Colin McKenna is one of those blokes you’d love to sit and have a beer with and shoot the breeze on everything from life to business, and horses.
He’s an archetypical Australian bushie and his positive energy, humour and community-minded spirit have made him one of the most popular and respected people in the Western District of Victoria where he was raised.
You’d never know it unless someone else down that way told you, but the son of soldier settlers is a self-made multi-millionaire.
From humble beginnings, he has generated his fortune through the meat and dairy industry and currently employs 1500 full-time staff across his various agricultural enterprises that include a large-scale abattoir and a string of milk plants.
Colin McKenna
On a daily basis, 6000 dairy cows are milked at his five processing facilities and up to 1000 head of cattle and 8000 lambs are slaughtered under his Midfield Meats banner. Through sheer hard work and dedication, his agribusinesses continue to grow every day.
But not for a minute does he sit back on the verandah of his beautiful bluestone home at Woolsthorpe resting on his laurels. He’s as hands-on as ever and that will never change.
“I arrive at work at 4.30am and get home at 6pm. That’s a typical day for me. It keeps you young, I don’t know anything different.
“I arrive at work at 4:30am and get home at 6pm. That’s a typical day for me. It keeps you young, I don’t know anything different.'' - Colin McKenna
“Anybody can go to the success they want to but the first thing they have to do is apply themselves and work hard. You can’t beat work. Plenty expect others to do the work but they have got to do it themselves,” said Colin.
Colin does manage to take time away from the hard, daily grind for one indulgence though, and that’s racing horses with his wife Janice.
Colin and wife Janice pictured with Sadler's Wells (USA)
In recent years they’ve enjoyed major success on the racetrack with horses such as 2016 Caulfield Cup-winning mare Jameka (Myboycharlie {Ire}) and 2018 Diamond Jubilee S. winner Merchant Navy which is now a valuable stallion prospect on the Coolmore Stud roster in the Hunter Valley.
It was the Fastnet Rock colt’s emphatic win at Royal Ascot last year that gave Colin the urge to return to the Northern Hemisphere for more of the same thrills on the major stage.
Being born and bred in the Warrnambool region, jumps racing is in his blood and now he’s plotting to win a race at next year’s Cheltenham Festival in the UK with a horse called Big Blue (GB) and emulate the feats of the legendary Australian jumper Crisp which won the 1971 Queen Mother Champion Chase there by an incredible 25l.
Importantly, the 8-year-old gelding kicks off his international mission in this Saturday’s G2 International Hurdle (3382 metres) at Cheltenham.
Big Blue has had an interesting journey so far. The British-bred stayer started his career for Godolphin in France under the tutelage of champion horseman Andre Fabre, winning at Listed level as a 3-year-old after being Group 1 placed at the end of his juvenile season.
He was then relocated to Godolphin’s Australian operation before struggling and being offered for sale where he was purchased by current connections for $102,000 from the 2017 Inglis December Thoroughbred Sale.
Ciaron Maher and Big Blue (GB) win the 2019 Galleywood Hurdle
Since joining the Ciaron Maher/David Eustace team, the son of Galileo (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells {USA}) has captured the $500,000 Sydney St Leger (2600 metres) at Randwick in October 2018 and the $150,000 Galleywood Hurdle (3200 metres) at Warrnambool in May 2019.
“We bought the horse to be a jumper and Ciaron reckons he’s up there with Bashboy (Perugino {USA}) and those other good horses.”
Ciaron Maher, a former jumps jockey himself, is currently in the UK guiding Big Blue’s preparation from the training mecca at Lambourn whilst Colin and the rest of the horse’s connections are hoping he will perform well enough at the weekend to warrant proceeding to the famed Cheltenham Festival in 2020.
“Ciaron said we can take him to England and it won’t be very economical and I said I couldn't care less and whatever happens we will bring him back here and try and win a Grand Annual with him.
“But to take a horse to Europe and win a big race there, that’s as good as it gets. This is all about achieving that goal.”
“But to take a horse to Europe and win a big race there, that’s as good as it gets. This is all about achieving that goal.” - Colin McKenna
Like many racehorse owners, Colin also harbours a deep desire to win big races back on home soil and the Melbourne Cup (3200 metres) has been firmly in his sights for a long time.
In this year’s Cup his colours were carried by Southern France (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a horse they bought from the incomparable Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien.
After a competitive effort in the G1 Irish St Leger (2816 metres), naturally their hopes were high but after travelling wide throughout the race, he finished down the track in 19th position.
He made up for that defeat with a hollow win in the G2 Zipping Classic (2400 metres) at his next start.
“That run the other day, boy, did it get the monkey off my back. All the other blokes in him were half wounded after the Melbourne Cup. They thought he would run in the first 10 but he didn’t and that’s life.”
Southern France will now be aimed at the G1 Tancred S. (2400 metres) in Sydney next year and then possibly return to the Northern Hemisphere for a race like the G2 Hardwicke S. (2406 metres) at Royal Ascot.
“He’s an international horse and you can travel the world with him and we will,” he said.
Talking about horses on any racing level really sets Colin alight, and, whilst he has lofty international goals, he’s just as enthusiastic when it comes to discussing horses he has running around the bush. He’s never lost sight of who he is and where he comes from.
Colin with his mentor Len Peck, who fostered Colin's love for horses
The grandson of a Wangoom H. (1200 metres) winning trainer, he grew up competing show horses at agricultural shows around Victoria and nowadays enjoys nothing more than going to country race meetings with Janice and groups of their friends.
“I still like to breed a horse that can win a Casterton Cup or a Jericho Cup which Janice really wants to win. Racing is so good whereas football I couldn’t enjoy as much.”
Some of Colin and Janice’s most satisfying moments have been off the back of their three-time Group 1 winner Jameka who was retired to broodmare duties last year. The 7-year-old now has a colt foal at foot by Darley’s Impending (Lonhro).
“He’s perfectly correct. He’s not a small weedy first foal and was 58kg when he was first born.”
Jameka is now successfully in foal to Arrowfield’s emerging superstar stallion Dundeel (NZ) and the leading lady of their boutique band of broodmares.
“We’ve got about a dozen mares and Jameka and Girl Guide are our trophy mares and the others we have a bit of fun with.”
The McKenna’s breed to race but there’s a slight chance that one day they might part with one of Jameka’s precious offspring.
“We might sell a colt out of Jameka but I will have to get that off Janice. Good luck Colin!” he laughed.
That possible tussle is a while off having to even worry about. For now, the popular couple are preoccupied with getting their tweeds ready for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Cheltenham.
