Racehorse TALK

The Herald understands that Freedman will begin to establish a training complex overseas at the end of the year.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/horseracing/freedman-steps-aside-but-may-gallop-overseas-20110803-1ibq5.html#ixzz1U0DzsDTn

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/superracing/lee-freedmans-handing-of-reinns-to-brother-anthony-a-gamble/story-fn67m13i-1226110503342

Lee Freedman's handing of reinns to brother Anthony a gamble
Matt Stewart From: Herald Sun August 07, 2011 11:30pm


Trainer Lee Freedman (left) took a gamble handing over the reins to brother Anthony (right) to run the family stable. Picture: Nicole Garmston
Source: Herald Sun
THREE years ago Lee Freedman hosted a lunch at Crown casino. The theme was fun, with lots of prizes, but the mood was nostalgic.

Freedman-trained greats winning Cox Plates and Melbourne Cups appeared on TV screens.

Even then, in 2008, it seemed a long time since Freedman had been on top.

Miss Andretti in 2006-07 had come hot on the heels of Makybe Diva, but a year-long drought in racing can rattle even the greatest stables.

Three or four years off centre stage, which is where Freedman has been residing, can be devastating.

Owners are as prone to fashion as any schoolgirl with a credit card and move swiftly to the next shiny thing.

Racing is all about who is winning now and as Freedman and David Hayes simultaneously lost their grip - on results, then on clients - Peter Moody's became vice-like.

It has been a similar story in Sydney. Chris Waller, on a hot run, has overwhelmed once-powerful Gai Waterhouse.

Moody has cornered the market Hayes and Freedman once shared. In racing, winning begets winning. Syndicates swarm to Moody and breeders send him their best horses.

Every February New Zealand breeders host a group of Aussie trainers and show off their yearlings.

At the end of the day it is Moody who is ushered aside for a quiet little chat, followed by a firm handshake.

No trainer, not even the Hall of Famers, can compete with such backing.

Freedman's career has been a rollercoaster of dizzy highs and deep slumps.

For whatever reason, the trainer who could do no wrong at Flemington simply couldn't fire when he shifted to Caulfield in 1996.

Mummify's win in the 2003 Caulfield Cup was a drought-breaker for the stable, which only a year earlier had gambled on a shift from town to a new facility, Markdel, near Rye.

Makybe Diva launched two of her three Melbourne Cup victories from Markdel. Miss Andretti launched from it to Royal Ascot. Benicio, Serenade Rose and Alinghi were all trained at Markdel.

But it could be argued Freedman has lacked depth and consistency since the Peninsula move, where he also suffered a well-documented rough patch at home. By his own admission, he lost focus.

It seems no coincidence that the best results in Australian racing are achieved by horses trained on busy city racetracks where the hectic morning routines best replicate race day.

Freedman's best results had always been achieved when he used his most raw skills, the ones others most struggle to replicate.

Those early greats, Super Impose, Poetic King, Danzero, Schillaci and Mummify, were cheap horses that Freedman was instinctively drawn to. But Freedman's great eye became compromised by irresistible forces. Gooree Stud sent him truckloads of its home-breds some years ago. Few fired. Then Darley became the drip-feeder; most to Peter Snowden in Sydney, many to Markdel.

Snowden's Darley horses, perhaps the picks of the bunch, fired while Freedman's struggled.

Freedman plonked most of his eggs and energies in the Darley basket, alienating existing clients.

Undoubtedly Freedman would have backed his CV against Snowden, and Darley boss Sheik Mohammed always rated Freedman among the world's top four trainers. If Snowden stumbled - which he didn't - Freedman would have imagined he'd become the sheik's top man.

When Darley pulled out of Markdel this year, the guts were yanked from the business. Other owners had already drifted away to energetic trainers such as Moody and Mark Kavanagh.

The handing of the reins to reclusive brother Anthony is a gamble. Some owners may not be attracted to the same car, different driver pitch.

Others may be encouraged that Freedman has recognised the malaise and vowed to fix it; that he has had problems before and fixed them with authority.

He is still regarded, quite rightly, as one of the world's great trainers whose CV still dwarfs those of fashionable newcomers Moody and Waller.

Freedman, still just 54, has rejected speculation he is looking offshore but he is too ambitious, and too good, to simply poke about down on the farm.

Surely, this is simply because the vast majority of the best trainers in each state are training on city tracks ?

It is a valid point but I don't think that is quite simple asthere could be other factor too. Look at the Hayes clan. They worked so well for quite a while operating at Lindsay Park but it has all crumbled in the last few years.

I think a lot of it has to do with success changing attitudes. When you have money, you are less likely to buy a toyota than a mercedes but the mercedes could have problems which makes the toyota a better buy. It is the same with yearlings, you find successful trainers initially buy cheaper or tried horses. When they get successful, you get whispers to buy more more expensive horseflesh. Then you feel obligated to get better clientele and horses. It will be quite interesting to see how Waller will go with yearlings compared to his usual strategy of buying horseflesh.

Also lot of trainers get seduced by syndicate yearlings where they get a cut of the pie. The stats regarding syndicates would be quite a good read. Another good stat would be the number of $1 million plus yearlings who earn beyond their purchase price and the trainers who buy them. I don't think the breeding industry will ever advertise those figures.

