Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Few horses can claim to have danced every dance quite like Private Eye has, and the evergreen 6-year-old added another string to his bow on Saturday when recording a first Group race success over 1100 metres, a success which has prompted prominent owners Max Whitby and Neil Werrett to lock him in for their slot in The Everest.
Taking into account the run he endured in transit, there was plenty of merit in Private Eye’s narrow 0.19l victory over a field packed to the rafters with top-class sprinters, several of whom were also vying for one of the now six remaining slots in The Everest next month.
The Joe Pride-trained gelding wasn’t quite at his brilliant best during a three-start autumn campaign, owing to some minor wear and tear in one knee which was identified after his below-par run in the G2 Victory S. back in April. Suffice to say, on Saturday's evidence, Walter has no doubt that Private Eye is back firing on all cylinders once again, and just in time for a second shot at The Everest to boot.
“On that performance I’d say he’s back to his best,” he told The Thoroughbred Report.
“On that performance I’d say he’s (Private Eye) back to his best.” - Jamie Walter
“He hadn’t raced over 1100 metres since his Class 1 days and it wasn’t easy for him. Hawaii Five Oh held his line and stayed off the fence - he’s a big strong horse, a brute of a thing, and he just shoved us out three deep.
“Nash (Rawiller) wasn’t flustered and he covered the extra ground, saw the daylight, but travelled beautifully. He probably got a little tired the last 50 (metres), but he got the job done and I thought it was a tidy win.”
Back for more
Sent off at juicy odds of $12 for his return to action, a lack of market support suggests many had forgotten that Private Eye was beaten only 0.44l into second by Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) in last year’s renewal of The Everest.
Saturday’s explosive performance provided a timely reminder to all onlookers - and most importantly the remaining slot holders - that Private Eye retains every ounce of his abundant quality, and, somewhat unsurprisingly, Walter revealed to TTR AusNZ that his phone had not stopped ringing from the moment he crossed the line in front.
“I’d have been disappointed if something wasn’t sorted within the next couple of days,” Walter said of Private Eye’s participation in The Everest.
“I’d have been disappointed if something wasn’t sorted within the next couple of days.” - Jamie Walter
“He was pretty unlucky last year. When I say unlucky, he was just sort of ambushed in the final couple of strides, and I wonder whether he actually noticed Giga Kick swooping. He saw the big hulking frame of Nature Strip in his sights and he knuckled down to run him down, which he did, and then all of a sudden whooshka, down the outside came Giga Kick.
“He was always going to be a prominent chance in The Everest this year if he was able to recapture the form of 12 months ago, and hopefully that’s the way it’s trending.
“It has been pretty hectic day, but if every Saturday was this hectic it would be pretty easy to cop.”
Private Eye’s confirmed participation in The Everest for the second year in succession is quite a remarkable feat, especially given that this time 12 months ago Walter and Pride were plotting a path towards the G1 Champions Mile at Flemington.
It wasn’t until his emphatic demolition job in the G2 Gilgai S. - a race to which he was re-routed after scratching from the G2 Premiere S. in Sydney on account of the heavy track - that connections began to think of him as a bona fide elite-level sprinter.
“People forget he won the Queensland Guineas over a mile as a winter 3-year-old and he came off the bridle about 700 (metres) out,” Walter recalled.
Jamie Walter and Steve O’Dea | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“I remember Brenton Avdulla got off him that day and said ‘Are you going to run him the Derby?’, because it was the run of a horse who wanted ground. But we didn’t, we tipped him out and he came back and won the Epsom.
“We sort of stumbled upon making him a sprinter. He’d actually run in the Mackinnon Stakes over 2000 metres the following spring and ran a pretty good race to be fifth. He’s unbelievable.
“It’s funny how it all evolves because you’d swear blind that he was a miler. Last spring we were pitching towards the Champions Mile and The Everest wasn’t even on our radar. It only came into the equation after he won the Gilgai and the horse of Ciaron Maher’s that Inglis had selected (Snapdancer) went sore. We were like the first emergency!”
Luck of the draw
With Max Whitby and Neil Werret fending off several other interested parties to secure Private Eye for their slot in The Everest, Proven Thoroughbreds now have two representatives in Australia’s richest race - and two live chances at that.
TThink About It, owned by Proven Thoroughbreds, will run in The Everest slot of Newgate / GPI | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Having one runner in The Everest, let alone two, is a huge achievement for any owner or trainer, not to mention a syndicator operating towards the lower end of the market. But in typically self-deprecating fashion, Walter was in no mood to accept credit for the remarkable feat.
“We are very lucky,” he said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve probably spent more time at Wyong than I have at top racecourses on Group 1 days, but I like to think I’m getting a little bit better at it in the fullness of time.
“I’ve bought hundreds of slow ones, trust me. Did I have any idea when I was purchasing them? No, but I think it’s the luck of the draw.
“You can’t really select horses like this and claim that you thought they were going to be great, you’re just rolling the dice and hoping for the best.
