Bookmaker Merlehan banking on a Debutant boilover with his young Pride Of Dubai colt
Milo Racing syndicate excited about Lindsay Park’s Dubai Oak having first start in stakes race
Big-betting corporate bookmaker Tristan Merlehan hopes the latest member of his family’s expanding racehorse portfolio can spring an upset in the Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Caulfield and go some way to helping the balance sheet on two fronts.
The TopSport boss is a member of the Milo Racing syndicate, which owns about 25 horses including two-year-old colt Dubai Oak (Pride Of Dubai) ($17) who has his first start today against the already heavily backed Peter Moody-trained favourite Brereton (Zoustar).
The Ben and JD Hayes-trained Dubai Oak showed some ability in a recent Flemington jump-out but Merlehan remains cautious about the colt’s prospects on debut.
“It’s one of those where it is worth a throw at the stumps just to see how much he can improve once he gets to the races,” Merlehan said yesterday.
“He was pretty green (in his jump-out) and it is pretty hard to know how they are going to perform first-up with nerves of the race as well. We’re probably not expecting massive things, but you never know.
“We were in a similar sort of position with his stablemate Aidensfield (in May last year), which we have a share in, and she was able to win at decent odds first-up when we probably weren’t expecting massive things, either.
“She’s gone on to be a solid horse for us. Hopefully we can have some similar luck here.”
Ever the bookie, though, Merlehan says the early money suggests Brereton, the Victorian Alliance colts partnership’s first runner, must be respected.
“The favourite has been very, very well backed in the betting, so there’s obviously a lot of support coming out of that camp which I suppose has you a little bit worried,” he said. “He’s been $4 into $2.60 in our early markets and Dubai Oak has been holding his place.
“There hasn’t been a lot of activity but, to me, he’s a touch of value as a $16, $17 shot if everything goes right and he can improve.”
Gold Coast-based Merlehan’s Milo Racing syndicate, named after the family’s pet dog, bought into Dubai Oak on the advice of close friends and prominent owners David and Luke Henderson and agent Andrew Williams.
Lindsay Park and Williams identified the Scott Seamer-bred colt at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the draft of Robyn Wise, outlaying $160,000 to get him.
“I have known the Henderson guys, they have been customers and friends of ours for many years, so we have a lot of horses with them,” Merlehan said.
“Luke and David, in particular, have always had a good relationship with Andy, so when we said we were interested in buying a horse at the sales, Andy was able to select this one and asked if we wanted to take a share.”
Milo Racing, which comprises Merlehan, his wife Aisling, father Lloyd, mother Joanne and sister Leticia, also have a share alongside the Hendersons in three-year-old filly Swift Witness (Star Witness), who was fourth in last week’s ATC Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), while they also raced imported stayer Brimham Rocks (Fastnet Rock) who was runner-up in the 2018 Metropolitan (Gr 1, 2400m).
Being a bookmaker and owning horses at the same time certainly has the potential to create an array of mixed emotions during the running of a race and “it can be a really awkward watch, not just in horseracing”, says Merlehan.
“I am a massive (Penrith) Panthers fan and I went up to the NRL Grand Final on Sunday. We would have had a really bad result if they were able to win the game (which they did), but you have got to try to compartmentalise your emotions regardless,” he said.
“Normally I get one of the other boys to trade the races if one of our horses is in, so we don’t have any bias and keep them short (in the market) when they probably shouldn’t be because everyone overvalues their own runners.”
Swift Witness, who could provide Milo Racing with its first Group 1 in Wednesday’s Thousand Guineas (1600m), was another who had the bookmaker going from elation to devastation in the matter of seconds in the Flight Stakes.
“The disappointing one on Saturday was Swift Witness when we were actually going to have a good result on her and then the one who bloused down the outside (Never Been Kissed) at 40-1 got the result and that was our worst lay,” he said.
“You might have a good result with your own horse and then it gets beaten and to rub salt into the wound you’ve laid the winner at 40-1.
“It is just one of those things, we’ve learnt to deal with it over the years.”