The simple reason most winners are trained by City trainers is simple mathematics, the best horses are trained in the City by a handful of trainers, the reason they train in the City is also quite simple, that is usually where the most/richest owners are and trainers want access to money, if an owner wants to visit his/her horses they don't want to have to spend the weekend away visiting their horse, if you are a Sydney Business man you would prefer your horse trained at Randwick, if you are a Parramatta Business man you want it trained at Rosehill, there would be very Few Yearlings by Redoutes Choice/Encosta De lago/Zabeel etc going to trainers from Gulargambone, it wouldn't matter where Snowden trained the winners wouldn't change  because he has the quality horses, whereas most trainers with many clients would lose a lot of them if they moved a long way from the City

What they should do is stop all trainers from training at all the City tracks and build a purpose built training complex away from the city so all trainers would have similar facilities(the best in the world) and they would save a fortune in maintaining 3 different training centres in the City and you could even throw in Hawkesbury, put all that money into one complex instead of 4, Randwick/Warwick Farm/Rosehill trainers are not going to like it but they are just being selfish and letting self interest control what they know is best for racing in the long run and best for the industry over all,
Racetracks should be for racing only and they shouldn't incorporate training with Racetracks

Same could/should be done in all the major Capital cities saving 100's of 1000's if not $millions in maintenance,  not to mention the return from City land sales could be quite substantial

While I agree with you Jim that it would be great to have a dedicated training facility the rest you bring up is a furfy.

Last time I looked, very very little training is actually done on the course proper, it's all done on the A, B, dirt etc

There can't be land sales bringing in money, they are all still race tracks remember? Are you getting rid of some of them now?

No argument there for now, but give another five years and check the CVs then. You have to admit, both Moody and Waller have been an absolute revelations - have arrived from humble beginnings in Queensland and New Zealand and have became the top dogs in largest racing centres in Australia.

Good luck to Anthony Freeman, god, he does need it.

As was said yesterday on radio - I think we're too quick to move on.  Need to sit back & appreciate what a career he's been.

Extraordinary. Sure he'd peaked sometime back but given a good horse again in Makybe Diva he still kept her sound and peaking at end of her career.

Moody & Waller don't really deserve to be mentioned alongside him if we're talking G1s. Obviously lot of discussion about Melbourne trainers and landscape etc in recent times.

Seriously no knock on Moody but will he still be as dominant in another 2 years like he is now - will he have the G1s or once career of the freak has passed with the attention fade as well.

Danny O'Brien might not have matched levels of Moody but few years back he was next big thing - I gather he's still churning out lots of winners but not as much as was expected.

Basically it's always changing landscape you might get bit of the spotlight to shine in before forces conspire against you. These guys are all champs, Freedman though - held that spotlight just a little longer than most. Been a pleasure watching him do it.

Gin just because I said "racetracks" I never said "Course Proper" you are taking things far too literally and putting your own interpretation on them, you wouldn't need any thing but the Course Proper, the land along the High street side of Randwick that Stables all the on course trainers would be worth a fortune(I realise the Government owns the land but I am sure a deal could be worked out to allow a large portion of it to go into a dedicated training complex) most tracks with on course stabling at least in part could be turned into Unit Blocks and on sold, land within that sort of proximity to the City would be worth a premium

You have a hard time winning an argument with facts or your own opinion, you have to try to say that I said things that I never even inferred, like selling Racetracks, where did you ever get such a Bloody stupid Idea?? it certainly wasn't from me

Did you read Racenet recently re the Randwick Track?? do you still think nothing has changed??

it was just a thought, the Logistics are irrelevant at this stage as it will never happen as the Powerful Trainers/Owners don't want it, they have a huge advantage and the last thing they want is a level playing field

Thats interesting Jim, Kenny Callander in his column yesterday was talking about the building of high rise apartments on Randwick grounds, It will never happen. Apparently.

If anybody can find Kenny column on the net from yesterday can you post it here please ?

THE dream of Australian Turf Club chairman John Cornish of high-rise development along the High St side of Randwick racecourse to provide funding for the racing industry is over.

It was skittled by Racing Minister George Souris in a press release last Tuesday when announcing amendments to legislation regarding the appointment of new trustees for the track.

In part Souris said: ‘‘ The amendments will provide an appropriate level of control over any future commercial uses of the lands to ensure they be used principally as a racecourse.’’

Bang, there go the plans in one swoop. Can you blame the minister? Seriously, who thought a state government, whether it be Labor or Liberal, was ever going to allow high-rise development on Crown land?

What would have come next? Perhaps approval for the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust to develop blocks of flats on Moore Park or approval for a shopping centre in Centennial Park? CORNISH is in a difficult period of his tenure as, whether he believes it or not, there is discontent among members, particularly those on the Sydney Turf Club side of the merger.

The thinking seems to be that part of the committee is worried about the building of the two new stands at Royal Randwick and nothing else.

The building of the new stands should be easy. Kevin Greene, the previous Labor sports minister, made available funds of $150 million so that is the hard part over.

One committeeman can be put in charge of the building while the chairman and the rest of the committee get moving on more pressing issues.

What is being done to arrest the decline of bookmakers and attendances at the track, what is the business plan to maintain prizemoney if racing loses its upcoming High Court case against the corporate bookies, where does the club stand on the pressing issue of TV rights?

The word from Macquarie St is the minister is pushing to have his Hunter Valley mate John Messara join the committee.

Souris needs to be careful that his job is to regulate racing not to run it, but, in the present climate, co-opting Messara might not be a bad thing, particularly if rumours are correct Mark McInnes is finding it hard to juggle his time on the committee with the pressures of running Solomon Lew’s Premier Retail group in this trying time for the shopping industry.

thanks J.Glenoban very muchly appreciated.

I just love how you change mid stream 



Just what were you infering then Jim as you seem to change tact like the wind 

btw - what would you put on the land at Hawkesbury? Unit block?   talk about piss & wind 

now now gt don't be nasty to jim as you know he might not allways be right but he's never wrong.

Christ Gin you are as Dumb as a Post, quote me where I mentioned selling land at Hawkesbury or shut your stupid mouth!!