Slade back in the fold at Tulloch Lodge
Kestrel Thoroughbreds principal to link with Waterhouse and Bott to help guide stable’s future
Tulloch Lodge is set to embark on a plan used successfully by Gai Waterhouse to win Caulfield (Gr 1, 2400m) and Melbourne Cups (Gr 1, 3200m) and a host of other feature races as the champion trainer and her stable partner Adrian Bott endeavour to build on the five Group 1s they have won this year.
In a bid to remain among the top echelon of Australian trainers, Waterhouse and Bott yesterday announced they have brought in popular industry figure Bruce Slade to help assist in the identification of potential racehorses to add to the stable, as well as to assist in implementing other behind-the-scenes commercial programs.
Slade, whose introduction to Australian racing and breeding began ten years ago under the tutelage of Waterhouse at Randwick, is thrilled to once again be working with his former mentor and Bott under his Kestrel Thoroughbreds banner.
“Adrian and I are great friends and we talk all the time. We talk about different ideas and how we’re thinking about the game; where we see opportunities and where we think things can improve,” Slade told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“The partnership was sparked out of conversations like that and we’re very much on the same page. I love the way Adrian thinks about his training and where the opportunities lie going forward, so it was natural for me to jump back in there.”
Slade, who also previously worked as general manager with Newgate Farm and maintains an association with the Hunter Valley stud, revealed Waterhouse and Bott are keen to invest more heavily in the tried horse market, a tactic which delivered the stable the 2010 Caulfield Cup with Descarado (High Chaparral) and the 2013 Melbourne Cup with Fiorente (Monsun).
“From an overall business strategy point of view, it’s mainly focusing on horse acquisition and the customer service side of the business,” Slade said.
“It’s about reverse engineering to identify where we can use our capital to the best advantage…and, as a result, Adrian and Gai are very keen to get back into the tried horse market, which was hugely successful for the stable over a number of years.
“We will pick back up in that area while we will also be at the yearling sales and there’s some other angles where we think we can help our clients (racing experience).”
Bott is also excited to once again be working closely with Slade.
“In fact, most of our team here have worked with Bruce previously, so the transition has been seamless,” Bott said.
“Bruce’s addition is a part of our striving for more success and better service for our clients.
“That is the goal for our team, and we will be working in unison through plans and protocols we have mapped out for 2021 and beyond.”
In another outstanding year, Waterhouse and Bott have prepared Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) to win the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m), Con Te Partiro (Scat Daddy) to take out two Group 1 mares features during the autumn and Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt) to win the Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) in March and the Empire Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) on Victoria Derby day at Flemington.
“(Tulloch Lodge) is an amazing set-up. The training style was kicked off by T J Smith some 427 Group 1s ago, Gai’s then taken over and put her own spin on it and now, with Adrian at the helm, you’ve got a slight variation on that again,” Slade said.
“Front-running, fit and forward horses…that combination with Gai and Adrian has worked exceptionally well. They have had a fantastic calendar year in 2020 and it’s about building on that.”
The Gold Coast-based Slade will maintain his association with the Toby and Trent Edmonds stable while taking on the additional workload of Waterhouse and Bott.
“I had a good, long chat with Toby and Trent and they have been phenomenal to work with. I am really enjoying my time there and, obviously, I am based on the Gold Coast where they are based, so that makes a lot of sense and I will still be helping them,” he said.
“There is a lot of crossover in terms of the protocols and systems that we’ve put in place at Toby’s and Trent’s that we will be putting in place at Gai and Adrian’s as well now.”
As for any potential conflict of interest, Slade does not perceive it that way at all.
“From an acquisition point of view at the yearling sales, they are looking at slightly different horses and at different values and it’s probably the Magic Millions January where there is the most crossover between the two,” he said.
“At the end of the day, if they both like the same horse, then they bid against each other.
“I remember last year we bid against each other on a few horses, so it will be no different this year. It just depends on where they value those horses.
“The buying decision comes down to Toby and Trent on their side and Gai and Adrian on their side. I am just putting up horses that I think will suit the stable and it’s up to them whether they agree and then also how far they want to go to get the horse.”
The establishment of Slade’s bloodstock consultancy business Kestrel Thoroughbreds in 2019 has, he says, benefited from Covid-19 as his clients have become accustomed to working remotely.
“The consulting side of things is really suiting my personality and Kestrel allows me to work with everyone and be friends with everyone. That suits my nature, rather than having to be up against people directly to buy horses,” he said.
“It’s so competitive and I think it takes a special kind of person (to be an agent). Those guys and girls are incredible, they are working all the time to get deals done and make things happen whereas my side of things with consultancy…it allows me to live that lifestyle.”
He added: “Covid has helped me a lot in that everyone has moved a bit quicker towards working externally and using those advantages.
“It is incredible how much I’ve been able to get done and I still feel like I am adding a lot of value from afar through the different technologies.”