Resolute and Dynamic team up at Easter
American John Stewart must be one of the more approachable billionaires going around.
Trainer Calvin McEvoy wasn’t shy in hitting him up late last year via social media – a vehicle at which he was possibly more adept than father and co-trainer Tony.
The result? The McEvoys teamed with the Resolute Racing boss to buy a $1 million Frankel (Galileo) colt at last month’s Inglis Premier sale – after just missing the $3.2 million sale-topper at Magic Millions Gold Coast, the daughter of the McEvoys’ former star Sunlight by Home Affairs.
Only three days ago, another younger half of a father-son team – Dynamic Syndications’ Adam Watt – sent Stewart an email. On Sunday their new union completed the $675,000 purchase of a half-sister to Dynamic’s heroine I Am Me (I Am Invincible), a daughter of siring sensation Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) who’ll be prepared by I Am Me’s trainer Ciaron Maher.
With the backing of Stewart – who was on the phone from the US – the purchase smashed Dynamic’s previous top yearling buy. That had stood at $320,000, having previously been held by I Am Me herself, a $210,000 buy at Inglis Premier 2020.
Watt’s father, Dynamic’s founder Dean, was happy to let his son do the talking after Sunday’s purchase of I Am Me’s half-sister, from Cambridge Stud, and it was an emotional Adam who fronted the media.
“I had owners who burst into tears being able to buy I Am Me’s half-sister. That mare means so much to our owners and to us,” Watt said of I Am Me, who’s set to contest the $5 million The Quokka (1200m) in Perth before likely fetching a few more million at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale.
“She’s been a flagbearer for us. She’s won $4.7 million in prize-money. She’s got a date with The Quokka to come and then she’ll be a really sought after lot here in the Chairman’s sale, which is incredibly exciting.
“She’s been a horse that owners dream about. She’s taken her owners on the ride of a lifetime, and we hope this new filly takes ourselves and Resolute Racing on a similar ride.”
Watt – who with Stewart beat off bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne to buy the Too Darn Hot filly – said Maher had helped bring together Dynamic and Stewart, who was famously underbidder on Winx’s (Street Cry) $10 million daughter last Easter.
“I emailed Mr Stewart a couple of days ago about the filly; I thought she was an absolute queen,” Watt said.
“He’s got a big profile on social media, and he’s always said if someone finds a beautiful horse he’d like to hear about it. I reached out to him and said this was a dream horse, and that she might be a beautiful horse for him to be involved with in Australia. He subsequently reached out to Ciaron, and Ciaron was able to help us join forces to buy her.
“I just can’t thank Mr Stewart enough to allow us to come on the journey with him. He’s made a big splash in a short amount of time. He deserves every bit of success he gets, and he will have success by buying beautiful horses like this, and we’re just so excited to have her.”
Just as some of Dynamic’s “mum and dad” clients have been thrilled to race I Am Me in a group that includes her breeder Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum, Watt said some would also be ecstatic to be in the same ownership group as the gargantuan Stewart.
“It just shows what a global sport racing is,” said Watt, who also thanked Inglis managing director Mark Webster, who took Stewart’s bids by phone, as he did in the Winx filly sale.
Maher said he was delighted to have another horse with Stewart, with the filly to race in a hybrid set of silks combining Dynamic’s with Resolute Racing’s.
“John is an approachable guy,” Maher said. “He’s passionate about racing, and he goes after the horses he wants and he’s very straightforward to deal with. We’ve got a few in the stable with John now, and I’m looking forward to them hitting the track.
“It’s great to get this filly to train for him and Dynamic. She’s got a massive pedigree. I Am Me is a super horse, and Too Darn Hot is flying.
“She’s a great physical. I Am Me was a bit neater and this age, but just kept developing each year and getting better and better.”
The second and final day of the sale begins at 10am.