Cover image courtesy of Sledmere Stud
He may have only been training for a few months, but Dom Sutton has wasted no time in adding some young talent to his burgeoning operation, signing for two lots on the Gold Coast this week as he prepares to saddle his very first runners in the coming months.
Having first stepped foot on Australian soil as a fresh-faced 19-year-old, Sutton initially worked for leading trainer Chris Waller before taking up a role as foreman for Leon and Troy Corstens, where he quickly progressed into the position of assistant trainer.
After roughly six years in that role, during which he travelled to Royal Ascot and Dubai with talented sprinter The Astrologist (Zoustar) Sutton decided to take the leap of faith and go out on his own, taking up the option of nine boxes at Pakenham in Victoria.
Gallery: Images courtesy of Sutton Racing
Sutton, whose family background is more aligned with National Hunt racing back home in the UK, could not be happier with the tools at his disposal as he looks to make a name for himself as the next British expat to take Australia by storm.
“We’ve set up a stable down in Pakenham and it’s a great facility,” he told The Thoroughbred Report.
“It’s still pretty new, but we have great facilities on hand - the likes of water walkers, treadmills and spa baths.
“We’ve set up a stable down in Pakenham and it’s a great facility.” - Dominic Sutton
“The Pakenham Racing Club are really wanting to invest in the facilities as well, and with the new merger with Cranbourne I think it’s only going to get bigger and better.”
Sutton currently has seven horses in work, with his numbers set to be bolstered at the end of this month by the arrival of two European imports who are currently completing their quarantine in the UK. He also purchased Halla Dubai (Ire) (Expert Eye {GB}), a last start winner over a mile in Britain, for 125,000gns (AU$249,000) at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale last October alongside McKeever and Hurworth Bloodstock.
His first runner, which is slated to be in March, is likely to come courtesy of either the blue blooded Rebadge (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who is a three-parts brother to the great Frankel (GB), or fellow European import Garachico (GB) (Ribchester {Ire}), both of whom followed him when he departed Team Corstens to set up on his own.
Halla Dubai (Ire) | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Once the decision was made to train in his own right, Sutton had the option to return home to the UK and start his new career there, but chose to stay in Australia for a whole host of reasons.
“I was only supposed to be here (Australia) for a few months, but pretty quickly I learned that it’s a lot more prosperous for a young trainer here in Australia than it is back in the UK,” he said. “It’s a long hard winter in the UK also and the weather is slightly better in Victoria.
“With the prizemoney and the amount of racing we have on offer here, there’s always a carnival in some part of Australia in one of the states, which you can travel horses to and you’re running for millions of dollars.
“I was only supposed to be here for a few months, but pretty quickly I learned that it’s a lot more prosperous for a young trainer here in Australia than it is back in the UK.” - Dominic Sutton
“It was always the right decision to start out here.”
Family ties
In order to give himself the best possible chance of securing the right horses to get his new venture off the ground, Sutton has enlisted the help of leading bloodstock agent Johnny McKeever, whom he has known all his life.
“The relationship started before I was even born if I’m honest,” Sutton said. “He’s a very close family friend with my father Nick, they go back a long way, there’s many a story I’m sure.
“Johnny has a very good handle on both the Australian and European market. He’s an adopted Aussie I would say and he has been a great guidance in the past few months purchasing horses both in the UK and here and in Australia.
“Johnny (McKeever) has a very good handle on both the Australian and European market... he has been a great guidance in the past few months purchasing horses both in the UK and here and in Australia.” - Dominic Sutton
“He knows what you need to be looking for and he also understands where I’m at in my career.”
Having teamed up to purchase a pair of yearlings by Too Darn Hot (GB) and Toronado (Ire) at last year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Sutton and McKeever were keen to bolster the youth in the former’s training ranks and headed to the Gold Coast this week hoping to secure a couple of recruits to get the ball rolling.
They have done just that within the opening two days, striking first for a filly (Lot 136) by Rosemont Stud’s first-season sire Hanseatic from the draft of Bell River Thoroughbreds during the opening session, before adding a colt (Lot 216) by Hellbent early on Day 2.
The former, who hails from the family of Group 1-winning mare Single Gaze (Not A Single Doubt), cost $90,000, a price that McKeever feels represents great value.
Gallery: McKeever Bloodstock and Dom Sutton Racing's purchases so far, images courtesy of Magic Millions
“We obviously need to be careful about budget and given the average of this sale we were looking for something a bit below the radar, which is something I like to think I’m quite good at doing because I’ve never really come to Australia with big yearling budgets,” McKeever said.
“Yesterday we bought a Hanseatic filly off Bell River. I actually had James Ferguson, the eldest son of that family, working for me as an apprentice agent for three years in England, and I have the height of respect for the whole Ferguson family as breeders.
“They said the filly wouldn’t cost a fortune because she’s not by an expensive stallion, but they said she’s very sharp, and I agree with them.
“I thought $90,000 was incredibly reasonable and I think she genuinely could be the type that would end up with a chance to aim at the Magic Millions 2YO race. I’ve had compliments from several people about her since we bought her.”
“I thought $90,000 was incredibly reasonable (for Lot 136) and I think she genuinely could be the type that would end up with a chance to aim at the Magic Millions 2YO race.” - Johnny McKeever
McKeever is similarly effusive in his praise of Lot 216, a Hellbent full brother to G2 Percy Sykes S. heroine Kristilli whom the pair purchased from the draft of Yarraman Park Stud for $140,000.
“Harry Mitchell was the first guy I ever met in Australia in 1990 on my first-ever trip here, so I always get a bit of an inside track on their horses,” he added.
“I know this was a colt they really liked and I think the stallion is going in the right direction. He’s the type of horse that a trainer should be buying horses by, because he’ll get you winners.
Harry Mitchell | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“They (the Mitchells) want to help a young trainer get going and Harry identified to me that this could be one within the budget. I was very happy with the price.”
Both of Sutton’s purchases will now head to Kolora Lodge in Waterford for a break, before being educated and transported down to Victoria to settle into their new environment.
Sutton, who hopes to secure between 8-10 yearlings throughout the entirety of this year’s sales season, will bid to secure another youngster later this week in conjunction with bloodstock agent Byron Rogers for a UK-based client.
