KEVIN Thomas watched as the horse he sold for $64,000 won the Melbourne Cup - and a prizemoney cheque of $3.3 million. So, how did the Queenslander feel?
"No regrets whatsoever," Thomas said. "That's my business – I buy horses, break them in and then I sell them."
Thomas is regarded as one of the best judges of horseflesh in the country and works out of his Washpool Lodge complex at Aratula, west of Brisbane.
He found Shocking, yesterday's Cup winner, at the Magic Millions sales on the Gold Coast in 2007.
The horse wasn't even placed among the bluebloods in the premier Magic Millions sales in January, instead kept for March's second-tier sales, which draw the bargain hunters.
Thomas was there and paid $45,000 for the colt with the "kind eye and the big nostrils".
Why the big nostrils?
"It's a good sign. You can get plenty of air through those nostrils," Thomas said.
And so it was yesterday when Shocking stayed toughest in the most demanding final metres of any Australian horse race.
Thomas had offloaded Shocking in November 2007, taking him back to the Magic Millions complex for the Horses in Training sale.
Laurence Eales paid $64,000 for the son of Street Cry.
"He was always a well-mannered horse and he had good conformation," Thomas said.
"And he was very correct. He was never a problem for us to deal with when we had him."
Thomas' eye was excellent in 2007. He also bought a colt for $20,000 and sold it for $120,000.
It was named Viva Pronto and became a star in Macau.
"I just hope I can find some more like them. It's not always like that," Thomas said. "There can be some bad ones in between.
"You just need a little bit of luck every now and again."
Thomas had that luck last week when a horse he bought for $20,000 earlier this year was sold for $360,000.
But that profit is still a long way short of the $3.88 million career prizemoney that now sits in Shocking's bank account.
"That's the way it is," Thomas said.
"I'm not going to look back and say I should never have sold that horse. That's my life."
Sold for a song but not crying about it.Laughing on the outside, maybe crying a little bit on the inside?
Since giving up trotting KT has made a very good fist of his new career .
Always a good horseman he is a good example of why some think trotting people are generally more complete horsemen than those who have only trained thoroughbreds.
