Sydney stable allocation issues force Moore family north
Former Hong Kong champion trainer John Moore plans to expand his presence at the Gold Coast after expressing frustration with the Australian Turf Club’s allocation of stables at Rosehill.
Moore, who has been active at this week’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale alongside his agent-son George, is beginning to find his racing ambitions thwarted in Sydney after only receiving 20 boxes from the ATC.
“With only being able to get 20 boxes at Rosehill expansion is difficult. We are buying all these horses but where do we put them?” John Moore told ANZ Bloodstock News.
Aggrieved with the struggle to negotiate more space for his high-quality racing stock, Moore – who will train in partnership with his brother, Gary, having returned from Hong Kong – is now making plans to set up on the Gold Coast where the duo are being welcomed with open arms.
“In the future we will be opening up a stable at the Gold Coast because of limitations here,” he said.
With major track and facility upgrade plans well in place, and night racing to come in the not-too-distant future, the Gold Coast is becoming the place to be for leading trainers, including Lee Freedman who is returning from Singapore next month.
“Ian Brown (Gold Coast Turf Club’s racing manager) was very kind to give me the plans of the future including a change of tracks, lighting and stables. It’s all a big plus for the Gold Coast and Queensland racing,” Moore said.
“He said he would love to have the Moore family come up there training. In the interim it will be more on a transient basis but once the changes are in place I will be more than glad to have a big stable up there.”
There is no question that Sydney’s potential loss will be Queensland racing’s gain. The Moores currently have five boxes at the Gold Coast and will have more by season’s end.
“Once my wife comes back I will be in Queensland and that will fit nicely with respect to the carnival there. I have had a home at the Gold Coast for a long time,” he said.
“I will be up there and training them there with staff we are taking from our Sydney stable. I love the Gold Coast and of course Dad (George) was there and that’s where it all started.”
The ATC was approached for comment yesterday but did not respond.
The Moores have so far purchased five lots at the Classic auction for a total spend of $1,440,000, ending day two as the sale’s leading buyer.
Yesterday, they jumped on the Capitalist (Written Tycoon) bandwagon and went to a record-breaking price of $625,000 to secure Lot 374, a chestnut colt from the Kitchwin Hills draft.
The big-money purchase followed on from a productive opening session, during which they refused to be outbid by James Harron and paid $375,000 for a son of Invader (Snitzel) on Sunday.
He was bought on behalf of billionaire Hong Kong owner and businessman Simon Kwok, suggesting Moore will be steering some of his high-profile Chinese clients towards racing in Australia, which is positive news for the entire industry.
“We have some clients that have given us good budgets to buy at this sale and others. They are not all destined for Hong Kong and we hope to keep them here and compete at the highest level,” said Moore, who was released from hotel quarantine on Monday.
Closing in on his 71st birthday, Moore is still operating at his usual frenetic pace and he is determined to tick one last thing off his bucket list – to train a Group 1 winner in his home country.
“This is one reason I kept a trainers’ license. It’s the chance of buying a champion like an Able Friend at these sales. It gives me incentive to keep going,” he said.
Long term, Moore’s strategy is to travel between Hong Kong and Australia and continue marketing and promoting the stable to the Hong Kong scene.
“At the moment I will be in Australia up until restrictions are lifted as the whole idea of coming back was to base myself here and be able to travel back to Asia and sit down with the clients there and build the stable here with our China clients,” he said.
“Connections in Hong Kong are still there and we can nurture them here in Australia.
“There are clients in Hong Kong that would like to come down to Australia when this pandemic will allow the freedom of travel.
“They will participate during the carnivals and we can give them a very good insight into Australian racing and how much it’s improved with the prize-money being very, very good.”
A high-energy character, Moore’s renewed vigour is evident and he is clearly pleased to be back in Australia with some fresh challenges ahead.
He hasn’t lost any of his quirky sense of humour since leaving the Hong Kong training ranks either. While Group 1 races are his main aim he says he harbours a personal ambition to train the Bong Bong Cup (1560m) winner on the country NSW circuit.
“I never won it as an amateur jockey. I have a horse for it, he’s my lead horse at the moment. He was a Group 2 winner in Hong Kong and the lead horse there for Beauty Generation,” he said.
Laughing, he added: “He’s a ten-year-old now and he might have his last chance to win a race at Bong Bong.”