“You can’t really select horses like this and claim that you thought they were going to be great, you’re just rolling the dice and hoping for the best.” - Jamie Walter
“But I’m very fortunate to have been involved with my late brother initially, and now Joe Pride, as well as Steve O’Dea and Matt Hoysted. Our businesses have sort of grown together in tandem and good business is all about relationships.”
Upping the ante
Walter may be quick to deflect any praise aimed his way, but Proven Thoroughbreds has made light work of finding excellent value at yearling sales across Australia in recent times.
Whilst Private Eye rightly stole the headlines at Randwick, fellow Proven purchase Canadian Dancer (Vancouver) was busy notching her fifth career success and her second from her past three starts up at Eagle Farm. A winner of the Listed Princess S. as a 3-year-old, Canadian Dancer was secured for just $50,000 on the advice of Vinery Stud General Manager Peter Orton, having initially passed in at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale the previous day.
Another prime example of Walter seeking out value came at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale earlier this year, where he teamed up with Pride Racing to secure the Shalaa (Ire) half-brother to Private Eye for $100,000.
Private Eye himself cost just $62,500 at auction when secured from the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale in 2019, a year before Walter and Pride went to $70,000 for his fellow stable star and The Everest contender Think About It from the draft of Newgate Farm at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
In recent seasons, Walter has been happy to loosen the purse strings a little, a decision no doubt aided by the slew of major success for the black and green silks in races like the G1 Epsom H., the G1 Strabroke H. and the $3 million Nature Strip S.
A fine example of Proven’s increased spend is the Spirit Of Boom colt out of three-time metropolitan winner Sienna Rose (More Than Ready {USA}), whom Walter paid NZ$330,000 for during Book 1 of the New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) Karaka Yearling Sale earlier this year.
Spirit Of Boom x Sienna Rose (colt) as a yearling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Described as a ‘push button’ sort at this early stage, the colt is likely to be spearheading Proven Thoroughbreds’ 2-year-old crop this season, although Walter, who by his own admission places far less emphasis on speed and precocity, is equally happy to play the waiting game whilst many others seek an almost immediate return on their investment.
“If you look at the major 2- and -3-year-old races, particularly in sprints, they are generally dominated by pretty expensive yearlings,” Walter said. “Occasionally a cheapy will bob up, but short-course racing for precocious youngsters is invariably dominated by horses who are well found as yearlings.
“You pay a premium for maturity, precocity and quality - the physical horse is right there in front of you. But the slower developing horse, it’s a bit like the 14-year-old teenager who looks about 10 and the other 14-year-old teenager who is shaving. When they’re 18 or 20, it can spin around the other way.
“The slower-developing horse is less obvious as a yearling and consequently cheaper.”
“The slower-developing horse is less obvious as a yearling and consequently cheaper.” - Jamie Walter
As the likes of Eduardo (Host {Chi}) and Mariamia (Toronado {Ire}) have also demonstrated in recent seasons, there are few in the industry better at bringing out the best in that style of horse than Joe Pride, a trainer whom Walter is effusive in his praise for.
“Joe is not dealing with a lot of these expensive youngsters that I referred to, which is quite sensible given the nature of his operation,” Walter said.
“He is, by nature, patient, and I think even if he was given million-dollar yearlings he’d want to look after them and not push them early.
“There is no one better in the country at preserving the career of a good horse. These two (Private Eye and Think About It) are excelling as older horses and he has done it time and time again.”
Thinking ahead
And what of Think About It, who reminded us of his abundant talent with a smooth as silk barrier trial at Warwick Farm last week?
Walter revealed that the son of So You Think is pencilled in for his second trial of the preparation at Royal Randwick on Friday before tuning up for a crack at The Everest with a return to competitive action in the G2 Premiere S. on Saturday week.
“He’s a very exciting horse,” Walter said, with a slight feverishness in his voice. “He was a big, backward horse who needed a lot of time - he had a setback and was in the paddock for 12 months, but that was probably a blessing.
“He’s a top-class horse and is extremely versatile. He’s led and won good races, he’s come from a long way back and he’s drawn poorly in shorter races. He just has this phenomenal will to win that has carried him to where he is today.
“He appears to have the scope to be able to run further and I think his best trip is probably going to be over more than 1200 (metres) in the future, but because his career is on such an upward plane, I don’t really know when he’s going to stop improving yet.
“He’s (Think About It) a top-class horse and is extremely versatile. He’s led and won good races, he’s come from a long way back and he’s drawn poorly in shorter races. He just has this phenomenal will to win that has carried him to where he is today.” - Jamie Walter
“When he won his Group 3 at Randwick I watched the race with Joe (Pride) and he turned to me and said, ‘Did you ever think you’d have a horse as good as Private Eye straight away?’. I said ‘No, but I’ve waited a long time for both!’.
“He’s arguably the best horse I’ve ever had.”
Given that his stablemate had just won The Shorts to add to his Epsom win and Everest second, that is very high praise indeed.
