Retired pub owner O’Connell makes rare Sydney visit count
Vince O’Connell is a retired pub owner from northern New South Wales who does horse ownership a bit unconventionally.
The 76-year-old, who grew up in southern Sydney, moved to Gundagai and has more lately run a 150-acre farm near Kyogle, made a return to the Easter yearling sales this week.
“Last time I came to an Inglis sale it was under the tree in town,” he told us at Riverside yesterday. In fact, there’d be a few dozen more Inglis sales under that tree after that one.
“It was about forty years ago.”
Making his first trip to Sydney in any capacity for many years, O’Connell – who has bobbed up closer to home at a few Gold Coast sales in the more recent past – certainly returned to Inglis with a splash.
On Tuesday, he bought Lot 189 from Edinglassie Stud’s draft – a filly by Justify (Scat Daddy) out of dual Listed scorer Galizani (Galileo) – for $180,000. And yesterday he acquired Lot 265 from the Yarraman Park draft, an I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) filly from triple Group 1 winner Lucia Valentina (Savabeel), for $650,000.
Despite that hefty price tag, when the buyer was announced as Summerland Farm, pretty much no one in the room knew who that was. Turned out it was the unassuming senior gent in the green shirt, who was not quite one of the most recognisable faces at Australia’s premier yearling sale.
“I had about half a dozen pubs up around Byron Bay and the area, but I’ve retired from that,” he said. “I bought a small farm about 15 years ago, I’ve put a few mares on it and thought I’d like to expand more with a bit more quality stock.
“It’s still a hobby, but I’m a big researcher of pedigrees.”
Another hobby is dreaming up horse names, “usually over a few beers”. He already has two chosen for his new fillies. One will be called Crème De La Crème. The other Moonlight Becomes U, “since the ‘You’ wouldn’t fit”.
“I’m just not sure which one will be which yet, but we’ll sort that out,” he said.
He does, however, have a trainer lined up. The two well-bred yearlings will be sent to Lismore.
“He’s my trainer, he’s a lifelong friend of mine – I was at his wedding 30-odd years ago – and his name’s Owen Glue,” O’Connell said. “He’s a wonderful man, a great trainer and a great character, because out the front of his stables he’s got a sign: ‘The Glue Factory’.”
People around there have had to have a sense of humour lately.
“He’s been greatly affected by the flooding,” the owner said. “He had to take his horses from his stable to a friend’s place who’s got some high country around Lismore. Thankfully I haven’t been affected.”
Glue has O’Connell’s best-ever horse, a six-year-old gelding called At Witz End (Epaulette), who he bred after buying another Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) mare – Here’s The End – for $8,000 and putting her to Darley’s Epaulette (Commands). At Witz End has now won 10 of 37, including two at Doomben last year, and $270,000 in prize–money.
“He’s a beautiful animal, and he’s the Far North Coast District Racing Association’s Horse of the Year,” his owner said proudly.
O’Connell was not from a racing family but was given a pony – Betsy – as a boy. That started a lifelong affection for horses which he was finally able to take to another level as his work “in the grog industry” wound down. On buying his former dairy farm he had to change the grass and fences with horses in mind. He now has around 20 of them, mostly fillies and mares.
Yesterday, he smashed his previous top price – $250,000 for a Sebring (More Than Ready) weanling – in buying Lucia Valentina’s third foal. Her first foal, Luca Deli (Snitzel), raced by the dam’s owner Lib Petagna, was injured in his only start in New Zealand, while his sister is yet to race.
“I like staying horses, and the Lucia Valentinas should stick on,” he said. “I’d had a look at this filly the other day, and then when the auction was going on I thought $650,000 – that’s not a bad price for her.”
In contrast, O’Connell received a pleasant surprise after buying the first filly.
“I was just here looking at the pedigree on this Justify,” he said. “Galileo as the damsire got me in, because I’m keen on the staying line, and I thought $180,000 seemed a reasonable price. Thought I might hang onto her, give her plenty of time and give her a try.
“But what happened then was – it turns out the little filly that won the Golden Slipper and the Sires’ is on this horse’s page.”
It’s on the page in plain type, because at that stage Fireburn had only won her first two races, not her two Group 1s. O’Connell was fairly tickled to discover his new filly’s dam Galizano was a half-sister to Mull Over (So You Think), the $22,000 mare who’s Fireburn’s mum.
“In any case, I hope the mix is a good one,” he said. “But whatever happens, we should have some fun with her. I like racing them and breeding from them. It’s a great interest I feel. It’s better than becoming a couch potato, isn’t it?”