Currently Cambridge Stud’s CEO, Henry Plumptre has enjoyed a long and distinguished career which has covered a number of different aspects of the racing and breeding world.
What advice would you give to a 20-year-old just starting out in racing today?
“It is general advice but I think when you are in those formative years you have to not only work very hard but you have to get noticed. There is no point putting in all that hard work, and the racing industry is hard work, if nobody notices you. In that regard you have to make every post a winner.
“... you have to get noticed. There is no point putting in all that hard work, and the racing industry is hard work, if nobody notices you.” - Henry Plumptre
“The good thing about the Flying Start programme and the various scholarships is that those recipients are given the opportunity to put themselves in front of the people who matter in the industry.”
Are there any figures in the racing industry who you feel deserve more recognition for their contribution?
“I think that we have come a long way in recognising people who work at the studs but I still think that there is much more we can do. There is a real problem in the industry, a revolving door of staff with young people not given as much encouragement and help as they should. I think we can really improve on this.
Henry Plumptre (right) presenting the Thoroughbred Excellence Award to Mark Newnham at the Australian Stud and Stable Staff Awards | Image courtesy of the Australian Stud and Stable Staff Awards
“I have seen young people travel around the world doing yearling preparation after yearling preparation. They get to 30 and think what’s next? There needs to be a career path for them.
“I have seen young people travel around the world doing yearling preparation after yearling preparation. They get to 30 and think what’s next? There needs to be a career path for them.” - Henry Plumptre
“As in all areas of the workforce leaders need to work hard to keep these people and saying that they don’t have the time is nonsense. If you look at the most successful brands and companies in the world they all have great cultures, which includes keeping their best people in the tent!”
What has been the biggest obstacle you faced in your career?
“I have been very lucky not to have really faced any major obstacles though my father was not too keen on me working in the racing industry.
“At the time, in the 1970s in the UK, you could get a position as as assistant manager at a stud but it would be an unpaid position for four or five years and my father was worried that I’d end up doing that.
“That was one of the main reasons I ended up in Australia, heading to Widden Stud in 1977, though I did tell my dad that I would be working with cattle!”
What horses and events have had lasting impacts on you?
“It is the great horses and their big wins that have really had an impact on me. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in the careers of some really good horses. Such as Mahogany, his G1 VRC Derby win in 1993 was a highlight, it was the first signifcant Group 1 for me and he was such a wonderful horse.
“It is the great horses and their big wins that have really had an impact on me. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in the careers of some really good horses.” - Henry Plumptre
“Then here was the G1 Golden Slipper S. won by Merlene and my first Hong Kong Group 1 winner; Charming City for Gary Ling who also won a G1 Golden Shaheen with Sterling City.
“I was with Godolphin the year the Snowden stable won all five Group 1 2-year-old races with Sepoy, Helmet and Benfica. That was great for the whole team, a phenomenal performance.
Mahogany | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“Now being part of the team at Cambridge helping to engineer its resurgence has been an absolutely wonderful way to bring my career to an end.
“Patrick Hogan put New Zealand on the map firstly in the Sir Tristram era then with Zabeel and Tavistock and Brendan and Jo Lindsay are now putting their own stamp on it and it has been fantastic to be a part of that.
“Racing is their passion and they have poured their money and heart into keeping Cambridge going. They have a fare form of energy and they have applied that to their love of racing and breeding.”
Which people influenced your career the most?
“During my early years with Widden Bim Thompson - Antony’s father had an amazing impact on me and educated me about the world of breeding.
“He was an amazing horseman, very intelligent and just a great guy to be around and I was lucky to be there when Bletchingly, Vain and Lunchtime were at their peaks.
Vain and Bim Thompson
“Sir Philip Payne-Gallwey was also a very important person in my life, he got me my job at Widden. He was the manager manager for Stavros Niarchos and director of the BBA and a wonderful man with great knowledge.
“I only got to work with John Messara for a short space of time but I have made a point of keeping in touch with him. He is a fascinating man who is absolutely in love with the industry; he is a great believer and a great thinker.
“I also had a great time working for Lloyd Williams. I’d come from a breeding background and he knew a lot about racing and training techniques, a lot more than he lets on. It was a time when Lee Freedman was at the height of his powers, winning four Golden Slippers in a row with Bint Marscay, Danzero, Flying Spur and Merlene.
Brendan and Jo Lindsay with Henry Plumptre
“He is a fantastic man to be around; he is like Brendan Lindsay. There is something about people who have done amazing things, Sheikh Mohammed was the same though I did not get to spend a lot of time with him.”
What does your future hold in racing and breeding?
Running a stud is a young person’s game, but over the next couple of years I will be putting a team in place who I know will be able to take Cambridge forward for the next decade.
Chaldean (GB) | Standing at Cambridge Stud
Having Juddmonte aboard is very exciting, not only to stand a horse of Chaldean’s (GB) calibre but but also with the importance of having connections with one of the best breeders in the Northern Hemisphere.
