Driven O’Brien holds bold plans for Glen Eden as he steps up to partner in ownership of the stud
“I’d have to sit you down for an hour, get the whiteboard out and talk to you about all the things we can move and achieve. It’s years of work and to expand on all the details now might make you think I’m a crazy person.”
If there’s one thing Rory O’Brien doesn’t lack, it’s ambition.
And his rapid rise since returning to the thoroughbred industry with the onset of the pandemic last year, is probably reflective of that drive and vision he channels towards achieving success.
O’Brien, who was appointed as sales and marketing manager at Glen Eden Stud in March this year having held a sales role with Danny O’Brien Racing, is now set to become a partner in the Sonia O’Gorman-run operation, with lofty plans afoot to turn the Kilmore property into a burgeoning commercial entity.
“Essentially I’m working to a 20-year plan in my head and it’s just going to be step by step. But I’m committed to steps in any direction as long as the long term goals are in mind,” O’Brien said to ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“I’m really excited for the future. It’s a big commitment but there’s nothing but growth at the core of the business and I think it’s a big opportunity.”
O’Brien confirmed he now has a 50 per cent equity in Glen Eden Stud, which has been run by the O’Gorman family since its purchase in 2000, and built up from scratch to the high quality 100-acre thoroughbred property it is today.
“When it all came off it was quite an emotional moment really, because it was just a group of people showing great belief in a guy that’s come from nowhere that has some outlandish ideas of time into their inner sanctum,” O’Brien said.
“It’s quite mind boggling, to be honest, that this lady (O’Gorman) has bought this property over 20 years ago and built it single handedly. Just the work and time that’s been put into it is inspiring.
“I’m fresh and, in some ways, green and naive, but there’s nothing I won’t do to learn about what I have to do to be successful in the industry. That resilience is something both Sonia and I have that appealed in each other.
“We just got talking about plans for the future and what I could see was working and what could work better and I think organically it grew into a partnership beyond what I was doing in noms and sales,” he continued.
“So, the discussion evolved into ‘right, what’s the future? I’m passionately working to see the business grow but I’d love to be involved at a higher level’ and she was really receptive to that.”
Commercial will be the key focus. Already, the stud has a fresh online presence, equipped with a new website and growth in the social media realm, as O’Brien seeks to entice new clients to the operation with the objective of bringing new players into the thoroughbred breeding industry.
“The return on investment has been a big area we’ve looked at. There was a lot of money going out on advertising that wasn’t equalling dollars back into the bank account, so I think that’s something I’ve tightened up. We’re still collecting data and metrics so we can best harness our approach in that area,” O’Brien said.
“And then there’s other things that we’d like to do to enhance our ability to give to the industry with our off the track initiatives and making racing more accessible to everyday folk as well. Those things are going to take a lot of work and potentially there’s going to be an announcement in that area in the coming months.
“But I firmly believe that if you don’t believe you can improve on the day before, then there’s no point in getting up.”
Entering his first breeding season with the stud, O’Brien will be charged with improving the fortunes of Glen Eden’s three resident stallions, headlined by Rebel Dane (California Dane), who through the success of Group 3-winning son Subterranean, as well as selling innovative lifetime breeding rights, is set to cover his highest book this year, having produced just 61 live foals from his first three seasons at stud.
He will stand for an increased fee of $8,800 this year, as he takes his place alongside Giant’s Steps, a South American Group 1 winner whose first two-year-olds are set to grace the track this season, while he is the only son of Giant’s Causeway (Storm Cat) at stud in Australia, and Barood (Choisir), a brother to Rosemont Stud stallion Starspangledbanner, who was secured in September last year to stand his first season at stud.
“While I think securing us a more commercial stallion going forward will help, we’ve got some good stallions here now, and I really do believe in Rebel Dane. He’s an up and coming force in the industry,” O’Brien said.
“Success on the track is the make or break for stallions, whether they’re big or small, and I think some of the progeny that are on the ground for him currently, those that are unexposed to the public, are doing nice things and they’ll come on leaps and bounds.
“Subterranean looks set to get over a trip which, maybe, you wouldn’t expect a Rebel Dane to get over. Matty Dunn is setting him for a Group 1 over 2000 metres I believe.
“There’s lifetime breeding rights as well which we’re offering. And that’s essentially four mares over two years at half the price. He needs a big couple of seasons to kick on, so that’s an excellent way to get value from an emerging stallion.
“He’s going to have a record number of mares come to him this year, which we’re excited about, and I think we would like to secure him for a long term future and develop him as the foundation stallion for the stud.”
At the core of O’Brien’s plans for the stud is to see it lead a progressive movement for thoroughbred breeding, confronting head on the issues surrounding welfare that the industry is more preeminently facing.
“I hope to make a really positive mark on the way the industry conducts itself,” O’Brien said.
“Glen Eden is going to build a horse-first brand and that’ll be our mantra. The industry has to change in some respects and we’ll try and lead in some way that encourages others to do the same.
“At the core of this is education. And if we really want to overcome some of these issues then it’s on the individual farms and organisations to take some responsibility for what they think they can do to better their operation in light of these perceptions.
“I think there’s a lot of sentiment bubbling away in the industry like that. There are a lot of successful thoroughbred breeders, who have been at the top of their game for a long time, who want to do this but don’t necessarily know how. And that’s the journey I’m going to try and go on.”