp and switched on,” he said. “They handle the work well, they seem to enjoy working hard. I think possibly they give you the idea they will be early 2-year-olds, but I think they will be better late 2-year-olds, they simply cope with the work, and they get better with work. They’re very tough and have a great attitude to doing their work.”

The offspring of Darley shuttler Pinatubo (Ire) has also caught Hüeppe’s eye. From Pinatubo’s first crop of 87, there are 22 named juveniles.

“They are quite sharp, electric horses,” said Hüeppe. “To me, they feel like a horse that could cover a bit of ground and need a bit of time. They're beautiful movers, but they have a very interesting sharpness about them for that style of horse. They don’t feel like sprinters. I feel like they are miler plus horses, and that sharpness will help them be quite competitive.”

For the handful of offspring by Sword Of State that have come through his stable, Hüeppe was also positive; “They are interesting, strong individuals with a strong mindset and good movement.”

Cambridge Stud's Sword Of State has 75 live foals reported in his first crop and his first triallers have already hit the track in New Zealand, with Sword Of Stars (NZ) running second in her trial debut at the end of August.

The individual standouts

From numbers in the triple digits coming through the breaking in process and a significant amount returning for further pretraining, Hüeppe picked out a few 2-year-olds that he considered worth following through the current racing season.

“There’s a New Bay colt out of a mare called Dusky Queen who was bred by China Horse Club,” he said. “He is the one that stood out the most. He has ended up going to Phillip Stokes, and is quite interesting. He has done nothing but improve since he arrived. He was a bit backwards and weak physically at the sales, and he has just improved into a very smart horse since.”

The son of New Bay (Ire) out of Listed winner Dusky Queen (Ire) (Shamardal {USA}) was imported in utero by China Horse Club, and subsequently was a $180,000 purchase for DGR Thoroughbred Services (FBAA) from The Chase at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale this past January.

He is a half-brother to three stakes performers, including G3 Sheepshead Bay Stakes winner Royalty Interest (Ire) (Le Havre {Ire}).

“There is also the Refuge Bay filly by Written By,” Hüeppe said. “She’s a very smart horse, a very intelligent filly. She will take a little bit of time, but she has a lot of class about her.”

Tricolours Racing and Connolly Bloodstock paid $80,000 for the daughter of Refuge Bay (Savabeel) at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, where she was offered by Widden Stud. She is a half-sister to Group 3-placed Bay Thirteen (Deep Field) from the family of G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Nechita (Fastnet Rock).

“I also have had a Tassort out of Flying Flywheel that has gone to Stuart Kendrick in Queensland,” said Hüeppe. “He’s a strong colt, very powerful, very focussed in his work. Very typical of the sire, and even being a big horse, he’s quite mature in himself.”

Flying Forward (Tassort) was a $40,000 purchase for Vardy Thoroughbreds and Kendrick Racing from Infinity Thoroughbreds’ Inglis Classic draft this year. His third dam is Wedgetail Eagle (Lure {USA}), the dam of four stakes winners, including G1 Queensland Derby winner Eagle Way (More Than Ready {USA}) and second dam to G3 Maurice McCarten Handicap winner Eagle Nest (Shalaa {Ire}).

The last standout for Hüeppe is a son of Russian Revolution named Seeiaye, who had left a good impression.

“He’s very sharp and forward thinking,” Hüeppe said. “He’s a very forward colt. He’s been a big improver since he arrived from the sales.”

Capri Racing and Peter Snowden paid $65,000 for Seeiaye, who is an unraced full sister to Super One, at the Gold Coast in January, where he was offered by Musk Creek Farm.